Jewish Ingenuity in the Face of Medieval Censorship

We've all probably heard about the phenomenon of non-Jews reviewing and censoring Jewish holy texts. Anyone familiar with studying these texts might have encountered strange sentences or perplexing clarifications added by Jews out of fear of censors.

What many don't know is that censorship actually began as an initiative by Jewish rabbis. Throughout the Middle Ages, Christians accused the Talmud of containing anti-Christian remarks, leading to expulsions, book burnings, and violent attacks.

On the 21st of Tammuz, a council of Italian rabbis gathered to devise a plan against Christian persecution. The Christian Inquisition at the Council of Trent had published a list of prohibited books. The Italian rabbis wanted to ensure that the Talmud and holy books could still be printed and sought to proactively edit out potentially provocative statements.

The rabbis decided to appoint their own inspectors for Hebrew books. Naturally, the Christians didn't trust these Jewish overseers and appointed "purifiers" to review the texts. Jews paid these "purifiers," who would black out words they found offensive, signing their names. Sometimes one "purifier" wasn't enough, and further review would be required, resulting in multiple signatures under censor amendments. A contemporary Italian scholar wrote: "I will tell you one of the customs of the non-Jews in examining our books. They expunge words displeasing to them and then fine the book owner a hundred scudi if he reprints the expunged words or possesses the book with those words still included."

For some, this became a business opportunity, especially for converts and censors...

Often, censors' "corrections" were ridiculous and foolish. Initially, they erased the word "Christian" everywhere, replacing it with "idolater." They removed every mention of the Christian messiah in the Talmud. Eventually, they realized that the word "heretic" also referred to Christians, so they changed it too. This led to texts like "Creator of idolater foods" instead of "Creator of diverse foods." Early commentaries discussing the difference between a heretic and a pagan now appeared to discuss differences between "pagan idolaters and pagan idolaters..."

Jewish resourcefulness never ceased, resulting in clever ways to bypass censorship. An Italian Jewish scholar went the extra mile, writing a "Manual for Censors." This manual included a list of all references to Christianity in the Talmud with "deletion instructions." For example: "In Sanhedrin 68b, Jesus the Nazarene was hanged on the eve of Passover – delete." Thus, all Jews could see what text was supposed to be "deleted" and fill in the gaps...

In 19th-century Russia, censorship was far stricter than in medieval times. The czarist government scrutinized every detail, banning almost everything. Jewish intellectuals or converts often became censors, yet Jews repeatedly managed to outsmart them.

After the Kishinev pogrom in Russia in 1903, oppressive authorities forbade writing on the subject. A Jewish poet wrote a famous poem on it but set the poem in 1648. This fooled the censor enough to allow it, though readers understood it depicted contemporary Russia.

Other Jewish journalists began reporting news from "Romania." The censor, delighted to see foreign critique, didn't realize "Romania" was a code name for Russia among Jewish journalists...

During the Russo-Japanese War, writing about the conflict was prohibited in Jewish or any press. Jewish people adapted: a newspaper editor crafted a children's story titled "Uncle Pinny and Aunt Risa," satirizing the Japan-Russia conflict. The censor, feeling mocked, ordered the paper to be shut down for a month. However, Jewish newspapers in Russia were pre-prepared: every editor had another registered newspaper name, releasing their papers under alternate titles that month... before the censor realized, the month had already passed, and everything returned to normal.