ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the subject of Jewish culture and books, and how they flourished despite the process of ghettoization. Here too in the cultural arena, there was no separation and lack of communication with the Christian world. In fact, the books themselves supported the system of daily interactions and mutual knowledge of the respective religions. The fearful Christian authorities tried to prevent these exchanges with requisitions, seizures, and censorship. In 1553, the Roman Inquisition, established in 1542 with broad jurisdiction over the Jews, ordered the burning of the Talmud in Rome (“the holocaust of the Talmud”), inviting the Catholic kings to do likewise. Jews who owned forbidden books became equated with heretics. A succession of severe papal bulls on the matter of censoring Jewish books followed, extending to the 18th century. The Kabbalah and Kabbalistic books were also banned and accused of being magical, while the link between Judaism-witchcraft became established. Despite the restrictions and constraints, there was a “culture of the ghetto” that related to the Christian culture. The figures of Leon Modena, Simone Luzzatto, Debora Ascarelli, Sara Copio Sullam, and Tranquillo Vita Corcos are all important representatives of this culture.
