Censorship

In the manuscript age, when there were few copies of any book and few people could read them, censorship was rare. (Yes, writings were sometimes demonstratively destroyed, as in multiple instances when volumes of the Talmud were burned in public squares in Europe, but this was a symbolic act, not a way of keeping particular problematic passages from the eyes of readers.) It was only with the introduction of a world-changing new information technology, the movable-type printing press, that authorities began to appreciate how “dangerous” the proliferation of uncontrolled opinions to large numbers of readers could be. In response to this perceived danger, in 1548 Christian authorities in Venice—then the major center of printing—instituted a regime of censorship, which required prior approval and the elimination of problematic passages before a new publication could see the light of day. These same authorities also published lists of works (Christian and Jewish, Latin and Hebrew and other languages) that may have been written or published earlier that required retroactive censorship; if such a work was found in someone’s possession and had not been surrendered for censorship, the owner faced severe penalties. 

Jewish works that included explicit or implied condemnations of Christianity were, not unexpectedly, regularly censored, and the Library’s collection include many such examples. By examining what was censored, we can learn much about how these religious communities related to one another. The evidence of suspicion and enmity is not one-sided.