<p><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(156, 0, 0);">(TALMUD FORGERY). </span>“Massekhet Orlah U’Bikurim min Talmud Bavli.” Small handwritten notebook purporting to be two missing Tractates of the Babylonian Talmud; along with related documentation.<br /><br />Written in a petite cursive Aschkenazi Hebrew hand. Tractate Orlah is written on 56 numbered pages; at the end of is the date Sunday of Lech-Lecha 5678 (1917). The second tractate, Bikurim, is written on 52 numbered pages; and is both dated and signed: “From me, the copyist, Mordechai Yekusiel ben Nachum Yehuda, a child of Plotel, at present here in Kurshan (Kuršėnai, Lithuania) Monday of Vayakhel 5678.” <span style="font-style: italic;">pp. 108. Boards. 12mo.<br /></span><br />1917-18.</p>
<p><br /></p>
<p> Of the 11 tractates of the Mishnah in Seder Zeraim, there is a corresponding Talmudic tractate for just one, Massekhet Berachot. By contrast, the Jerusalem Talmud has all 11 tractates corresponding fully to the Mishnah. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(156, 0, 0);">THIS NOTEBOOK CONTAINS THE TEXT OF TWO BABYLONIAN TALMUD TRACTATES OF SEDER ZERAIM, HERETOFORE, ENTIRELY UNKNOWN. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(156, 0, 0);"> </span></p>
<p> Accompanying the notebook is a detailed 2-page autograph Hebrew biographical statement by one <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(156, 0, 0);">MORDECHAI YEKUSIEL BEN NACHMAN YEHUDA PRESS</span> in which he recounts how he unearthed the manuscript. The story told by Press begins in his hometown of Plotel, near Salant, following Yom Kippur of the year 5659 (1898). Press was sifting through the belonging of his deceased father and upon opening an old copper box, found a manuscript on ancient parchment that began with the heading “Talmud on Tractates Orlah and Bikurim.” A colophon at the end of the manuscript reads: “I, Mar Zutra son of Mar Zutra, Scribe of the House of Rav.”</p>
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<p> Recognizing how fantastic this tale sounded, Press challenges the idea that this is a forgery by simply asking: “Can an unaccomplished man like myself create a Gemara? - I doubt even the rabbis of our generation could do so.” He notes that he never studied in yeshiva and that the discovery is so remarkable he could not even have dreamt it.</p>
<p> Press also refers to six letters he received from rabbinic scholars, in which they express skepticism, along with his responses. Three are from Rabbi Ze’ev Wolf Rabinowitz of Brisk, an expert on the Jerusalem Talmud, and author of Shaarei Torat Eretz Yisrael (Jerusalem, 1940).<br /></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(156, 0, 0);"> IN ADDITION</span> to the Talmud manuscript, a small notebook accompanies the lot containing three rabbinic letters attesting that, at the very least, the copyist - his full name is given as Rabbi Mordechai Press - has presented something very curious and notable and worthy of publication. The rabbis are Rabbi Meir Atlas of Shavel, Rabbi Shlomo Nathan Cutler of Luknik (and at present Detroit in America), and Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Ish-Shalom of Kurshan, where Press resides.</p>
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<p> This manuscript is obviously reminiscent of the forgery of Seder Kodashim of the Jerusalem Talmud that appeared in 1907 which created enormous controversy in both rabbinic and scholarly circles (and which still reverberates). </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(156, 0, 0);">CLEARLY, THOROUGH RESEARCH IS REQUIRED TO FULLY UNEARTH THE ORIGIN OF THIS SURPRISING AND REMARKABLE MANUSCRIPT.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#9C0000"><strong>(TALMUD).</strong></span></p>
<p><br /></p>
<p><span style="color:#9C0000"><strong>Clement VIII. Papal Bull:</strong></span> </p>
<p>Constitutio contra impia scripta & libros Hebraeorum [against the ‘impious writings and books of the Hebrews.’]</p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>Large woodcut device on title. pp. 4. Unbound. Folio.<br /></p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>Rome, Paul Blad, 1593.</p>
<p><br /></p>
<p><span style="color:#9C0000"><strong>THE POPE'S OFFICIAL ORDER TO PHYSICALLY DESTROY THE TALMUD.</strong></span></p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>Infamous Papal Bull of Pope Clement VIII, beginning with the toxic phrase: “With Malice of the Jews…” Prohibiting the possession, or study of the Talmud, Kabbalah and any Rabbinic texts. All copies of the Talmud were to be turned over to the officers of the Inquisition for burning. </p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>Opening words of thE Bull: </p>
<p>"Since the wickedness of the Jews daily devise new tricks, by which they spread among the people pernicious volumes, impious and utterly detestable books, both condemned in ancient times and recently written…” </p>
<p> Believing that it would be ruinous for Christians to tolerate this disorder, Pope Clement VIII sought to eradicate such evil by forbidding all Jewish communities in the Papal States from possessing such “hateful writings.”<br /></p>
<p><br /></p>
