Joshua dei Cantori
Encyclopedia
Joshua dei Cantori was a converted Italian
Jew who attacked the Talmud
at Cremona
in 1559. According to Moritz Steinschneider
, he belonged to the family Cantarini. In consequence of a dispute with Joseph Ottolenghi, who was head of the Talmudical school of Cremona, Cantori, in order to avenge himself on his adversary, appeared with the converted Jew Baptista Vittorio Eliano and denounced the Talmud as containing blasphemies against the Christian faith. The result of this accusation was the public burning of 10,000 to 15,000 Hebrew books in 1559 at Cremona. Joseph ha-Kohen
records this incident, and adds that later Cantori was found assassinated in a street of Cremona, and was buried "behind the board" in the Jewish cemetery of that city as a mark of contumely. According to another source quoted by J. Wolf, Cantori was a convert to Christianity.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Jew who attacked the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
at Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
in 1559. According to Moritz Steinschneider
Moritz Steinschneider
Moritz Steinschneider was a Bohemian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider , who was not only an expert Talmudist, but was also well versed in secular science...
, he belonged to the family Cantarini. In consequence of a dispute with Joseph Ottolenghi, who was head of the Talmudical school of Cremona, Cantori, in order to avenge himself on his adversary, appeared with the converted Jew Baptista Vittorio Eliano and denounced the Talmud as containing blasphemies against the Christian faith. The result of this accusation was the public burning of 10,000 to 15,000 Hebrew books in 1559 at Cremona. Joseph ha-Kohen
Joseph ha-Kohen
Joseph ben Joshua ben Meïr ha-Kohen was a historian and physician of the sixteenth century.-Life:...
records this incident, and adds that later Cantori was found assassinated in a street of Cremona, and was buried "behind the board" in the Jewish cemetery of that city as a mark of contumely. According to another source quoted by J. Wolf, Cantori was a convert to Christianity.