Apologetic, Valuable Historical Data Included
in Fr. Synan's Popes and. Jews in Middle Ages'
In "The Popes and the Jews
in the Middle Ages," published by
Macmillan, Fr. Edward A. Synan
has included a number of bulls
and declarations by popes that
were harmful to Jewry. He lists,
of course, the favorable state-
ments in his exploration of the
relations between Jews and Chris-
tians. The frankness of his ap-
proach, the fairness with which he
selects material, much of it indi-
cating the deep-rooted prejudice of
the Catholic Church against Jews
in the medieval world, attests to
the seriousness of this work.
It is a most impressive work.
Much of it will arouse deep emo-
tional feelings. Its factuality
makes the work a very welcome
one, as a study that is most valu-
able scholastically and historically.
The Synan volume calls for study
and analysis. In view of the re-
vived interest in Catholic-Jewish
relations, this work will assuredly
serve as one of the most important
works of research on the subject
of the popes. Readers will be
interested at the outset in the pre-
face by the Rev. John M. Oester-
reicher of the Institute of Judaeo-
Christian Studies, Seton Hall
University, the sponsor of publica-
tion of the series that includes Fr.
Synan's book. Dr. Oesterreicher,
himself a convert to Catholicism,
points out that "Greek philosophers
mistook the excellence of man for
the excellence of the man born
free," that "Aristotle failed in so
fundamental a question as the
dignity of the human person to
leap over the frontiers of his so-
ciety and age. Only a person with
no regard for the fetters of time
will thus turn up his nose at the
Philosopher." He then declares:
"The situation of medieval
man was similar. Though there
is not the slightest warrant for
it in Holy Scripture, he held
that Jews were condemned to
lasting servitude for not having
accepted Jesus as the Christ. I
find this tenet outrageous. Still,
I can well understand how a
society unified on the one hand
and rigidly structured on the
other (one need only think of its
system of guilds), how a society
of kings and vassals, lords and
serfs, knights and servants, mas-
ters and apprentices, led, almost
impelled, its members to assume
that heaven, and not they, had
decreed the bondage of JeWs.
Medieval man put 'chains' on the
Jews because his own mind was
`chained'—not by faith, but by
an imperfect understanding of
It Only a deluded modern who
thinks he bears no shackles,
simply because he cannot see
them, will despise the medieval
Christian."
As a defense of some of the
cruelties that were espoused by
some of the popes themselves, this
is an excellent introduction to a
volume that seeks fairness. Never-
theless the question will be posed
why the heads of the Church them-
selVes should have been parties to
the enunciation of epistles that
often led to massacres.
Fr. Synan does not ignore the
complaints that have been regis-
tered against medieval popes. He
acknowledges that: "The medieval
Jew went in fear of mob violence
. .. Badge and ghetto sealed with
humiliation a systematic drive to
degrade the whole Jewish commu-
nity. Obscurantist zeal led Chris-
tians to burn carloads of precious
Torah scrolls and of manuscript
copies of the Talmud . . . " etc.,
etc.
Fr. Synan would not blame
present-clay Jewry for asking "what
the record can tell of popes who
preceded John XXIII." But in his
interpretations, in his presentation
of historic records, his contentions
are that Jews, too, underwent a
Middle Ages experience, that
popes often were influenced by
emperors.
"Jewish-Christian controversy in
the Middle Ages is marked by
language that is offensive in the
extreme," Fr. Synan asserts, and
his contention is that "emotive
vocabulary was common to both
Jews and Christians" because "both
echoed the passionate language of
Scripture."
Indeed, he lists many of the
restrictions imposed upon Jews
by popes — prejudice against
the Talmud, bans on synagogue
building and mixed marriages
and other acts of bias. But he
also lists the popes who con-
demned the ritual murder charge,
those who defended Jews during
the Crusades and on other oc-
casions.
Fr. Synan makes an important
assertion relative to the purpose
of his book. He declares:
"These pages are intended
neither as an apologetic in the
interest of the popes nor as a
questionable venture in philo-
Semitism; the faith of Israel and
the faith of the Church, the gran-
deur and the miseries of Jews and
Christians, move on a plane -above
that of factions contending for"
dialectical victories . . . The goal
is modest: it is to supply evidence
adequate for a well-grounded esti-
mate; to Maintain scientific integ-
rity, but to avoid a tiresome, per-
haps pedantic, deluge of repetitious
materials; to reverence the divine
image in all men that our biblical
faith, Jewish and Christian, makes
visible to us . . Only where evi-
dence is examined with precision
and respect can the legitimate in-
terests, whether Of jeWs or Chris-
tians, be served."
From this point of view, the
Synan approach is logical and con-
structive. While there is more
evidence of injustice against Jews
in the Vatican, the positive factors
should be known and the author
of "The Popes and the Jews in the
Middle Ages" provides them.
Fr. Synan is expert both in
gathering data and in providing
defense. He contends that "not
all Jews confined their pejorative
vocabulary to abstract theology,"
and adds: "The medieval Hebrew
accounts • . . refer to Christ as
`the gibbeted one,' the son of the
excommunicated,' the gibbeted
bastard,' and to a Christian
church as a 'house of filth,' a
horror,' a house of alien slaves,'
and so on. So stereotyped had
such terminology become that
its very generality tended to
diminish its malice, and the
chroniclers went so far as to
put a b u s iv e 1 y anti-Christian
terms on the lips of Christians,
thus posing an editorial problem
to their modern translator not
only on the plane of courtesy
but even of , intelligibility.
"In this connection we may
remark that the term `Marrano,'
used by the 'old' Christians of
Spain to designate converts from
Judaism, was so offensive to
Jews of that day that it was
forbidden by civil law. Modern
readers will not take kindly to
Thousands See Mosque Dedicated
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
TEL AVIV — The first mosque
built in Israel since establishment
of the state was dedicated in Naza-
reth Tuesday in the presence of
thousands of well wishers and dig-
nitaries.
