Jews under Surveillance: Censorship and Reading in Early Modern Italy

This talk explores how Counter-Reformation’s dynamics affected the readings of Italian Jews, after the political changes of the 1550s and the promulgation of the Index by Clement VIII in 1596 (with the ban of the Talmud). Dealing with censorship, expurgation and banning of books, in fact, Italian Jews found themselves caught up between the intricate and often conflicting positions between the Congregation of the Index and the Office of the Inquisition. Based on the analysis of both Inquisitorial sources (proceedings, guidelines and censors’ reports) and biographical accounts, I will explore how rabbis and converts, who worked as appointed censors for the Holy Office of Modena, negotiated different means of reading and interpretation of religious texts. Another issue that I will explore regards the composition of the Modenese Jewish libraries and the means by which books circulated. The ultimate goal is to contribute to our understanding of how Italian Jews were able to keep their own autonomous culture, facing Catholic Church’s policy of both segregation of Jews and general control over the entire society. This presentation is for the following text(s): Rules for the expurgation of the Hebrew Books: A Report by Camillo Yaghel da Correggio (1614) Report regarding Hebrew Books sent by the Reverend Father Inquisitor Ciro Yaghel during a trial against Leone Poggetti, a rabbi, and Aron de Sacerdoti (1624) Commentary by R. Salomon [Rashi] on the laws (Excerpt from the report by Ciro da Correggio, November 5, 1626) 4. Testimony by Aaron Berechia da Modena (December 3 and 10, 1636