“The Censor” – Mystery of the Renaissance

 

Much like the explosion of information on the Internet, invention of the Gutenberg press around 1500 AD opened up the Dark Ages with a burst of information to the masses. Aside from playing a key role in triggering the Renaissance, the Gutenberg press invention was a game changer in another way – it led to censorship.^[1]
Imagine – religious information became available to anyone who could read.^[2] Elite institutions that had previously held exclusive control over religious messaging viewed this as a threat. In an effort to regain control, they resorted to censorship tactics.

Censorship was focused squarely on information about Jesus of Nazareth. “The Censor” of the Renaissance… who was he? Expanding a bit further, two more questions:  why and how.

Mysteries of “the Censor” are deepened because there was not just one person behind it. The term is used liberally by religious scholars referring to the many perpetrators who performed the censorship, some known and mostly unknown.^[3] For example, home-to-home searches imposed indiscriminate burning of scrolls and books, pages being torn out, and blacking out text.^[4]

Encyclopaedia Judaica explains censorship of the Talmud began in the late 1500s such as with Sanhedrin 43a, 106a and 107b.^[5] Blame is largely attributed to the Roman Inquisition for censorship of references deemed to be contradictory to the official teaching of Christianity. However, strong evidence also points to Jewish censorship exposed in newer publications of the Babylonian Talmud and other Jewish writings.

Irrespective of those who pulled the strings of “the Censor,” the once-expunged content is viewed today as being insightful to a deeper understanding of both Jewish and Christian teachings. At the forefront of the censored restoration was the publishing of the Soncino Babylonian Talmud.^[6]

Soncino Editor Rabbi Dr. I. Epstein explained an attempt was made to reproduce a “clear and lucid” literal English translation of the Talmud. Missing content was restored either directly to the body of the text or, albeit more obscurely, within the footnotes. Sometimes the Rabbi Editor added clarifying context in brackets.^[7]

One previously censored folio in the Soncino Talmud translation is Sanhedrin 43a containing direct references to Yeshu, a Hebrew name for Jesus.^[8] Some of the original text was restored only in the footnotes:^[9]

“…On the eve of the Passover Yeshu ^[34] was hanged …’”

“But since nothing was brought forward in his favor he was hanged on the eve of Passover!^[35] “

Footnote #34 following “Yeshu” references the original Munich manuscript, the oldest complete Talmud copy in existence, noting it included the following words “the Nasarean” referring to the home town of Yeshu.^[10] (The Munich manuscript made other references to “Jesus the Nazarene” that were changed to “R. Joshua b. Perahiah” in its subsequent versions.) The original Munich Talmud manuscript thus said:

“On the eve of the Passover Yeshu, the Nasarean, was hanged.” ^[11]

Footnote #35 for the phrase “eve of the Passover” denotes a less than complete Florentine Talmud manuscript (200 years older than the original Munich Manuscript) includes the words “and the eve of Sabbath.”^[12] Since Yeshu could not be hanged twice on two different days, the “eve of the Passover” and the “eve of the Sabbath,” it is probably why the “eve of Sabbath” was dropped in the Munich Talmud version.

When the 43a Gemara was written around the 4th century, eve meant “the evening of,” in this case, the evening of the Passover. It wasn’t until sometime around the 15th century that eve came to designate the evening before an event or day.^[13]

Evening in the Jewish sense is derived from Genesis 1:5 when a 24-hour day was defined as day and night, further defined, “there was evening and there was morning.” Simple logic dictates that since any time after the Noon hour cannot be called “morning,” the times in the afternoon have to be referring to the “evening.” More interesting information in the 43a Gemara:

“With Yeshu however it was different, for he was connected with the government [or royalty, i.e., influential].”

At the end of the same Gemara paragraph appears the phrase “he was connected with the government,” clarified by the Soncino editor adding the bracketed words “[or royalty, i.e., influential].” Since Hebrew royalty only comes through the lineage of King David, an exception was made in the handling of Jesus because of his influential royal lineage.

Mishneh Torah formulates the 13 principals of the Jewish faith written by the revered medieval sage Rabbi Maimonides.^[14] Heavy censorship was focused on the last two chapters called Hilchos Melachim – the Laws Concerning Kings.^[15] An example excerpt from the Sichos in English translation is found restored only in a footnote:

“If a king will arise from the House of David, who, like David his ancestor, delves deeply into the study of the Torah and engages in the mitzvos as prescribed by the Written Law and the Oral Law; if he will compel all of Israel to walk in [the way of the Torah] and repair the breaches [in its observance]; and if he will fight the wars of G-d; – we may, with assurance, consider him Mashiach.

