Ariel Toaff - Blood Passover

In this regard, see P. Burke, Insulti e bestemmie , in Id., Scene di vita quotidiana nell'Italia moderna , Bari, 1988, pp. 118-138; Id., L'art de l'insulte en Italie au XVIe et XVIIe siècle , in J. Delumeau, Injures et blasphème s, Paris, 1989, pp. 249-261.

Leon da Modena, Historia de' riti hebraici , Venice, Gio. Calleoni, 1638, pp. 80-81; Giulio Morosini, Derekh Emunah. Via della fede mostrata agli ebrei , Roma, Propaganda Fide, 1683, p. 836. On gestural language in Jewish liturgy, see, recently, U. Ehrlich, The Non-Verbal Language of Jewish Prayer , Jerusalem, 1999 (in Hebrew).

On the expressions and anti-Christian meanings of the hymn 'Alenu le-shabbeach , see, most recently, I.J. Yuval’s exhaustive treatment in "Two Nations in Your Womb". Perceptions of Jews and Christians , Tel Aviv, 2000, pp. 206-216 (in Hebrew).

Morosini, Derekh Emunah. Via della fede mostrata agli ebrei , cit., pp. 277 -278.

"Samuel stans apud Almemor coepit facere ficas in faciem pueri et illud colaphis caedere et in faciem expuere. Moyses antiquus similiter faciebat ficas, quas dum sic faceret, ostendebat dentes, irridendo et Angelus expuendo in faciem pueri, illud colaphis caedebat. Tobias cum manu sinistra coepit capillos pueri et cum caput eiusdem pueri quateret super Almemor , tenendo capillos per manum cum alia manu pluries colaphizavit faciem pueri, in illamque expuit. Et Israel, filius Samuelis, tenendo os apertum, emittebat linguam et fecit ficas et Ioff, elevatis pannis, ostendit posteriora et pudibunda [displayed his buttocks and genitals], et Isaac, coquus Angeli, similiter fecit ficas et colaphis cecidit puerum. Et Moyses forensis fecit ficas, et Israel pietor similiter fecit ficas et similiter omnes alii Judaei ibi adstantes fecerunt aliquos actus illusorios [...] et Lazarus fecit ficas et semel cum manu aperto percussit faciem pueri et per capillos cepit puerum et eius caput quassavit". [Approximately: “Samuele, standing near the altar, started to ‘do the fig’ in the boy’s face and then he started to strike him and spit in his face. Moses the Old Man also ‘did the fig’, and, while he was doing it, he showed his teeth, grimacing, and Angelo spat in the boy’s face, then started striking him. Tobias, with his left hand, held the boy by the hair, holding his hair in his left hand, and with the other hand he started to strike the boy in the face, on the altar, over and over again, and to spit in his face. And Israel, Samuele’s son, opened his mouth, stuck out his tongue, ‘did the fig’ and Joff, raising his hem, displayed his buttocks and genitals [at least, if we assume that “pudibunda” = “filled with shame”, feminine nominative or ablative singular, is an obvious translation error for “pudenda” = “genitals”, neuter accusative plural; otherwise the sentence makes no sense, either grammatically or in context], and Isacco, Angelo’s cook, also ‘did the fig’ and struck the boy. And Moses did the fig in front of everybody and Israel piously did the same, and so did all the other Jews who were there performed acts of mockery […] and Lazarus ‘did the fig’ and struck the boy in the face and held the boy by the hair and shook his head violently”] Deposition of Lazzaro da Serravalle dated 20 November 1475 (cfr. [Benedetto Bonelli], Dissertazione apologetica sul martirio del beato Simone da Trento nell'anno MCCCCLXXV dagli ebrei ucciso , Trent, Gianbattista Parone, 1747, p. 119). Peter Burke ( Insulti e bestemmie , cit., p. 127) maintains that the public exhibition of the private parts was a classical gesture of contempt during the passage of Christ in a procession.

