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The Burning of the Talmud

Notre Dame on Fire!

On April 15, 2019, soon before Pesach, at 6:20 in the evening Paris time, the news broke that the Notre Dame, a large

cathedral in Paris, was burning.

Paris, the capital city of France, is divided into half by the River Seine which flows through it. In the middle of the Seine,

there are two islands. On the larger of the two lies, a medieval cathedral called the Notre Dame.

A cathedral is a prominent and central church in a city with a large Christian population. Every large city had a cathedral

headed by a bishop and many smaller churches, each under the command of the priests. “Notre Dame” is French for

“our lady” or “our mother,” a reference to the mother of the founder of Christianity.

Ecclesia and Synagoga

As the cathedral burned, news agencies the world over rushed to cover the event. Peculiarly enough, 777 years earlier,

in front of this very cathedral, the infamous burning of the Talmud transpired. It was an incident of such note that

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Rabbeinu Meir from Rottenburg wrote the special kinah (elegy) about it that we read each Tisha B’Av, “Shaali Srufa

Ba’aish.” Included in the kinah are the ominous words, “Therefore, praised is the one who will give you what you

deserve…and in the end a fire will burn where they tread.” In our own times, we have witnessed the fulfillment of this

prediction.

Synagoga

Ecclesia and Synagoga

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Ecclesia and Synagoga

Ecclesia and Synagoga

The Burning of the Talmud

Let us look at the Magen Avraham (O.C. 580:29). He quotes the sefer Tanya as follows:

Some have the custom to fast on the Friday of Parshas Chukas. On that day, twenty wagons full of holy books were

burned in France. A fast day was not designated for a specific day in the month because the question about the date was

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asked via a dream, and the answer was that the day of the week (Friday) caused the decree on the Torah. ‘Zos Chukas

HaTorah’ means that there was a decree on the Torah (that it would be burned).

The Sefer Tanya Rabbasi, in the section of “The Four Fasts” states the following: In Shebulei Haleket it is written: Now

that we are discussing the subject of fast days and the burning of the Torah, we write in commemoration of what

occurred due to our sins that Hashem’s Torah was burned in the year 4 on Friday, Parshas ‘Zos Chukas HaTorah.’ It was

known that twenty-four wagons full of holy books of Talmud, Halachah and Aggadah were burned in France. We also

heard that the sages then sought to ascertain by way of a dream whether this was a decree from Heaven and the reply

was that indeed it was. From that time on, Friday of Parshas Chukas was designated for individuals as a fast day (and not

on the day of the month). Shebulei Haleket was written by Rav Tzidkiyah the son of R’ Avraham HaRofeh, who wrote it

in the year 1260. Here we have a report written less than sixteen years after the incident occurred. On Friday of Parshas

Chukas in the year 1244 in France, they incinerated twenty-four wagons full of books of Talmud, Halachah, and Aggadah.

The date was 1244, 775 years ago, not the commonly accepted 777 years.

The Pope’s Involvement

On June 20, 1239 (Monday of Parshas Pinchas, the eve of the 17th of Tammuz), on the day that Apostemos burned the

holy Torah (Taanis 4:6), the Pope wrote a letter addressed to the bishops of the Dominican and Franciscan brothers in

Paris. Here is an excerpt from the Pope’s letter, translated from the Latin:

If what was said about the Jews of France and other lands is true, this would explain why the Jews stand by their

principles. We order you with legal authority to force the Jews living in France, England, Aragon, Navarre, Castille, and

Portugal, to give up their books. If you should discover that they do not comply, you should see to it that they are

burned in a public venue in a show of strength of Christianity and the church. Only then will you have quieted all those

who oppose us. Please keep us apprised of your progress in this particular situation. July 20, Year 13.”

The kings in the countries mentioned above at the time were:

25-year-old Ludwig IX of France

32-year-old Henry of England

26-year-old Jacob of Aragon

38-year-old Theobald I of Navarre

39-year-old Ferdinand of Castille

30-year-old Sanko II of Portugal

In a letter from the pope a few days earlier, he divulges that he had the help of another in coming up with this plot. The

letter is dated June 9th, eleven days earlier than the first letter mentioned and is addressed to the bishop of Paris: By

our authority, we are ordering you to receive our letter, which was given to us via Nicholas, who was once a Jew and the

courier of this letter. Please study the correspondence about the situation of the Jewish literature and then pass it on to

the archbishop and our beloved sons, the kings of France, England, Aragon, Navarre, Castille, Lyon, and Portugal.

Written on the 5th before the Ides of June, Year 13.

Donin the Karaite

In Paris in the year 1225, there was a rosh yeshivah and Tosafist, R’ Yechiel the son of R’ Yosef Halevi of Meaux, who was

renowned as “Sir Vives.” He was a talmid of the famed Tosafist Rabbeinu Yehudah “Sir Leon” from Paris.

There was an individual in his yeshivah named Donin. Donin was born in the French city of La Rochelle, a port city in the

west of France. There is not much else known about him aside from the fact that Donin had a problem understanding

the Gemara, or he had a problem with wanting to understand. It seems that he followed the Karaite mindset in that he

did not believe in the validity of the Oral Torah. When his Rebbe R’ Yechiel saw what Donin was doing, the wayward

student was warned repeatedly and excommunicated. Everyone would know to stay far away from this dangerous

person and his toxic ideas. R’ Yechiel, in front of the entire community enacted the cherem. They believed that if Donin

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was in cherem they would no longer have any trouble from him. For fourteen years they did not hear from him, but then

he resurfaced as a different person. While in cherem, having no connection to the Jewish community, Donin befriended

the Christian community. It took a while for Donin to make his final decision and he converted a few years later in the

year 1236. We do not know what went on in his head in the interim years, but one thing is clear, he was bent on

eradicating the Oral Torah. His goal was not to convert to Christianity initially but to live as a Karaite. Since he knew that

the only way, he could succeed in erasing the Oral Torah from Judaism was to bring the Pope into the picture, Donin

converted and chose a new name, Nicholas.

