Disputation of Paris
Disputation over the Talmud at the court of French King Louis IX (1240)
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The Disputation of Paris (Hebrew: משפט פריז, romanized: Mishpat Pariz; French: disputation de Paris), also known as the Trial of the Talmud (French: procès du Talmud), took place in 1240 at the court of King Louis IX of France. It followed the work of Nicholas Donin, a Jewish convert to Christianity who translated the Talmud and pressed 35 charges against it to Pope Gregory IX by quoting a series of blasphemous passages about Jesus, Mary, or Christianity.[1] Four rabbis defended the Talmud against Donin's accusations.
- Court of the reigning king of France, Louis IX
| |
| English name | Trial of the Talmud |
|---|---|
| Date | 12 June 1240 |
| Location |
|
| Type | Disputation |
| Theme | Four rabbis defended the Talmud against Donin's accusations |
| Outcome | Twenty-four carriage loads of Jewish religious manuscripts were set on fire in the streets of Paris |
Background
Since the times of the Apostles, but with renewed effort in the Lower Middle Ages, the Catholic Church sought to convert Jews to Christianity through debate. Western Christianity in the 13th century had developed centuries of text-analysis and techniques to debate intellectualy, leading to engage with Jews or Muslims in debate hoping to demonstrate the intellectual superiority of their religion.[2]
Strong differences on the debate sides were present: Christianity had developed a detailed theological system, a precise list of authoritative books and clear teachings grounded on a central authority in Rome. Judaism had a relative absence of dogmatic theology, more focused against idolatry. Paul Johnson comments: "The Jews had a way of concentrating on life and pushing death—and its dogmas—into the background."[3]
The Catholic Church had shown little interest in the Talmud until a Jewish convert, Nicholas Dolin, in 1238 pressed 35 charges against it to Pope Gregory IX with the accuse of blasphemous passages about Christianity. The Pope was surprised that Jews relied on texts other than the Torah, and that those other texts contained alleged blasphemies against Christianity. This lack of interest also characterized the French monarchy which chiefly considered the Jews as a potential source of income before 1230.[4]
Disputants
The debate started on 12 June 1240[5][6] at the court of King Louis IX. The Christian side was represented by Nicholas Dolin himself, who presented the charge and had debated the Talmud when he was a jew (he was excommunication by the Paris rabbis in 1228 for his positions on Talmud). He also selected other passages where he claimed the sages suggested that some crimes regulated by French law are not crimes if done by Jews against Christians.
The other Christian members of the tribunal were Queen Blanche, Archbishop Walter Cornutus of Sens,[7] Bishop William of Paris, inquisitor Henry of Cologne and the chancellor of the University of Paris.
Rabbis Yechiel of Paris,[8] Moses of Coucy, Judah of Melun, and Samuel ben Solomon of Château-Thierry—four of the most distinguished rabbis of France—represented the Jewish side of the debate.[9]
Trial
The terms of the disputation demanded that the four rabbis defend the Talmud against Donin's accusations that it contained blasphemies against the Christian religion, attacks on Christians themselves, blasphemies against God, and obscene folklore. The attacks on Christianity were from passages referring to Jesus and Mary. There is a passage, for example, of someone named Yeshu who was sent to hell to be boiled in excrement for eternity. Rabbi Yehiel maintained that the Jesus in the Talmud being referred to wasn't the Christian Jesus, stating "not every Louis born in France is king."[10][11][12]
The Talmud was attacked for folklore in bad taste or considered obscene, such as a story that Adam copulated with all of the animals before God created Eve, or a story that Noah was castrated by his son Ham.[13]
Donin's "slander of the Talmud" as justifying or requiring "ritual murder," according to Israel Yuval, was based on quotes and interpretations of specific Talmud passages.[14]: 281
Donin cited a Talmudic expression from Shimon bar Yochai, who lived during the Bar Kochba Revolt, "The best of gentiles shall you kill." which refers to the fact that even the best of gentiles joined Pharaoh's troops during the Exodus, so it is forbidden to pity them. The context is foreign soldiers in times of war or the Messianic Age, not a general allowance to kill gentiles. Some messianic Jews in France believed the Redemption would occur in 1240, the year of the trial, so Donin tied it to a motive of messianic fervor and argued that therefore Jews would literally murder gentiles according to his interpretation of the Talmud and of Jewish messianism. Rabbi Yehiel pointed out that this statement referred to pagan Romans, not Christians, and that Talmudic laws against idolaters, such as a prohibition of trade, were not observed regarding Christians. He noted this statement referred to wartime, and reminded the trial of the Ten Commandments' prohibition against killing.[14]: 283–284 [15][16][17][18][19][20]
Rabbi Yehiel pointed out that the Talmud used hyperbole so could not be taken so literally.[21]
Twentieth-century Jewish scholar Hyam Maccoby alleges that the purpose of the Paris disputation was to rid the Jews of their "belief in the Talmud", in order that they might return to Old Testament Abrahamism and eventually embrace Christianity.[22] He says that the hostility of the Church during this disputation had less to do with the Church's attitude and more to do with Nicholas Donin. Donin's argumentation exploited controversies that were debated within Judaism at the time, according to Maccoby.[23] Maccoby also suggests that the disputation may have been motivated by Donin's previous affiliations with the Karaite Jews, and that his motivations for joining the Church involved his desire to attack rabbinic tradition.[24]
Outcome
The Disputation set in place a train of events which culminated in a burning of a great number of Jewish holy texts, on 17 June 1242.[25] "One estimate is that the 24 wagonloads included up to 10,000 volumes of Hebrew manuscripts, a startling number when one considers that the printing press did not yet exist, so that all copies of a work had to be written out by hand."[25] The burning of the texts was apparently witnessed by the Meir of Rothenburg, who wrote about the incident.[25]
Donin's translation of statements taken from the Talmud into French changed the Christian perception about Jews. Christians had viewed the Jews as the followers of the Old Testament who honored the Law of Moses and the prophets, but the alleged blasphemies included among the Talmudic texts indicated that Jewish understandings of the Old Testament differed from the Christian understanding.[26] Louis IX stated that only skilled clerics could conduct a disputation with Jews, but that laymen should plunge a sword into those who speak ill of the Christ.[27][28]
Cultural references
An account of the Disputation takes place at the start of André Schwarz-Bart's novel The Last of the Just.
