Scrolls Burn, Letters Fly: The Eternal Struggle for the Torah

On Shavuot, we received the Torah. Our sages said Mount Sinai was named for the hatred it brought from the nations of the world. They hate us and try to seize the Torah through distortion and by opposing the Oral Torah. The Romans banned the teaching of Torah, thinking this would end its study, but Rabbi Akiva defied them by gathering communities to teach Torah, even at the cost of his life.

Rabbi Chanina ben Teradion was wrapped in Torah scrolls and burned by the Romans. Before that, Apostomus the Wicked burned the Torah on the 17th of Tammuz.

In 1244, in the fifth millennium, Christians forced Rabbi Yehiel of Paris and Rabbi Moses of Coucy into debates with Christian scholars. As a result, the French ordered the burning of the Talmudic texts — twenty-four cartloads burned in the town square of Paris.

On this event, Maharam of Rothenburg wrote his poignant poem: "Ask, you who are burned in fire, after the welfare of your mourners... You still threaten to burn religion and laws, therefore, blessed is he who will repay you as you deserve." This lament is recited on Tisha B'Av, and some fast on the eve of Shabbat Parashat Chukat, the day of the burning.

After the Talmud burning in France, Rabbi Yehiel's students went to Eretz Yisrael, as part of the movement of Baalei Tosafot, settled in Acre around 1260, and established a yeshiva there.

The second largest burning occurred in 1553–1554 in Italy. Two Christian printing house owners in Venice quarreled, leading one to inform the Pope that his rival was printing Hebrew books against Christianity. The Pope ordered all Talmudic texts in Italy to be burned. The diligent officials took every Hebrew book they could find, just to be sure. On Rosh Hashanah, the books were ignited in Rome's Campo de' Fiori square. During Sukkot, Bologna joined the decree, burning Jewish books in the city, followed by similar acts in Venice, Ancona, Ferrara, and more in Cheshvan.

In 1559, Pope Paul IV decreed another burning of Hebrew books in Cremona, under Spanish rule, where 12,000 Hebrew books were burned.

In 1757, 5517, following a debate with the Frankists, a burning of Talmudic books took place in Kaminetz, Poland.

Following the book burnings, the Ramchal established a group to study Torah continuously and without interruption, as penance for the accusations that led to the burnings.