Holier than the Pope

In the year 1239, Nicholas went to Rome to meet with Pope Gregory IV. In his request to the pope, he said: “The Jews

are not happy with the old laws that G-d sent written via Moshe, and they totally ignore them. They rely on another law

that is called Talmud, which means learning, which was given to them from G-d via Moshe orally, and it was planted in

their minds.” Christians were uninterested in what a Jew learned in yeshivah. That all ended in the year 1240 after

Nicholas informed the Pope about the Talmud and the golden opportunities that this presented for them.

Nicholas’ Request from the Pope

We can read the words of Nicholas’ request in the following letter from the Pope. This was written the same day as the

previous letter and was also sent out to the archbishop of France:

“If what was said about the Jews of France and other lands is true, then there is no punishment great enough for this

crime. Because they are not happy with the old text that G-d gave to Moshe in writing, and they totally ignore it and

declare that G-d gave them a new version that they call Talmud, which means learning, that was given over to them

orally via Moshe. They falsely claim that it has become embedded in their minds and although it is not written, they

followed and treasured it until sages and scribes recorded it all in the written word for fear it would be forgotten from

the minds of their people. The Talmud is a more lengthy text than the Bible and contains material that is so insulting and

unmentionable that it shames those that cite it and fear in those that hear it. Therefore, it appears to be the reason that

the Jews are lodged in their principles, and we thought you should be warned and aware. We are ordering your decision

that Shabbos morning of the coming spring when the Jews are gathered in their shuls, you should confiscate all the

books of the Jews who live in your borders. The books should be guarded on the property of the Franciscan and

Dominican brothers. If need be, and you require additional help, you may call in the civilians to assist you. You may also

publicize the ex-communication against all those that go against your righteousness and refuse to give up the Hebrew

books in their ownership which is in violation of the laws of the church.

Shabbos of the coming spring was Shabbos Zachor of 1240. The Pope’s order was not followed in England or in Aragon,

Navarre, Castille, Lyons, or Portugal. There was one more place the Pope’s law was ignored and that was right under his

nose in the Papal States. In fact, the only place it was carried out was in France and the seforim were placed in the

cellars of Notre Dame in Paris.

The Pure Fear of Hashem Endures Forever

תהלים פרק יט פסוק י

ת ו: ירא ו י חד דק ת צ שפטי־יקוק אמ ד מ ע דת ל ק טהורה עומ יקו

רד"ק תהלים פרק יט פסוק י

)י( יראת ד' טהורה. והם הדברים שיעשה אדם אותם בסתר או בלי דעת, כמו הגניבה וזיוף המדות והמשקלות, והדומים להם, והם

, כי יש מצות שיש להן מקום וזמן, והדברים ואמר: עומדת לעד אני ד' )ויקרא יט, יד ועוד(... הדברים שכתוב בהם: ויראת מאלקיך

שהם ביראת ד' הם עומדים לעד, אין להם זמן.

שאומרים כי ולא כדברי הכופרים הנוצרים, על כל התורה, שלא צוה האל בה לזמן, אלא עד עולמי עד היא. עומדת לעד או אמר:

, כי עד זמנו היתה גופנית, ומעת שבא הוא צוה להבין אותה רוחנית, ישו הנוצרי התורה שנתנה בהר סיני היה לה זמן עד עת בא

ל צוה עליהן בפרוש, ולא על -ן בדרך משל ולא יובנו כמשמען, הרי הא . כי המצות שהם אומרים שהודבריהם דברי רוח תהו והבל

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דרך משל. אם כן שאר המצות לא יבין אדם על דרך משל כי אם כמשמען. כי אם היו המצות על דרך משל, היו המצות בספק, זה

שר אנכי מצוך היום לא נפלאת אומר הדבר הנסתר בו כך הוא, וזה אומר כך הוא, והכתוב אומר )דברים ל, יא( כי המצוה הזאת א

היא ממך ולא רחוקה היא. ואם היו במצות דברים נסתרים ולא יובנו כמשמעם הרי הם נפלאים ורחוקים:

Dovid HaMelech says in Tehillim (19:10): Yiras Hashem tehorah omedes la’ad— “The pure fear of Hashem endures

forever.” The Radak explains that the words “endures forever” refers to the entire Torah. Hashem did not give the Torah

for a limited time, rather forever and permanently. The Christians say that the Torah was to be followed until the time of

their “saviour,” but then Hashem decided that the Torah should be merely a spiritual guide and need not be performed.

Their words are foolish, says the Radak. They claim that the commandments are mere parables and cannot be

understood the way they are written. We know the truth: Hashem does not change His mind. He commanded us to do

these mitzvos explicitly and not as parables. All mitzvos are straightforward; if they were given as parables, people

would have their own take on their intended meaning and do whatever they see fit. Like the verse says (Devarim 30:11),

“For this mitzvah that I command you today is not hidden from you and not far from you.” If mitzvos had hidden things

in them, we wouldn’t be able to understand them and they would be far from us.

So why do we care what they think of the Torah? The problem is that the Christians have appointed themselves as the

owners and defenders of the Torah. When they heard thirty-five different excerpts from the Talmud showing the very

opposite of their understanding of the Torah and also mocking their founder and “saviour,” the Church decided that the

Jews are the ones who twist the Torah and they couldn’t allow this “heresy” to go on any further.

