The Butcher Who Betrayed His People and Failed to Burn the Talmud

A little over five hundred years ago, in the year 1504 (Hebrew year 5264), a scandal broke out in the German city of Cologne. It began in the shop of a Jewish butcher named Joseph Pfefferkorn.

It was discovered that Pfefferkorn had been cheating half the meat sellers in the market for years, using deceitful and fraudulent practices. The police were called, and the corrupt butcher faced a long prison sentence.

But Pfefferkorn could not bear the shame. In a desperate attempt to save himself, he offered to convert to Christianity. His judges, delighted by the opportunity, quickly accepted. Pfefferkorn joined the Dominican Order in Cologne, where the new convert quickly distinguished himself — not through piety, but through his obsessive hatred of his former people.

From Butcher to Apostate

Eager to please his new Christian peers and perhaps to prove his loyalty, Pfefferkorn published a pamphlet calling for a ban on Jewish study of the Talmud.

He claimed that Jews believed more in the Talmud than in the Ten Commandments, that the Talmud taught hatred of Christians, and that it encouraged Jews to disobey the laws of the state.

He printed several editions of his anti-Jewish pamphlet, experimenting with different tones — persuasion, threats, and moral preaching. To educated readers however, his writings were clearly nonsense. He was no scholar, and anyone familiar with Jewish texts could see that his accusations were baseless.

The Power of Hatred

Still, hatred can move mountains. A group of priests approached Princess Kunigunde of Bavaria, sister of Emperor Maximilian I, urging her to convince her brother to order the burning of all Talmud manuscripts — as earlier medieval rulers had done.

The princess interceded with the emperor, asking him to carefully consider Pfefferkorn’s writings. Eager to please his sister, Maximilian issued a decree to temporarily confiscate all copies of the Talmud throughout his empire “until a decision could be made.”

This marked the beginning of one of the most dangerous moments in the history of Jewish books.

The Defenders of the Talmud

Fortunately, several influential figures came to the defense of the Jews. The first was Bishop Uriel of Mainz, who argued that the Jews were valuable citizens of Germany and that their Talmud contained only ethics, wisdom, and moral teachings.

His firm words, reminiscent of Charvona’s timely defense in the Purim story, persuaded the emperor to consult major universities for expert opinions before taking action.

Meanwhile, the controversy spread through the intellectual circles of Europe. Pfefferkorn continued publishing anti-Jewish pamphlets, while German scholars published counter-pamphlets defending the Jews. This literary battle became known in history as “The Pamphlet War.”

The Turning Point: Johannes Reuchlin

The decisive moment came with the intervention of Johannes Reuchlin, a respected German humanist and scholar of law.
In his book, Reuchlin meticulously demonstrated that Pfefferkorn’s claims were false, ignorant, and malicious.

He proved that despite Pfefferkorn’s Jewish origins, he could not even read the Talmud, and that his accusations were “nothing but lies and distortions.”

Reuchlin’s defense of the Jews enraged the Inquisition, which put him on trial in 1516, but he was eventually acquitted, having shown that all his arguments were backed by facts and logic.

The End of a Traitor

Pfefferkorn continued to publish vile anti-Jewish tracts, but the emperor soon banned him from printing any further material.
Before he could launch another attack, however, he died suddenly — a miserable end to a life of betrayal.

Thus, the Jewish people were spared another tragedy, and the Talmud — once again, survived the flames of hatred.