"Quo puero sic stante, Samuel cum dentibus momordit aurem dicti corporis et idem Joff cepit aurem praedicti corporis illam stringendo cum dentibus" [Approximately: “The boy being on the altar, Samuele bit the corpse on the ear with his teeth and Joff did the same, fastening his teeth tightly”] (cfr. [Bonelli], Dissertazione apologetica , cit., p. 119).

"Die sequenti post festum Paschae (Anna) vidit corpus illius extensum super Almemor e et vidit in Synagoga omnes infrascriptos [...] qui colaphis caeciderunt dictum puerum" [“The day after Easter (Anna) saw the body lying on the altar and saw all the above mentioned persons in the synagogue [...] who began to beat the above mentioned boy”] (cfr. [Bonelli], Dissertazione apologetica , cit., p. 121).

"Modo possunt esse anni tres vel quatuor et nescit dicere praecise quot anni, fuit interfectus alius puer in domo Samuelis, qui quadam die in vigilia tunc Paschae ipsorum Judaeorum de sero fuit portatus per Tobiam in domum Samuelis [...] Et dicit quod postea die sequenti [...] ipsa Bella vidit corpus dicti pueri in Synagoga prius prandium, hora quo celebrantur officia; quo corpore sic stante omnes suprascripti Judaei et etiam alii Judaei advenae, qui tunc se repererunt in Civitate Tridenti, illuserunt contra corpus dicti pueri [...] illudendo et dicendo illamet verba: Tolle, suspensus, Tluyo, suspensa" (cfr. ibidem, pp. 121-122).

"Qui omnes, corpore stante super Almemor e, illuserunt in dictum corpus, faciendo quasi easdem illusiones, pro ut factum fuit Tridenti in domo Samuelis" [“Everybody ridiculed the body lying on the altar, making jokes....” (cfr. ibidem, p. 141).

The text of Hinderbach’s letter is reproduced in F. Ghetta, Fra Bernardino Tomitano da Feltre e gli ebrei di Trento nel 1475 , in "Civis", suppl. 2 (1986), pp. 129-177.

The formula recited in the act of whirling the white chickens around the head is as follows: "This is instead of me, it is in my place, this is for my expiation ( kapparah ); this cock shall go to its death while I will proceed towards a happy life with all Israel. Amen". On the rite of the kapparot in the customs of the Ashkenazi Jews, see Siddur mi-berakhah ("Correct order of benedictions according to the customs of the German Jews"), Venice, Pietro & Lorenzo Bragadin, 1618, cc. 35-36.

Morosini, Derekh Emunah . Via della fede mostrata agli ebrei , cit., p. 665.

Cfr. Benetelli, Le saette di Gionata scagliate a favor degli Ebrei , cit., p. 222.

Angelo da Verona reported that "omnes dicebant infrascripta verba in lingua Hebraica: chen icheressù chol hoyveha , que verba in lingua Latina sonant: così sya consumadi li nostri inimizi" (cfr. A. Esposito e D. Quaglioni, Processi contro gli ebrei di Trento, 1475-1478 . I: I processi del 1475 , Padova, 1990, p. 290).

Azriel Diena, Sheelot w-teshuvot. Responsa , cit., voI. I, pp. 10-14.

Mizwat nashim melammedah . Precetti da esser imparati dalle donne hebree , composto per Rabbi Biniamin d'Harodono in lingua tedesca, tradotto ora di nuovo dalla detta lingua nella Volgare per Rabbi Giacob Halpron Hebreo a beneficio delle devote matrone & Donne Hebree tementi d'Iddio , Venice, Giacomo Sarzina, 1615, p. 98.

Cfr. Haberman, Sefer ghezerot Ashkenaz we-Zarf at , cit., pp. 34,38-39. For a rather vague discussion of this matter, see S. Goldin, The Ways of Jewish Martyrdom , Lod, 2002, pp. 119-121 (in Hebrew).