The Scene of the Debate

After Donin introduced the Pope to this new problem, the Pope ordered the burning of the Talmud in all his lands. As

mentioned before, none of the countries followed through except France. A year after the letters were written, King

Louis IV of France ordered a number of Jewish rabbis to a debate with the Christians to see if they would be able to deny

the complaints Donin had on the Talmud. The report was given by a Jew in “The Debate with R’ Yechiel “where he

recorded the date as Monday of Parshas Balak and it took place in the garden of the king. Although it was called a

debate, it was more like an investigation. The four rabbanim who were called to the debate were not given any advance

notice.

The four rabbis were:

Rav Yechiel of Paris

Rav Yehudah ben Rabbeinu Dovid of Melun

Rav Shmuel ben Rabbeinu Shlomo of Château-Thierry

Rav Moshe of Coucy, known as the Smag

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On the Christian side, lehavdil, there was:

Walter, archbishop of Sens

William, Bishop of Paris

Brother Geoffrey of Belleville, Chaplain to the King

Adam de Chambly, bishop of Senlis

Nicholas Donin of Paris

Also attending the debate was the French king’s mother, Blanche from Castille.

In the introduction, of the “Vikuach of Rabeinu Yechiel”, we find Donin described as follows: Because of this, the land is

mourning, from the south evil is coming, from him comes the destroyer of fences and gates, with a sharp utensil he

rasps, he gnashes his teeth and blinks his eyes, and his language is mocking, and with his disregard of mankind, he brings

upon us a foul odor which he attempts to associate with our sweet and holy Torah and our great sages. His voice is like

a snake and his mouth should be silenced. His tongue is like a stab of the sword, and he bends the truth into lies. This

sinner came from us unfortunately and has since wandered to the other nations. His name is Nicholas, may he die and

become weak. His name was Donin, may he never have progeny, the name of evildoers should rot because he brought

shame upon us and gossip to the king and to the Dominicans, Franciscans, priests, and lawmakers. All the heads of the

priests in the city of Paris he gathered, a gathering of fools who are silent and allowed him to put words in their mouths

for his own agenda.

The Debate in the Palace

Introduction

The debate was divided into subjects, with each subject comprised of several questions. The Jewish handbook of the

debate contains the questions and answers of Rabbeinu Yechiel. However, the Latin version written by the non-Jews

notes whether the answer was accepted or not.

Rabbeinu Yechiel was successful in giving full and compelling responses to all the queries posed. Given this, there is no

justifiable link between his performance in the debate and the burning of the Talmud that followed. The Christians,

however, were not completely satisfied with Rabbeinu Yechiel’s responses and the decree of burning the Talmud was

not annulled.

Since the Christians only believed in the written Torah, Rabbeinu Yechiel attempted, as often as possible, to prove his

points with references from the written Torah. The following are excerpts from some of the more interesting exchanges

during the debate.

The Debate Begins

Rabbeinu Yechiel: Why are you arguing and what do you want to ask of me?

Nicholas: Why do you ridicule our Messiah in the Talmud for the last few hundred years?

R’ Yechiel (turning to the Queen): Please, Your Majesty, don’t force me to reply to his words. The Talmud is ancient and

until today no one had a problem with it. Your priest, Herunimos, knew our whole Torah and the Talmud and this fact is

known to all the Christians. If he would have had a problem with it he would have let it be known. Also, although priests

and apostates existed, they have not had an issue with the Talmud for the past 1500 years! What do you want now?

You brought me here to argue because of the sinner Nicholas who scoffs at the words of our sages which are 1500 years

old, believing only in the written Torah of Moshe without any of the explanations., But you understand that it is difficult

to understand things without proper clarification. It is for this reason that we have distanced ourselves from him and

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have placed him under a ban, and ever since, he has tried to do us harm. His efforts are all in vain, because we are

prepared to die for the Torah, which is the apple of our eye. If evil is destined for us, we are scattered throughout all

corners of the earth and the Torah connects us from Bavel, Modai, Yavan , and the seventy nations of the world. Our

bodies are in your hands, but you cannot uproot the Torah from all Jews, possibly only in your kingdom.

Minister: No one will touch you!

R’ Yechiel (to the Minister): You cannot protect us from the citizens of this country.

Queen: Stop talking in this way. We will protect you and all that is yours. It would be a sin for anyone to harm you, as is

stated in the Pope’s books. Answer the apostate and do not refrain from speaking your mind.

The priests: We are all present here because of Nicholas, so answer if you can.

R’ Yechiel: I will reply to your queries. However, should I err, the error is mine alone. My nation is not at fault and should

not be punished for my personal mistakes.

Talmud and Learning

Nicholas: Do you believe in the Talmud?

R’ Yechiel: I believe in all the laws and statutes that are written there and all that our Sages sought to teach us. It is

indeed called the Talmud from the pasuk, “V’limad’tem es bineichem,” meaning “and you shall teach your children…”

Swearing or Not

Nicholas: Are you prepared to swear that you will speak the truth and not confuse us with lies and convoluted

explanations?

Priests: Yes, the Rabbi should take an oath!

Queen: Please, I beg you to take an oath on this.

R’ Yechiel: Woe is me that I have come to this court! How can you demand that I swear on the words of this sadist? In

the Torah we find that we only take an oath when it comes to money matters, not on the illusory or abstract.

Queen: Even so, we ask that you take an oath.

R’ Yechiel: Your Majesty, I have never taken an oath in my life, and I am not going to begin by swearing now. If I do

swear, I may be indicted for things I have said here that do not please this evil man and that in this sinner’s eyes will be

false. The pasuk says, “Lo sisa es shem Hashem lashav.” Do not swear in Hashem’s name in vain. I declare, though, that

everything I say will be the truth.

