La censura dei libri ebraici «infetti et perniziosi» nella modena del seicento: Processi, negoziazioni e discussioni di ebrei e cristiani nei fori dell'inquisizione

This article explores censorship dynamics in relation to the Jews in the early modern Modenese political context by means of an analysis of its activities and an implicit comparison between two Jewish book correctors working for the Roman Inquisition in Modena: Ciro da Correggio, a doctor who converted from the Jewish to the Christian faith in the early seventeenth century and Netanel Trabotti, the most eminent rabbi in the town. With the objective of exploring the diverse cultural perspectives of Jews and Christians, this analysis focuses in particular on the ways in which Correggio and Trabotti read, interpreted and censored controversial passages in the commentary to the Pentateuch by the celebrated medieval scholar Rashi. The work of the Christian censor constitutes a concrete expression of the early modern age concept of the town as a transposition of the Christian body in which God is everywhere. Catholic holiness and the institutions of the church were seen as the fulcrum of this body and it was believed that it could only be effectively protected if Jews were segregated and presumed Protestant heretics eliminated. For the local inquisition, moreover, censorship and control of the Jewish books was a way of gaining power over Jewish communities. On the other hand, an analysis of the answers given to the inquisition's accusations highlights the fact that these trials were also an arena in which the Jews developed self-defence mechanisms. The strategies of the Jews in the courtrooms often included a clear defence of the principal foundations of the Jewish religion and avoided debates which comprised references to the superiority of the Jews over Christians in certain Rashi interpretations. This allowed the Jews to stand up to the church and the institutions of the dukedom in social and political negotiations.