Jewish mirror (1508)
Der Judenspiegel is a polemical text written in 1508 by Johannes Pfefferkorn, who converted to Christianity . It is considered to be one of his comparatively peaceful writings, because at least in the first part he still seems to be trying to get the Jews to convert. Johannes Reuchlin condemned Pfefferkorn's call to burn books and wrote his ophthalmoscope in response .
Overview
Even in the introduction to the Judenspiegel Pfefferkorn makes it clear that he has fully accepted Christianity as his religion by dedicating his work to God, Jesus and Mary , the Mother of God. He explains that he writes it primarily to lead other Jews to what, in his opinion, is the only true Church and therefore asks them to read carefully.
He divides his writing into three parts: In the first he wants to prove that the life of Jesus Christ is already foretold in the Hebrew Bible , in the second he advises all Christians, especially princes, how they can most effectively convert Jews and in the third denounces them he mentions the bad behavior of some Christians.
Christ in the Hebrew Bible
In the first part he gives some reasons that prevent the Jews from converting and invalidates them with the Hebrew Bible.
The first reason is the rejection of the Gospels by some Jews. He reacts to this by trying to prove that Jesus was already announced as the Messiah in the Hebrew Bible. Second, he tries to dispel the opinion that although Jesus was sent by God, he was not himself divine. Another important fact for him is the virginity of Mary when she received Jesus, which is also denied by some Jews. He also wants to prove that the Messiah has already come in the form of Christ and that the Jews do not have to wait any longer.
In a further section he praises the faith of the Jews, but complains that they believe wrongly, namely - like the Muslims - in a single God and not in the Trinity . Here, too, he tries to prove the appearance of the triune God in the Hebrew Bible.
He countered the accusation that worshiping the cross was nothing more than worshiping images and idolatry with the argument that the cross was not worshiped, but was only a reminder of the death of Christ. Another thing that bothers some Jews in Pfefferkorn's opinion is the Eucharist . Therefore he points out that this ritual is also symbolically announced in the Hebrew Bible.
He then criticizes the attitude to allow oneself to be held back from conversion only because other Christians do not behave according to their faith. He says that there are bad role models in every area and that it is better to concentrate on the good ones.
He goes on to discuss the rejection of Christ's resurrection and shows that there are already some references to the same in the Hebrew Bible.
He closes this section with an urgent request to the Jews to think about his scripture and once again points out that the Messiah had already been there and that since then there has been no king in Israel and the sacrificial cult has ceased, which he added as further evidence for the fact that Christ is the Messiah. He regrets that he once did not believe in Christ himself and that he did many wicked works, that many Jews have already been lost by dying in their unbelief without repenting, and that there are still so many who do themselves do not want to convert to what is in his opinion the only true and saving faith. In return, however, there is also reason to rejoice for him: He is very grateful to God that he has received the grace to be able to convert, he is grateful for Christ's vicarious atoning death on the cross and that he was saved from hell as a result.
To the princes
In the second part of his work, Pfefferkorn turns to the authorities and lists three main reasons why Jews do not convert to Christianity.
The first is their wealth. The princes, Pfefferkorn believes, gave the Jews far too much freedom here so that they could amass immense amounts of goods and money by selling their own souls and those of others who suck Christians and do usury instead of honest work. Since they are too attached to their accumulated wealth, they are afraid of losing it if they convert, if only because they would then no longer be able to go about their dishonest business. Pfefferkorn therefore calls on the princes to abolish usury, to force the Jews to do honest work or to drive them out entirely. This is the only way to get them on the right track.
Another obstacle, in his opinion, is that the Jews do not have the opportunity to hear the gospel . One must therefore allow them access to churches and then force them to visit them. He compares the Jews here to a child who has an ulcer. Opening it hurts and the child resists it. However, if the ulcer is open, the child will feel much better and be grateful. The Jews would also be grateful if they were forced to be happy.
The third reason that prevents Jews from converting is because of their scriptures . This would lead the Jews on the wrong path, which they involuntarily follow. That's why these books have to be taken away from them, if necessary by force. He countered the objection that theft by force was bad with the argument that this little evil prevents a much larger one and is therefore justified.
He is also trying to get rid of prejudice against the Jews. He says it is not true that the Jews use the blood of Christians to perform their rites, but gives in to the fact that he notes that some Jews still murder out of hatred of the Christians, even if that is an exception .
He then describes what it would be like if Jews became Christians: Their faith and their relationship with Jesus would then be incomparably deeper, because friendship was always deeper when haters became friends. As an example he cites the apostle Paul , who persecuted the Christians before his conversion to Christianity and afterwards became one of the most important figures for the building of the Christian church. He also says that the Jews would be happy about the fulfillment of their Messiah prophecy, about the fact that the Messiah comes from their own people, that they finally found the “right” faith differently than their ancestors and simply out of fear of the punishment on the reverse conversion, would not return to Judaism. He therefore asks the Christian readers to kindly accept Jewish converts.
Criticism of the Christians
In the last part of his work he criticizes the inappropriate behavior of some Christians: They no longer respect the authorities, waged war against other Christians, neglected widows and orphans and otherwise did not behave according to the Word of God. He threatens them to be punished by God, calls on them no longer to fight against other Christians, but against pagans and speaks to them of God's help. He takes an example from the Hebrew Bible for this : Abraham , with God's help, managed to beat five kings and their armies with 318 men. And since the Christians would have taken over the status of the people of Israel and thus inherited the promises and could also rely on Mary's help, it shouldn't really be a problem for them to fight against the Gentiles and to recapture Jerusalem.
In the end he asks all readers to be fair and not to criticize too much, since after all he is only a fallible person himself.
Individual evidence
literature
- Hans-Martin Kirn: The image of the Jew in Germany in the early 16th century. Shown in the writings of Johannes Pfefferkorn (= Texts and studies in medieval and early modern Judaism , Volume 3), Mohr, Tübingen 1989, pp. 205–230, ISBN 3-16-745354-0 (Dissertation University of Tübingen 1983/1984, VIII , 253 pages)
- Ellen Martin: The German writings of hatred of Jews and intolerance in the time of the pre-Reformation (= Göppinger works on German studies , volume 604), Kümmerle, Göppingen 1994, ISBN 3-87452-849-9 (dissertation University of Frankfurt am Main 1991, IV, 432, 14 pages).
- Johann Pfefferkorn: The Jews' mirror = Der Juden-Spiegel, translated by Ruth I. Cape, historical introduction by Maria Diemling . Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies ACMRC, Tempe, Arizona 2011, ISBN 978-0-86698-438-6 .