Queen: If it is so difficult for him to take an oath, leave him be!

Some But Not All?

Nicholas: It states in your Torah, “One who passes all his children through a Molech (two pillars of fire for the avoda

zarah of Molech) is guilty, but if he only passes some of his children through the Molech he is absolved, as it states,

“mizaracha v’lo kol zaracha.” Can you understand such a thing? And there are many like this, which causes one to

wonder how you can believe in such things. Someone who leads some of his children to Molech is deserving of the

death sentence but one who is even a greater sinner and leads all his children to Molech is innocent?!

The priests break out in laughter.

R’ Yechiel (to the priests): There will come a time when you will no longer laugh and ridicule us. First listen to what I say

before you scorn the Torah.

R’ Yechiel (to the Queen): Your Majesty, please listen to my words. Who is a bigger sinner, the person who kills one or

the person who kills two?

Queen: The one who kills two! The one who kills four is even a bigger sinner. The more you kill, the bigger the sinner!

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R’ Yechiel: The Torah prescribes four methods of death to be administered by a court of law; stoning, burning, death by

the sword, and choking. The court of law carries out one of these in the case of an individual who deserves that

particular punishment. The guilty person confesses his sin and with the punishment, his sin is forgiven.

Therefore, when someone leads only some of his children through Molech, the court metes out the death penalty to

him and as a result, Hashem forgives his sin. We find by this Achan, before being punished, was told by Yehoshua,

“Yechorcha Hashem bayom hazeh,” which our Sages explain in this way: “Hayom hazeh,” in This World, “atah achor,”

you are destroyed, however, “ain atah achor l’Olam Habah,” in the Next World you are not destroyed. But when one

leads all his children to the Molech, he has sinned so grievously that the court of law has no permission to kill him. Being

put to death will not cleanse him of his sins, and thus only Hashem alone can punish him.

The answer pleased the audience.

Earlier or Later

We find in Chazal various narratives that refer to individuals named Yeshu, Yeshu ben Satada, and Yeshu Hanotzri.

Yeshu Hanotzri was a talmid of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Prachia, a Tanna in the era of the second Bais Hamikdash. The

Gemara says of this person that “hikdi’ach tavshilo,” an expression meaning that he rejected Jewish beliefs. It is further

stated that he engaged in sorcery and incited Jews to idolatry. He was stoned and then hanged after his death on erev

Pesach. He was a relative of the royal family.

Yeshu ben Satada was also known as ben Pandira. His mother was Miriam Magdala Nashia, the hairdresser, who was the

wife of Pappus ben Yehudah. He learned magic in Egypt, and the Gemara calls him a shoteh, a fool. He was stoned and

hanged in Lud on erev Pesach.

Rabbeinu Tam writes that ben Satada is not the above-mentioned Yeshu Hanotzri, since the latter lived in the times of

the Tanna’im, while the former’s mother, Miriam, is known to have lived much later, during the era of the Amora’im.

Yeshu Hanotzri who had disciples who the chazal called “minim” and created the nineteenth blessing in shemone esrei,

“vilamalshinim’. This is probably the Christian Yeshu and the Gemara lists his five disciples; Masia, Naky, Netzer, Boni,

and Toda. There was another disciple called Yaakov Ish Kfar Schania. This Yeshu, according to the Christians, the Romans

hanged alive on a cross in Yerushalayim.

Nicholas: The Jewish nation shames and ridicules the Gentile god. How can the heads of the Christians allow the Jews to

live amongst you when your Torah teaches that their god is punished by being forced to wallow in boiling excrement.

Nicholas (opens a volume of the Talmud and reads aloud): “Onkelos became a Jewish proselyte and was able to speak

with the souls of the dead. He asked a number of them to describe their punishment in the Next World. The Gemara

continues, “askei l’Yeshu b’nigida, amar lei, dina d’hai gavra b’mai?” Who is the “hai gavra” talking about?

R’ Yechiel: Yeshu.

Nicholas: Let us read further. What does the Gemara answer? “Nidon bitzo’ah rosachas.” He is punished with boiling

excrement.

R’ Yechiel: Since you abandoned Judaism fifteen years ago, you have constantly tried to come up with evil plans against

us. You will not succeed. Let me reply in your own language and assure you that the Yeshu mentioned in the passage

you just read does not refer to the Yeshu of Christianity. It refers to a different Yeshu.

Priests (murmuring amongst themselves): He is a liar.

R’ Yechiel: It was a Yeshu who only believed in the written Torah and thus maligned the sages, refusing to believe in

their holy words, much like yourself. The proof is in the fact that it does not refer to him as Yeshu Hanotzri, just “Yeshu.”

He also lived in a different era than Yeshu Hanotzri.

Were the Gemara speaking of Yeshu, the founder of Christianity, it would not have considered his biggest flaw to be that

he didn’t believe in the Oral Law and scoffed at it. Your Yeshu had a bigger bundle of sins than that: He made a god of

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himself and scorned the fundamentals of the Torah. This particular Gemara is discussing a Yeshu who ignored the Oral

Law and only believed in the written Torah.

Nicholas: You also call Yeshu a “ben sota,” son of a prostitute.

Nicholas (opens another volume of the Talmud and reads): “This was done to ben Satada in Lud: They hanged him on

erev Pesach. But was his name ben Satada? Ben Pandira was his name. Rav Chisda said ben Satada is ben Pandira, and

he was the son of Papus ben Yehudah. Why do we call him ben Satada? Because his mother was Satada. But wasn’t his

mother Miriam Magdala Nashia? In Pumpedisa it was said, “Satas da miba’alah,” she strayed from her husband and was

a prostitute.” Thus, the Gemara calls the mother of Yeshu a prostitute.

