APPENDIX
I
JEWISH EVIDENCE ON THE TALMUD
The denunciation of the Talmud by the Jew Pfefferkorn in 1509 and the
ex-Rabbi Drach in 1844 have been quoted in the course of this book. Graetz
however, in his History of the Jews, quotes an earlier incident
of this kind. (1) In the thirteenth century a converted Jew and
former Talmudist Donin, who on his baptism, assumed the name of Nicholas,
presented himself before the Pope, Gregory IX, "and brought charges against
the Talmud, saying that it distorted the words of Holy Writ, and in the
Agadic portions of it there were to be found disgraceful representations
of God," that it contained many gross errors and absurdities, further
that "it was filled with abuse against the founder of the Christian religion
and the Virgin. Donin demonstrated that it was the Talmud which prevented
the Jews from accepting Christianity, and that without it they would certainly
have abandoned their state of unbelief." Again "he stated that the Talmudical
writings taught it was a meritorious action to kill the best man among
the Christians (2) ... that it was lawful to deceive a Christian
without any scruple; that it was permitted to Jews to break a promise
made on oath." These Graetz describes as lying charges.
The Jews were accordingly ordered by the Pope to hand
over all their copies of the Talmud to the Dominicans and Franciscans
for examination, and if their judgment should corroborate the charges
of Nicholas Donin, they were to burn the volumes of the Talmud (June 9,
1239).
In France Graetz goes on to relate that "the priest-ridden
and weak-minded Louis IX "- that is to say, Saint Louis - pursued the
same course. " The Talmud was put on its trial. Four distinguished Rabbis
of North France were commanded by the King to hold a public disputation
with Nicholas, either to refute the imputations levelled against the Talmud,
or to make confession of the abuse against Christianity and the blasphemies
against God that it contained."
It is impossible to imagine a fairer decision, and
the queen-mother, Blanche de Castille, was careful to assure the first
witness summoned that if the lives of the Rabbis were in danger she would
protect them and that he was only required to answer the questions that
would be asked of him. Now, there would have been nothing simpler than
for the Rabbis to admit honestly that these offensive passages existed,
that they had been written perhaps in moments of passion in a less enlightened
age, that they recognized the indelicacy of insulting the religion of
the country in which they lived, and that therefore such passages should
henceforth be deleted. But instead of adopting this straightforward course,
which might have put an end for ever to attacks on the book they held
sacred, the Rabbis proceeded to deny the existence of the "alleged blasphemous
and immoral expressions" and to declare that "the odious facts related
in the Talmud concerning a Jesus, the son of Pantheras had no reference
to Jesus of Nazareth, but to one of a similar name who had lived long
before him." Graetz, who admits that this was an error and that the passages
in question did relate to the Jesus of the Christians, represents the
Rabbis as being merely "misled" on the question. But the King, who was
not misled by the Rabbis, ordered all copies of the Talmud to be burnt,
and in June 1242 these were committed to the flames. (3)
The Talmud, however, continues to exist, and it
was not until 1640 that, as we have already seen, the offending passages
against Christ were expunged by the Rabbis as a measure of expediency.
Now that they have been replaced, no further attempt is made to deny that
they are not included in ant English translation of the Talmud, but maybe
found in an English version of Dr. Gustav H. Dalman's book, Jesus Christus
im Talmud (1891).
(1) Eng. trans., Vol.
III. p. 591ff.
(2) Confirmed by Werner Sombart, The Jews and Modern Capitalism (Eng.
trans.), p. 203: "The Talmud says: 'Kill even the best of the Gentiles.'"
The Zohar also says: "Tradition tells us that the best of the Gentiles
deserves death." -Section Vaïqra, folio 14b (de Pauly's trans., Vol V.
p. 42).
(3) Professor H. Graetz, The History of the Jews (Eng. trans.), III. 591-6.