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Disputation of Paris

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Disputation over the Talmud at the court of French King Louis IX (1240)

Disputation of Paris
An early printing of theTalmud (Ta'anit 9b); with commentary byRashi.
English nameTrial of the Talmud
Date12 June 1240 (1240-06-12)
LocationCourt of the reigning king of France, Louis IX
TypeDisputation
ThemeFour rabbis defended the Talmud against Donin's accusations
OutcomeTwenty-four carriage loads of Jewish religious manuscripts were set on fire in the streets of Paris

TheDisputation of Paris (Hebrew:משפט פריז,romanized: Mishpat Pariz;French:disputation de Paris), also known as theTrial of the Talmud (French:procès du Talmud), took place in 1240 at the court of KingLouis IX of France. It followed the work ofNicholas Donin, aJewish convert to Christianity who translated theTalmud and pressed 35 charges against it toPope Gregory IX by quoting a series of blasphemous passages aboutJesus,Mary, or Christianity.[1] Four rabbis defended the Talmud against Donin's accusations.

Background

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As part of its evangelistic efforts, theCatholic Church sought to convert the Jews through debate. WesternChristianity in the 13th century was developing its intellectual acumen. In order to flex its intellectual muscle, the Church sought to engage the Jews in debate, hoping that the Jews would see what it considered the intellectual superiority of Christianity.[2]

Paul Johnson cites a significant difference between the Jewish and Christian sides of the debate. Christianity had developed a detailed theological system; the teachings were clear and therefore vulnerable to attack. Judaism had a relative absence of dogmatic theology; it did have many negative dogmas to combat idolatry but did not have a developed positive theology. "The Jews had a way of concentrating on life and pushing death—and its dogmas—into the background."[3]

Disputants

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The debate started on 12 June 1240.[4][5]Nicholas Donin, a member of theFranciscan Order and a Jewish convert to Christianity, represented the Christian side. He had translated statements by Talmudic sages and pressed 35 charges against the Talmud as a whole toPope Gregory IX by quoting a series of allegedly blasphemous passages about Christianity. He also selected what he said were rulings by Talmudic sages permitting Jews to kill non-Jews, to deceive Christians, and to break promises made to them without scruples.[6][1] The other Christian members of the tribunal were queenBlanche of Castile, archbishopGauthier Le Cornu [fr] ofSens,[7] bishopGuillaume d'Auvergne ofParis, inquisitor Henri de Cologne and the chancellor of the University of Paris.

The Catholic Church had shown little interest in the Talmud until Donin presented his translation to Gregory IX. The Pope was surprised that Jews relied on texts other than theTorah, 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.[8]

RabbisYechiel of Paris,[9]Moses of Coucy,Judah of Melun, andSamuel ben Solomon of Château-Thierry—four of the most distinguished rabbis of France—represented the Jewish side of the debate.[10]

Trial

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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 namedYeshu who was sent to hell to beboiled in excrement for eternity. Rabbi Yehiel maintained that theJesus in the Talmud being referred to wasn't the Christian Jesus, stating "not every Louis born in France is king."[11][12][13]

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 thatNoah was castrated by his sonHam.[14][clarification needed]

Donin's "slander of the Talmud" as justifying or requiring "ritual murder," according toIsrael Yuval, was based on quotes and interpretations of specific Talmud passages.[15]: 281 

Donin cited a Talmudic expression fromShimon bar Yochai, who lived during theBar 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 theMessianic 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 theTen Commandments' prohibition against killing.[15]: 283–284 [16][17][18][19][20][21]

Rabbi Yehiel pointed out that the Talmud usedhyperbole so could not be taken so literally.[22]

Twentieth-century Jewish scholarHyam 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.[23] 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.[24] Maccoby also suggests that the disputation may have been motivated by Donin's previous affiliations with theKaraite Jews, and that his motivations for joining the Church involved his desire to attack rabbinic tradition.[25]

Outcome

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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.[26] "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."[26] The burning of the texts was apparently witnessed by theMaharam of Rothenburg, who wrote about the incident.[26]

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 theLaw 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.[27] 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.[28][29]

Cultural References

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An account of the Disputation takes place at the start of André Schwarz-Bart's novelThe Last of the Just.