The cardinals grew angry upon hearing this accusation, and cried out: Why are you saying things like that about Miriam?

What grief did she ever cause you?

R’ Yechiel: Why do you get angry so quickly? Who made you judge and jury over me? You forgot the pasuk that states,

“Charashtem resha v’avlasa ketzartem,” You have plowed evil and reaped abomination. It also says “Shamoa bein

acheichem u’shfatitem tzedek bein ish uvein achiv,” Hear out your fellow men and decide justly between any man and

his brother, and “Tzadik harishon b’rivo uva hasheini v’chakro,” The first to plead his case seems right till the other party

examines him.

You do not have to listen to his declaration because the poison drips from his lips. Now listen to me. Of course we don’t

have anything negative to say about Miriam Magdala, because she was not evil. Not only that, she was our flesh and

blood, the Talmud in not even writing about her in their discourses.

The person discussed here was someone else, and the proof is that the story of Yeshu, the founder of Christianity

happened in Jerusalem, while this story occurred in Lud. In addition, ben Satada’s death was stoning, not hanging. The

Yeshu mentioned here is not called Yeshu Hanotzri. The mother of this Yeshu was called Miriam Magdala Nashia who

lived in the times of Rav Papa and Abaya as it states in tractate Chagiga, which was seven hundred years after the saga

of Yeshu Hanotzri, which occurred before the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash. His father is called Pondira or Pipus

ben Yehudah, while the husband or lover of Miriam, the mother of Yeshu who founded Christianity, was called either

Yochanan or Yosef, as stated in your own chronicles.

Nicholas (opens another volume of the Talmud and reads): “L’olam t’hei smol doche v’ymin mikareves,” The left should

always push away and the right should always draw near, unlike Yehoshua ben Prachia who pushed away Yeshu with

both hands.” The Talmud relates further: After King Yanai killed the rabbanim, Yehoshua ben Prachia was in Alexandria,

Egypt. Shimon ben Shetach sent him a letter, which read, “From me, Jerusalem, to you, Alexandria. My man is with you

and I am alone.” Yehoshua ben Prachia understood the hint and made his way to Yerushalayim with his disciple Yeshu.

On the way, they stopped at an inn where Rabbi Yehoshua was greeted with great honor. Yehoshua commented, “How

welcoming is this inn!” and Yeshu replied, “Rebbe, her eyes are so soft!” Yehoshua berated Yeshu and said, ”You are

busy with things like this?” Rabbi Yehoshua brought 300 shofaros and put Yeshu into cherem. Yeshu approached his

rebbe and told him that he wanted to do teshuva, but R’ Yehoshua ignored him. Once, when Rabbi Yehoshua was saying

Krias Shma, Yeshu approached him again, hoping he could talk to him. Rabbi Yehoshua signaled to Yeshu with his hand

and Yeshu assumed that Rabbi Yehoshua was sending him away again, so he erected a brick and bowed down to it.

Yehoshua ben Prachia told Yeshu to do teshuva but Yeshu said that someone who sins and causes others to sin cannot

do teshuva.

R’ Yechiel: That is not speaking about your god. That Yeshu was in the time of Yehoshua ben Prachia who lived in the

time of Yanai the King and his brother-in-law R’ Shimon ben Shetach. Shimon ben Shetach was the rebbe of Yehudah

ben Tabai who was the rebbe of Shmaya and Avtalyon who were the rebbes of Hillel Hazaken, the elder of all the

Nesi’im.

We learn in the first perek of mesechtes Shabbos: “Hillel v’Shimon ben Gamliel nahagu nisiusan lifnai habayis meiya

shana,” Hillel and Shimon ben Gamliel were nesi’im in the last hundred years before the churban. Accordingly, Shimon

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ben Shetach lived about 200 years before Hillel and Shimon ben Gamliel, which was. about 300 years before the

churban, or 172 years after the first churban and 4000 years since the creation of the world.

Thus, Shimon ben Shetach lived 472 years before the beginning of the fifth millennium. Presently, we are 1472 years

from the Yeshu you just read about in the Talmud, and since this is the non-Jewish year 1240, that would mean that the

Yeshu who was the disciple of Yehoshua ben Prachia lived 200 years before the Yeshu who founded Christianity. Your

Yeshu lived in the times of Queen Helen, while the other Yeshu lived during the reign of King Yanai.

It states in Perek Chelek, “V’nega lo yikrav b’oholecha, lomar lecha shelo yehiye lecha ben o’talmid shemakdiach tavshilu

birabim k’gon yeshu hanotzri.” That refers also to the talmid of Yehoshua ben Prachia, from which we may conclude that

there were two Yeshus.

Priests: How can we believe this person with the sharp tongue who insists there are two Yeshus? He says they both were

sinners and caused others to sin and both were killed on erev Pesach.

R’ Yechiel: Not every Louis in France is equal, not all are the king of France. Is it not possible that two people with the

same name are born in the same city and die in a similar manner? There are many cases like this!

Queen (to the priests): Why are you spoiling this for yourselves? Here he is trying to honor you and explain that it is not

your god that is being mocked and being punished with boiling excrement, so what do you want? You want him to admit

that it is Yeshu Hanotzri and with this, you will actually shame yourselves?

Queen to R’ Yechiel: Tell me the truth, was there another Yeshu?

R’ Yechiel: So shall I live and return home because it was not said about him that he should be punished with boiling

excrement. No one would say things like that about your Yeshu.

Priests: So who was this Yeshu?

R’ Yechiel: I don’t know!

Priests (amongst themselves): He does not know? He must be lying!