“If he did not succeed to this degree or he was killed, he surely is not [the redeemer] promised by the Torah. [Rather,] he should be considered as all the other proper and legitimate kings of the Davidic dynasty who died.  G-d only caused him to arise in order to test the multitude. As it is written [Daniel 11:35], “Some of the wise men will stumble, to purge, to refine, and to clarify, until the appointed time, for it is yet to come. 

“Jesus of Nazareth who aspired to be the Moshiach and was executed by the court was also spoken of in Daniel’s prophecies [Daniel 11:14], “The renegades among your people shall exalt themselves in an attempt to fulfill the vision, but they shall stumble.”^[16] – Maimonides

Uncensored texts reveal Judaism’s agreement with the Gospels where Jesus of Nazareth was a legitimate royal descendant of King David; was condemned by the court; and was executed the afternoon of Passover. Does the uncensored information shed light on the accuracy of the Gospels?

 

Updated April 10, 2023.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] Chase, Jeffrey S. “The Gutenberg Printing Press.” Duke University|Department of Computer Science.  n.d.  <http://www.cs.duke.edu/~chase/cps49s/press-summary.html>  
[2] Whipps, Heather. “How Gutenberg Changed the World.”  2008. <https://www.livescience.com/2569-gutenberg-changed-world.html>   “The impact of the printing press.” Skwirk.com. n.d.  <http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-56_u-422_t-1108_c-4280/the-impact-of-the-printing-press/qld/the-impact-of-the-printing-press/renaissance-and-reformation/the-reformation>
[3]Valentine, Carol A. “Do Not Censor the Talmud, Please.” 2003.  Come and Hear. 2010. <http://come-and-hear.com/editor/censorship_1.html>  “Euphemism” and “Censorship of Hebrew Books.”  Jewish Encyclopedia.  2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5906-euphemism> and <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4170-censorship-of-hebrew-books>  Censor. PrivateInternetAccess. image. 2017. <https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/chinese-censorship-red-1200×1045.png> 
[4] “Censorship of Hebrew Books.”  Jewish Encyclopedia.  2011.  Maimonides.  “The Law Concerning Moshiach.” Ed. Yechezkal Shimon Gutfreund, “Publisher’s Forward.”  Valentine. “Do Not Censor the Talmud, Please – Returning to Ezra the Scribe.” “Church Censorhip.” Jewish Virtual Library. 2008. <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/censorship>
[5] “Jesus.” Encyclopaedia Judaica.  Pages 249-250.  Segal, Eliezer. A Page from the Babylonian Talmud.  “Mishnah” – “Redaction.” n.d.  <http://people.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/TalmudPage.html#Page>; “The Gemara (Talmud)” – “Redaction.”  <http://people.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/TalmudMap/Gemara.html#Redaction>   Soncino Babylonian Talmud.  Ed. Isidore Epstein based on the Wilna Romm Edition. 1935 – 1948.  <http://come-and-hear.com/tcontents.html>   The Babylonian Talmud. Rodkinson transalation.  Internet Sacred Text Archives. 2010.  <http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/talmud.htm>  “The Gemara (Talmud).” Valentine. “Do Not Censor the Talmud, Please.”  “Euphemism” and “Censorship of Hebrew Books.”  Jewish Encyclopedia.  2011.
[6] Valentine. “Do Not Censor the Talmud, Please.” “Jesus.” Encyclopaedia Judaica.  Pages 249-250. Soncino Babylonian Talmud.  Ed. Epstein.
[7] “Talmud.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. “Hebrew Manuscripts.” Jewish Virtual Library. 2008. <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/hebrew-manuscripts>  Soncino Babylonian Talmud.  Ed. Epstein. “Method and Scope.” 
[8] Yassif, Eli. “The Jewish Jesus Story.” Tablet. 2017. <http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/220567/the-jewish-jesus-story>   KjaerHansen, Kai. “An Introduction to the Names Yehoshua/Joshua, Yeshua, Jesus and Yeshu.” 1992. Jews For Jesus. 2017. <https://jewsforjesus.org/answers/an-introduction-to-the-names-yehoshua-joshua-yeshua-jesus-and-yeshu>