See also

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References

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  1. ^abSeidman, Naomi (2010).Faithful Renderings: Jewish-Christian Difference and the Politics of Translation. University of Chicago Press.ISBN 978-0-226-74507-7.
  2. ^Maccoby, Hyam (1982).Judaism on Trial: Jewish-Christian Disputations in the Middle Ages. Associated University Presses. p. 62.ISBN 9780838630532.
  3. ^Johnson, Paul (1998).A history of the Jews (25. [pr.] ed.). New York: Harper Perennial. p. 161.ISBN 0060915331.
  4. ^Haymann, Emmanuel (2008).Pages juives (in French). Armand Colin.ISBN 978-2-200-24373-9.
  5. ^Falk, Avner (1996).A Psychoanalytic History of the Jews. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press.ISBN 978-0-8386-3660-2.
  6. ^Webster, Nesta H. (2000).Secret Societies and Subversive Movements. Book Tree.ISBN 978-1-58509-092-1.
  7. ^Anchel, Robert (1946).Les juifs de France (in French). Paris: J.B. Janin. p. 109.
  8. ^Einbinder, Susan L. (2002).Beautiful Death: Jewish Poetry and Martyrdom in Medieval France. Princeton University Press.ISBN 978-1-4008-2525-7.
  9. ^Grossman, Maxine (2011).Berlin, Adele (ed.).The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion (Second ed.).New York,Oxford:Oxford University Press. pp. 552–553.ISBN 9780199730049. Retrieved12 June 2019.
  10. ^"FRANCE - JewishEncyclopedia.com".www.jewishencyclopedia.com.
  11. ^Maccoby, Hyam (1982).Judaism on Trial: Jewish-Christian Disputations in the Middle Ages. Associated University Presses. p. 26.ISBN 9780838630532.
  12. ^Ben-Shalom, Ram (29 October 2015).Medieval Jews and the Christian Past: Jewish Historical Consciousness in Spain and Southern France. Liverpool University Press.ISBN 978-1-78962-778-7.
  13. ^Glick, Leonard B. (1 January 1999).Abraham's Heirs: Jews and Christians in Medieval Europe. Syracuse University Press.ISBN 978-0-8156-2779-1.
  14. ^Maccoby, Hyam (1982).Judaism on Trial: Jewish-Christian Disputations in the Middle Ages. Associated University Presses. p. 36.ISBN 9780838630532.
  15. ^abYuval, Israel (2006).Two Nations in Your Womb: Perceptions of Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. University of California Press. p. 280-284.ISBN 9780520258181.
  16. ^"What is the Talmud".www.sefaria.org. Retrieved3 January 2026.
  17. ^Cohn-Sherbok, D. (5 April 1994).Judaism and Other Faiths. Springer.ISBN 978-0-230-37306-8.
  18. ^Modras, Ronald (17 August 2005).The Catholic Church and Antisemitism. Routledge.ISBN 978-1-135-28617-0.
  19. ^Chazan, Robert (December 1988)."Essays in Jewish Historiography: Representation of Events in the Middle Ages".History and Theory 40-55.27 (4).
  20. ^Hoff, Jean Connell; Friedman, John (2012). Chazan, Robert Leon (ed.).The trial of the Talmud: Paris, 1240. Mediaeval sources in translation. Translated by Friedman, John; Hoff, Jean. Toronto, Ontario: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies.ISBN 978-0-88844-303-8.
  21. ^Yuval, Israel Jacob (1 January 1998)."Jewish Messianic Expectations Towards 1240 and Christian Reactions". In Cohen, Mark (ed.).Toward the Millennium. BRILL. pp. 105–121.doi:10.1163/9789004378995_008.ISBN 978-90-04-37899-5. Retrieved14 January 2026.
  22. ^Kalman, Jason (20 December 2021).The Book of Job in Jewish Life and Thought: Critical Essays. Hebrew Union College Press.ISBN 978-0-87820-195-2.
  23. ^Maccoby, Hyam (1982).Judaism on Trial: Jewish-Christian Disputations in the Middle Ages. Associated University Presses. p. 25.ISBN 9780838630532.
  24. ^Ragacs, Ursula (2011)."Christian-Jewish or Jewish-Jewish, That's my question ...".European Journal of Jewish Studies.5 (1):93–114.doi:10.1163/187247111X579296.ISSN 1025-9996.
  25. ^Maccoby, Hyam (1982).Judaism on Trial: Jewish-Christian Disputations in the Middle Ages. Associated University Presses. p. 37.ISBN 9780838630532.
  26. ^abc"1242: France burns all known copies of the Talmud".Haaretz. Retrieved27 September 2020.
  27. ^Jones, E. Michael (2008).The Jewish Revolutionary Spirit: And Its Impact on World History. Fidelity Press.ISBN 978-0-929891-07-1.
  28. ^Maccoby, Hyam (1982).Judaism on Trial: Jewish-Christian Disputations in the Middle Ages. Associated University Presses. p. 22.ISBN 9780838630532.
  29. ^Roth, Norman (2014).Medieval Jewish Civilization: An Encyclopedia. Routledge.ISBN 978-1-136-77155-2.

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