The Best of the Goyim Deserves to Die

Nicholas: You are a band of murderers because you have allowed shedding the blood of non-Jews as your sages have

stated, “Tov shebagoyim harog.”

R’ Yechiel: Will you stop with your deceit? Let me prove to you that there are good and bad goyim There are good ones

as it says in the pasuk, “halilu es Hashem kol goyim, Praise Hashem, all you nations.” There are bad ones, too, as it

states, “Kol goyim sh’chaychay Elokim, all the nations who ignore God.” The saying “tov shebagoyim harog” refers to

Maseches Sofrim, where it states: “Bimilchomos shebagoyim harog.” Why? Because when you are at war, you are

obligated to fulfill the klal of “Haba l’hargicha hashkem l’hargo.” it doesn’t matter if it is a Jew or a goy as it states, “Im

bamachteres yimatzei haganav.”

Even more, when the Jews go to war with the nations, – including the seven nations we Jews are commanded to

destroy, as the pasuk says “lo sechaya kol neshama” – we must try to make peace before resorting to war and killing. Of

course, when it is peacetime, we have to attempt to resolve our differences peacefully. It is self- understood that the

nations we live amongst in galus who interact with and protect us must be treated with respect. We are commanded so

and the commandment of “lo sirtzach” you shall not kill, does not differentiate between a Jew and a non-Jew. The goyim

mentioned in the Talmud are primarily the seven nations that the Jews were commanded to kill.

Seven, Ten, But He Has 613

Cardinal: In your honest opinion, can we also be helped according to your Torah?

R’ Yechiel: I can tell you something that can help you even in your religion, and that is the seven mitzvos of bnei Noach.

Cardinal: Seven mitzvos? We have ten mitzvos, the aseres hadibros.

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R’ Yechiel: That’s wonderful for you, however, this meshumad has 613 mitzvos that he is supposed to uphold.

Cardinal: The “malchus zadon” that you mention in your prayers, is that referring to our kingdom?

R’ Yechiel: No. This refers to a kingdom that does not recognize G-d and revolts against Him, as it states, “V’hayu kol

zeidim v’chol osei resha kash,” much like Pharaoah of Egypt who did not recognize G-d and asked, “Mi Hashem asher

eshma bikolo?” Also, it states about Egypt, “Ki bidavar asher zadu aleihem”, for that which they schemed against them.

Similarly, Nevuchadnetzar, the king of Bavel, said ,”e’eleh al bamsei av va’adameh l’elyon” I will mount the back of a

cloud— I will match the Most High, and the Navi Yermiyahu says about him, “Hineni elecha zadon”, I am going to deal

with you, O Insolence . The king of Ashur also proclaimed, “Mi bichol elokei haratzos asher hitzilo es artzam miyadi ki

yatzil Hashem es Yerushalayim miyadi.” They killed the Jews and chased them from their land. They burned their homes

and issued various death penalties every day. It is upon these kingdoms that we pray, “Malchiyos zadon miheira

yekoreisun.” However, this kingdom, which the Pope who rules and commands, and with his wisdom, protects us so that

we may live in peace, how can we be anything but thankful? If one of you should anger us, would we be angry at a

whole nation? About this, the pasuk states, “ha’ish echad yechta vi’al kol ha’edah tiktzof? One man shall sin, but You will

be angry with the whole assembly?” there is no such thing and no Jew would even think like that, to repay evil for

goodness. Of a kingdom such as this one we say, “Hevei mispalell bishlomo shel malchus”, pray for the welfare of the

government.

Resolution

Rabbeinu Yechiel left the debate with the feeling that he had been successful in his rebuttal of all Nicholas’s questions

and complaints, which he had answered to the best of his ability. After Rabbeinu Yechiel, R’ Yehudah of Milan was

summoned and asked a few short questions, and his responses matched all of Rabbeinu Yechiel’s answers. In the end,

the priests were not impressed with the responses of the rabbis and, unfortunately, went ahead with the burning of the

Talmud as the Pope had previously decreed.

גזירת אוריתא ודא

שולחן ערוך אורח חיים הלכות תענית סימן תקפ סעיף ג.1

' ד , ועל חלול השם; ולעתיד לבוא יהפכם ועל התורה שנשרפהיש מי שאומר שגזרו שיהיו מתענין בכל שני וחמישי על חורבן הבית,

לששון ולשמחה.

מגן אברהם סימן תקפ ס"ק ט .2

התורה לקליפות המקום יחזיר' לנו במהרה רה שמכח זה נמס רהישראל לבכות על שריפת התוואיתא בכתבי' שראוי לכל בר ...

ולא שבאותו היום נשרפו כ' קרונות מלאים ספרים בצרפת ת ביום הששי פ' חקת נהגו יחידים להתענו רבתי, בימינו: כתב התניא

דא נן התורה זאת חקת התורה מתרגמי ת זירגקבעו אותו בימי החדש מפני שמתוך שאלת חלום נודע להם שיום הפרשה גורם

שחבר בעל השפתי כהן: ת גדולות באותו היום כמ"ש בסליחו ת וגם בשנת ת"ח נחרבו שני קהילו . גזירת אורייתא

13

באר היטב אורח חיים סימן תקפ ס"ק ט .3

ליפות המקום יחזירנה לנו )ט( חורבן. איתא בכתבים שראוי לכל בר ישראל לבכות על שריפת התורה שמכח זה נמסרה התורה לק

במהרה בימינו: כתב התניא ביום הששי פרשת חקת נהגו היחידים להתענות שבאותו היום נשרפו כ' קרונות מלאים ספרים בצרפת

ולא קבעו אותו בימי החודש מפני שמתוך שאלת חלום נודע להם שיום הפרשה גורם גזירת התורה זאת חקת התורה מתרגמינן דא

גם בשנת ת"ח נחרבו שני קהלות גדולות באותו היום. גם נוהגין להתענות כ' בסיון בכל מלכות פולין. גזרת אורייתא:

משנה ברורה סימן תקפ ס"ק טז .4

)טז( איתא בכתבים שראוי לכל בר ישראל לבכות על שריפת התורה שמכח זה נמסרה התורה לקליפות המקום יחזירנה לנו ב"ב.