The El Salam Alosque, largest in
Israel, has seats for 1,300 worship-
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
ers and cost 500,000 pounds ($167,-
000), of which 200,000 pounds
($67,000) was contributed by the
ministry for religious affairs, which
also presented to mosque officials
50 books of the Koran.
Participants in the dedication
included representatives of all re-
ligious communities in Israel, offi-
cials of the ministries of the in-
terior, social welfare and premier's
the figure nearly always em-
ployed by popes with respect to
converts from Judaism who re-
lapsed into their former persua-
sion; they are regularly described
as returning 'like a dog to his
vomit.' But the popes borrowed
the phrase from their first pred-
ecessor, Peter himself (2 Pet.
2:22); he, in his turn, had found
it in no less respectable a source
than the Book of Proverbs
(26:11)."
Here we have apologetics that
hardly click. The abominations
ascribed to Jews came from the
masses who were reacting against
persecutions; those from the popes
were official and tended to arouse
mobs to resort to massacres.
But with respect to the latter,
the resort to a Book of Proverbs
quotation, Fr. Synan, mentions an
aphorism by St. Bernard — Abbot
of Clairvaux — that to touch a
Jew was like laying hands on Jesus,
"that the Jews themselves are a
kind of Scripture in whom, as in
the flourishes of a scribe, a divine
message can be read by perspic-
acious Christians."
Of course, there is recognition
of the Church's Jewish origins, of
Christianity's counting the Patri-
archs "as her own fathers."
In the matter of the atrocious
—ritual murder charge, Fr. Syn-
an, referring to the historic con-
demnation by Cardinal Ganga-
nelli, who later became Pope
Clement XIV (1769-1774), states:
"From the beginning, popes have
raised their voices against this
fatuous libel."
While there was defense of Jews
by popes during the Crusades, the
horrors were so immense and in-
describable that the guilt remains
a stain on the Church when it
failed to condemn the outrages.
"Papal defense of the Jews
against persecution was nearly al-
ways in terms of a biblical view
of Jewish origins and destiny. A
papal repression of the Jews was,
without exception, in terms of their
opposition to that new and spiritual
Israel, that Israel of God which is
the Church, daughter of the Syna-
gogue, if the popes were right, and)
inheritor of her promises," Fr.__yr:—
Synan emphasizes.
In this we have a traditional
Christian view: that the Church
stems from the Synagogue and
therefore supersedes it. In other
words, the major aim is to strive
for the conversion of the Jews.
Such is the basis of much of the
theology in works like these:
proselytization.
Fr. Synan's work is historically
superb. Its apologetics are chal-
lengeable; its implied conclusions
about time and history reaching
their term with respect to Israel
are not acceptable; but the data is
welcomed. The sincerity of the
work therefore is fully acknowl-
edged.
—P. S.
Daniel Bomberg The Master Printer
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This cartoon is reproduced from "A Picture Parade of Jewish History" by Morris Epstein, published
by Shengold Publishers, New York, by special arrangement with the author and publishers.
Dr. 'Epstein's accompanying ex- Italy, the art of Hebrew printing b o o k s. When he grew old, he
planatory essay on Daniel Bomberg spread to Spain and Portugal. After turned his press over to his son
Jews were driven from Spain in David. Upon the death of Daniel
follows:
An amazing man, Daniel Bom- 1492, the art moved, along with Bomberg, David became the owner
berg. He was a Flemish Christian Spanish Jews, to all the countries of the famous B o m b erg press
aristocrat who became an impor- of the world in which they settled. which, before the 17th Century,
tant 'printer and publisher of He-
But back to Daniel Bomberg. issued more Hebrew books than
brew books. Born in Antwerp in At the beginning of the 16th Cen- any other press.
the • 1480's, he died in Venice in tury, he settled in Venice; where
Unfortunately, Daniel Bomberg
1549.
he established his press. He em- paid dearly for his fame. The ex-
He helped create the Hebrew ployed Jewish assistants and had cellence of his work attracted imi-
printed book, for it was in the mid- many learned men on his staff.
tators who became wealthy. But
15th Century that printing from
With t h e i r help he obtained Bomberg himself spent so much
movable type was invented in Eu- valuable manuscripts of the Bible money on paper and engravings
rope, and it was in 1475 that the and of the Talmud, and together that before his death he had lost
first Jewish book, an edition of they tried to establish accurate almost his whole fortune.
Rashi's commentary on the Bible, texts. One authority said of Bam-
Bamberg's work had a powerful
came off the press.
berg: "He studied Hebrew and effect on Jewish life. Although
Before that time, books were crowned himself therewith."
books were still scarce, there were
copied by scribes, who would often
more of them than before. They
The
first
great
work
published
illustrate them artistically and in
came down in price and, before
by
Bamberg's
press
was
the
com-
many colors. Since the rabbis for-
long, there was a copy of the Bible
bade any illustration of the Torah, plete text of the Bible in Hebrew not only in the dwellings of the
scribes would save some of their with many old and new commen- rich, but in every Jewish home.
richest drawings for the Passover taries.
There is a saying about the Jew-
With the permission of Pope Leo
Haggadah. This practice has lived
on to this very day, and many Hag- X, Bomberg issued the first com- ish people and the Torah. "Jews
gadahs now in use are full of beau- plete edition of the Babylonian have preserved the Book, and the
Talmud. It set the style for all Book has preserved Jewry."
tiful illustrations.
Men like Daniel Bomberg did
Printing changed the form of the editions ever printed thereafter.
nn_u_ph_f_o—roaka