Oksident (Dec 2021)
Osmanlı Saray Hekimliğinden Papalığın Hizmetinde İbranice Kitap Sansürcülüğüne Bir Yahudi Âlimin Hayat Hikâyesi: Domenico Yeruşalmî (ö. 1622) ve Sefer ha-Zikuk/The Life Story of a Jewish Scholar from a Physcian of Ottoman Palace to Hebrew Book Censorship in the Service of the Papacy: Domenico Yerushalmi (d. 1622) and Sefer ha-Zikuk
Abstract
In the 16th century, in response to the Reform movements, the Catholic Church emphasized banning and censoring books deemed objectionable in Christianity. In this framework, banned books were announced with lists called Index; on the other hand, censorship commissions were established, offensive statements in the books were removed before they were printed, and the printed ones were scratched out with ink. In censorship commissions in different cities of Italy, the employees were generally Jews who converted to Christianity. The main reason for this is their knowledge of Hebrew and their familiarity with Jewish religious literature. Domenico Yerushalmi is one of these censors. Born in Jerusalem in 1555, Domenico lived in Istanbul between the years 1578/9-1588/9. He served as Sultan Murad's private physician. Domenico, who went to Italy from Istanbul, converted to Christianity in Venice in 1593. He both prepared a censorship book and translated the New Testament into Hebrew. The most significant work of Domenico is Sefer ha-Zikuk, prepared as a censorship handbook. This work, which he prepared while he was on the censorship commission in Mantua in 1596, is one of the most interesting examples in the history of censorship. In the introduction to this work, Domenico lists the principles for censors. These principles specify the deletion or modification of insulting statements against Christianity. In addition, thoughts considered heretical for the Church, such as reincarnation, are also included in this list. In this work, Domenico gives the names of hundreds of Hebrew works and the places they were printed, indicating which word on which page and which line will be deleted. Some works have been repeated considering different publication places. Many works that include Domenico's signature as a censor have survived. When these works are examined, it is seen that Domenico was not meticulous in complying with the principles set by himself. Giving information about the life story of Domenico and his conversion to Christianity, this article examines the content of Sefer ha-Zikuk.
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