וקת נהגו היחידים להתענות שבאותו היום נשרפו כ' קרונות מלאים ספרים בצרפת. גם בשנת ת"ח כתב התניא ביום הששי פרשת ח

ועיין בשע"ת שהוא ]מ"א[ נחרבו שני קהלות גדולות באותו היום. גם נוהגין להתענות כ' סיון בכל מלכות פולין נהרא נהרא ופשטיה

דוקא מבן י"ח לזכר ובת ט"ו לנקבה:

תענית סימן רסג ספר שבלי הלקט סדר .5

ועל שאנו עסוקין בהלכות תענית ובענין שריפת התורה כתבנו זה לזכר על מה שאירע בימינו על רוב עונותינו אשר גרמו לנו ונשרפה

ביום ששי פרשת וזאת חקת התורה כעשרים וארבעה קרונות תורת אלהינו בשנת חמשת אלפים וד' /וב'/ שנים לבריאת עולם

שעשו שאילת חלום וגם מן הרבנים שהיו שם שמענו .כאשר שמענו לשמע אוזן לכות והגדות נשרפו בצרפתמלאים ספרי תלמוד וה

ומאותו היום . ופירושו ביום ו' זאת חקת התורה היא הגזירה .ודא גזירת אוריתא והשיבו להם .לדעת אם גזירה היא מאת הבורא

ולא קבעוהו לימי החודש תהא .ום ששי של פרשת זאת חקת התורה ואילך קבעוהו היחידים עליהם להתענות בו בכל שנה ושנה בי

ל עלינו קרא - אפרה עלינו לכפרה כעולה על מוקדה וערבה לבני יהודה כמנחתה הקריבה כהילכתה. כן תעלה אזכרתה ויקיים הא

ו את הטובות ואת הנחמות ויקיים עלינו ועל כל ישראל עמ .' מנחת יהודה וירושלים כימי עולם וכשנים קדמוניות ד דכתיב וערבה ל

הכתובות על ידי נביאיו לקבץ גליותינו כאמור ובא לציון גואל ולשבי פשע ביעקב וגו' וקרא דכתיב וגלות החל הזה לבני ישראל אשר

כנענים עד צרפת וגלות ירושלים אשר בספרד ירשו את ערי הנגב ]וכיר"א[:

The “Madah” and the “Moreh”

R’ Hillel Hillel of Verona, a talmid of R’ Yona of Girondi, author of the Shaarei Teshuvah, blames the burning of the

Talmud on the scandal that occurred not much prior and in the exact same place, the burning of the seforim of the

Rambam. He writes, “Don’t ask who knows if those decrees happened due to the burning of the ‘Madah and Moreh.’ I

will answer that there is a sign. There were not even forty days between the burning of the Rambam’s seforim and the

(burning of the) Talmud and it took place in the same location, with the ashes of the seforim of the Rambam mixing with

the ashes of the Talmud. This was true and known by Jew and gentile alike and soon everyone will be aware that it was

decreed from Heaven. From above a fire was sent because the Rambam’s seforim were destroyed.”

R’ Hillel describes the scandal that occurred with the Rambam’s seforim, where some Jewish leaders criticized them, and

others went so far as to burn them. The seforim that were under scrutiny were the Sefer Moreh Nevuchim and the Sefer

Hamadah of the Mishneh Torah. Moreh Nevuchim is a guide in philosophy created to aid those who have drifted away

from Judaism. Sefer Hamadah discusses various subjects that the leaders were not pleased about. This was besides the

Mishneh Torah which contains halachos without their sources or the reasons why they were ruled that way. In Paris, the

anti-Rambam group recruited the local bishop in their feud. Like R’ Hillel related, the burning of the Talmud took place

forty days after the burning of the seforim of the Rambam, and he used this as a sign that in Heaven they were

upholding the honor of the Rambam. He does not give an exact date of when this occurred other than that it happened

forty days after the burning of the Rambam’s seforim and in the same location in Paris.

14

15

חקת התורה

במדבר )פרשת חקת( פרק יט .1

ר ד ה אשר־צוה יקוק לאמ תור ת ה את חק ר: )ב( ז ן לאמ הר ל־א ה וא ק אל־מש ר יקו ב ה )א( ו יד ה אדמ ו אליך פר ל ויקח ר אל־בני ישרא ב

י ר לא־עלה על ום אש ין־בה מ ר א ה אש ל: תמימ ה ע

תרגום אונקלוס במדבר )פרשת חקת( פרק יט פסוק ב.2

למימר מליל עם בני ישראל ויסבון לך תורתא סמוקתא שלמתא דלית בה מומא דלא סליק עלה נירא: ד' דפקיד דא גזירת אוריתא

רש"י במדבר )פרשת חקת( פרק יט פסוק ב .3

אל לומר מה המצוה הזאת ומה טעם יש בה, לפיכך כתב בה חקה, לפי שהשטן ואומות העולם מונין את ישר -זאת חקת התורה

גזירה היא מלפני ואין לך רשות להרהר אחריה:

רמב"ן במדבר )פרשת חקת( פרק יט פסוק ב .4

לפי שהשטן ואומות העולם מונין את ישראל לומר מה המצוה הזאת, לפיכך כתב בה חקה, גזירה היא מלפני -)ב( זאת חקת התורה

מדברי רבותינו )יומא סז ב(. וכבר כתבתי בענין שעיר המשתלח )ויקרא טז ח( מה טעם לשון רש"י רשות להרהר אחריה, ואין לך

לאומות שיהיו מונין אותנו בזאת יותר משאר הקרבנות שיכפרו ויש מהם שיטהרו כקרבנות הזב והיולדת, כי מפני היותה נעשית

ושריפתה כריח ניחוח בחוץ. וטעם ,שדה, והאמת שהיא להעביר רוח טומאהבחוץ יראה להם שהיא נזבחת לשעירים על פני ה

ולכך אמר הכתוב זאת טומאת המת, בעטיו של נחש, כי הנפטרים בנשיקה לא יטמאו מן הדין, והוא שאמרו צדיקים אינן מטמאין.

על כן היא פרה והיא אדומה ממדת הדין, ונתנה לאלעזר להעשות חקת התורה, כלומר הנחקקת מן התורה והיא תורה שבע"פ.

לפניו אפילו על ידי זר, אבל הסגן יראה מעשיה כדי שתעשה על כוונתו שלא יחשבו בה מחשבה רעה כאומות והשטן:

ט -ויקרא )פרשת בחקותי( פרק כו פסוק ג .5

כו)ג( ל י ת ת חק ו אםב י תשמר ן פרי ואת־מצות ה ית שד ץ ה ה וע רץ יבול ם ונתנה הא י גשמיכם בעת ת ם: )ד( ונת ם את ו: )ה( ו עשית

בת יש ע ו ב חמכם לש ם ל לת ע ו אכ ר יג את־ז יר י ש יר ובצ יש את־בצ יג לכם ד ין והש ם וא בת רץ ושכ י שלום בא ת ם: )ו( ונת רצכ ח בא ט ם לב

ם את־איביכם ו פת ם: )ז( ורד רצכ ר בא עב רב לא ת רץ וח יה רעה מןהא י ח ת יד והשב חר רב: )ח( ורדפו מ ו לפניכם לח ם חמשה נפל מכ

ם והפרי יתי אליכ רב: )ט( ופנ ה ירדפו ונפלו איביכם לפניכם לח ה מכם רבב ה ומא י מא י את־ברית י אתכם ו הקימת ם והרבית י אתכ ת

ם: אתכ

פסוק ג רש"י ויקרא )פרשת בחקותי( פרק כו .6

הא מה אני מקיים אם בחקתי יכול זה קיום המצות, כשהוא אומר ואת מצותי תשמרו, הרי קיום המצות אמור, -אם בחקתי תלכו

תלכו, שתהיו עמלים בתורה:

על מנת לשמור ולקיים, כמו שנאמר )דברים ה א( ולמדתם אותם ושמרתם לעשותם: הוו עמלים בתורה -ואת מצותי תשמרו

ויקרא )פרשת בחקותי( פרק כו פסוק ג העמק דבר.7

פרש"י בשם כיה ום )ג( אם בחקתי. אין לפרש חקתי מצות שאין בהם טעם, דלמאי החל הכתוב בהם, ותו הרי המה בכלל מצותי, מש

. משמעות חקתי כמש"כ כ"פ שהמה י"ג מדות שהתורה נחקקת בהםהת"כ שתהיו עמלים בתורה, ולפי זה

Kehilla Kedosha Cologne – 6 Sivan 1096

R’ Benzion Goldamn tells us to examine the popular new edition of the Emden Siddur where it brings the ksav yad of

R’Yaakov Emden which states the following: On this day the kehilla of Cologne was mekadesh shem Shamayim and on

that day they burned the Shuls, everything in them, and the Sifrei Torah in the land of Germany like R’ Meir the shaliach

tzibur described in the kinah he composed. R’ Meir Shatz is mourning the bitter gezeira that was carried out by the

Crusades on Shevuos in the year 856 and the sifrei Torah were also burned.

In a report from R’ Shlomo ben R’ Shimon a not well-known eyewitness of the gezeiros of 1096, he describes the gezeira

of Cologne as follows; In the city of Cologne they murdered the Jews from Shavuos until the 5th day of Tamuz. When the

Jews heard that their compatriots were being killed they hid in the homes of their goyishe neighbors. On the third day of

the gezeira the homes of the Jews were destroyed, the shul decimated, the Sifrei Torah were vandalized, tramped upon

and burned.

16

Let us summarize what 6 Chukas is:

1225 – R’ Yechiel of Paris puts his disciple Dunin in cherem

1239 -The meshumad, the former Dunin, goes to Pope Gregory the 4th with complaints about the Talmud

1240 – Shabbos Hagadol- The decree of the Pope gets carried out when all the Jews are in shul and all the Gemaras in

France are confiscated.

1240 – Monday Parshas Balak-R’ Yechiel is called to the Royal Palace for the debate where Niklaus asks him questions

about the Talmud in an effort to mock the Talmud.

1244 – Much effort is done to repeal the decree; the priest Walter, the Archbishop of Shantz, one of the participants in

the debate is called upon. In the interim a shalas chalom, a question In a dream, is asked and the answer is ‘ Vida

gezeiras oreisa” , this is the gezeira of the Torah.

1244, Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan- the Christians burn all the sifrei Rambam

1244,9 Tamuz,6 Chukas- A priest goes into the Notre Dame Cathedral, takes a candle from the altar and uses it to light a

fire outside and burns 24 cartloads of kisvei yados of the oral Torah and therefore, this day is a fast day for many.