[9] Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Tractate Sanhedrin, Folio 43a. “Who will emerge from Bethlehem.”  Teshuvas HaMinim. 2011. Archived URL.  Archive.org. 2 Sept. 2012.  <http://web.archive.org/web/20120902023316/http://www.teshuvashaminim.com/michah51.html>
[10] Net.bible.org. Greek text – Matthew 2:23; 26:71; Mark 1:24; 14:67; 10:47; Luke 4:34; John 18:5.  Strong.  “Nazarenos <3478>  The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.  “Nazarean” and “Nazarene.”  Merriam-Webster. 2017 <http://www.merriam-webster.com>   “-an” suffix. Dictionary.com. 2017.  <http://www.dictionary.com>  Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Sanhedrin, Folio 43a, footnote #34.   Shachter, J. and Freedman, H.  “Sanhedrin.”  Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Ed. Epstein. “Introduction.” Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Abbreviation” ref. “MS.M”.&nbsp
[11] Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Sotah 47a, footnote #11, 27 & 28.
[12] “Babylonian Talmud.”  Word Digital Library | Library of Congress. 2017. <https://www.wdl.org/en/item/8910>  Pasternak, Nurit. “The Material Context of 15th-Century Hebrew Florentine Manuscripts.” 2013. Academia.edu. 2017. <https://www.academia.edu/4320985/The_Material_Context_of_15th-Century_Hebrew_Florentine_Manuscripts>  Soncino Babylonian Talmud.  Sanhedrin 43a.  “Talmud.”  Jewish Encyclopedia.  2011.
[13] Genesis 1:5. NET, NRSV, NASB, NIV, NRSV. “eve.” MiriamWebster.com. n.d. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eve; “evening (n.).” Online Etymology Dictionary. n.d. https://www.etymonline.com/word/Evening; Gregg, Daniel. TorahTimes.org. n.d. “What is the Genesis definition of “Day.”?” <https://www.torahtimes.org/The%20Genesis%20defintion%20of%20Day.htm> Eisen, Yosef. Chabad.org. n.d. “The Babylonian Talmud.” <https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2652565/jewish/The-Babylonian-Talmud.htm> Sassoon, Hacham Isaac S. The Torah. n.d. “Does a Day Begin in the Evening?” <https://www.thetorah.com/article/does-a-day-begin-in-the-evening> “Day, night, morning, evening and ‘between the evenings.’” Menorah-Bible. n.d. <https://bible-menorah.jimdofree.com/english/resurrection-on-sabbath/day/>
[14] Rich, Tracey R.  “Jewish Beliefs.”  JewFAQ.org. n.d. <http://www.jewfaq.org/beliefs.htm>  Maimonides.  Mishneh Torah.  Trans. Eliyahu Touger.  “Moses Ben Maimon.” Jewish Encyclopedia.  2011.  Furst, Rachel. “The Mishneh Torah – Maimonides’ halakhic magnum opus.”  MyJewishLearning.com. 2010.  <http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-mishneh-torah/>   Seeskin, Kenneth. “Maimonides.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2006, revised 2017.  <https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/maimonides/>
[15] Schneerson, Menachem M.  From Exile to Redemption. Volume 2.  Chapter 4, “Studies in Rambam, Hilchos Melachim, Chapter 5, Chapter 11”, footnotes #551, #558, #559, #602, and Chapter 12.”  <http://www.sichos-in-english.org/books/from-exile-to-redemption-2/02.htm>  “Melachim uMilchamot – Chapter 11.” <http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1188356/jewish/Melachim-uMilchamot-Chapter-11.htm>  Maimonides. “The Law Concerning Moshiach.”  Footnote #5.  Kesser.org. n.d. <http://www.kesser.org/moshiach/rambam.html#SIE>  “Mishneh Torah.” MishnahTorah.com. n.d. <http://web.archive.org/web/20161105145530/http://www.mishnehtorah.com:80>  Shulman, Moshe. “The Rambam on Isaiah 53.”  “Mishneh Torah.” MishnahTorah.com.  Maimonides.  “The Law Concerning Moshiach.” Kesser.org. “Publisher’s Forward.” Ed. Gutfreund,
[16] Maimonides.  “The Law Concerning Moshiach.” Sichos In English translation.