<p><span style="color:#9C0000"><strong>Background:</strong></span></p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>In February 1593, Pope Clement VIII issued Cum Hebraeorum malitia, a sweeping Papal Bull that launched one of the most systematic book purges in early modern Europe. It depicted Jewish writings, especially the Talmud, as vessels of cunning deceit and dangerous heresy, “pernicious volumes” corrupting the Christian faithful with blasphemous words. Drawing on centuries of papal precedent, Clement’s aim was not simply to forbid such works, but to eradicate them entirely from Christian lands. </p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>The decree was applied with uncompromising force. All Jewish communities, whether in the Papal States or abroad, were ordered to surrender their Talmud volumes and any other rabbinic text - Kabalistic or otherwise. Every prior license or papal dispensation permitting their possession was revoked and declared permanently void. </p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>Deadlines to turn over such Hebrew books to the clergy or the Inquisition were short and penalties severe. The condemned volumes were to be burned immediately. Anyone who hid, printed, sold, or even handled the forbidden works faced excommunication, confiscation of property, and corporal punishment. Christians who assisted with the contraband would share the same fate as Jews. </p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>The Bull empowered Inquisitors to search without restraint. Entering homes, synagogues, workshops, and even Christian libraries to hunt down banned Hebrew books. The Bull concludes with a solemn curse upon any who defied or undermined the order. </p>
<p><span style="color:#9C0000"><strong> The result was more than censorship, it was deliberate cultural erasure. In one act, Cum Hebraeorum malitia sought to silence Jewish scholarship, sever it's transmission, and consign a millennia of Jewish learning to flames.</strong></span><br /></p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>See Pierpont Morgan Library Catalogue, Hebraica from the Valmadonna Trust (1989) Appendix; and K. Stow, Catholic Thought and Papal Jewry Policy 1555-1593 (1977) esp. pp. 54-7.</p>
<p><br /></p>
![<p><span style="color:#9C0000"><strong>(TALMUD).</strong></span></p>
<p><br /></p>
<p><span style="color:#9C0000"><strong>Clement VIII. Papal Bull:</strong></span> </p>
<p>Constitutio contra impia scripta & libros Hebraeorum [against the ‘impious writings and books of the Hebrews.’]</p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>Large woodcut device on title. pp. 4. Unbound. Folio.<br /></p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>Rome, Paul Blad, 1593.</p>
<p><br /></p>
<p><span style="color:#9C0000"><strong>THE POPE'S OFFICIAL ORDER TO PHYSICALLY DESTROY THE TALMUD.</strong></span></p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>Infamous Papal Bull of Pope Clement VIII, beginning with the toxic phrase: “With Malice of the Jews…” Prohibiting the possession, or study of the Talmud, Kabbalah and any Rabbinic texts. All copies of the Talmud were to be turned over to the officers of the Inquisition for burning. </p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>Opening words of thE Bull: </p>
<p>"Since the wickedness of the Jews daily devise new tricks, by which they spread among the people pernicious volumes, impious and utterly detestable books, both condemned in ancient times and recently written…” </p>
<p> Believing that it would be ruinous for Christians to tolerate this disorder, Pope Clement VIII sought to eradicate such evil by forbidding all Jewish communities in the Papal States from possessing such “hateful writings.”<br /></p>
<p><br /></p>
<p><span style="color:#9C0000"><strong>Background:</strong></span></p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>In February 1593, Pope Clement VIII issued Cum Hebraeorum malitia, a sweeping Papal Bull that launched one of the most systematic book purges in early modern Europe. It depicted Jewish writings, especially the Talmud, as vessels of cunning deceit and dangerous heresy, “pernicious volumes” corrupting the Christian faithful with blasphemous words. Drawing on centuries of papal precedent, Clement’s aim was not simply to forbid such works, but to eradicate them entirely from Christian lands. </p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>The decree was applied with uncompromising force. All Jewish communities, whether in the Papal States or abroad, were ordered to surrender their Talmud volumes and any other rabbinic text - Kabalistic or otherwise. Every prior license or papal dispensation permitting their possession was revoked and declared permanently void. </p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>Deadlines to turn over such Hebrew books to the clergy or the Inquisition were short and penalties severe. The condemned volumes were to be burned immediately. Anyone who hid, printed, sold, or even handled the forbidden works faced excommunication, confiscation of property, and corporal punishment. Christians who assisted with the contraband would share the same fate as Jews. </p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>The Bull empowered Inquisitors to search without restraint. Entering homes, synagogues, workshops, and even Christian libraries to hunt down banned Hebrew books. The Bull concludes with a solemn curse upon any who defied or undermined the order. </p>
<p><span style="color:#9C0000"><strong> The result was more than censorship, it was deliberate cultural erasure. In one act, Cum Hebraeorum malitia sought to silence Jewish scholarship, sever it's transmission, and consign a millennia of Jewish learning to flames.</strong></span><br /></p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>See Pierpont Morgan Library Catalogue, Hebraica from the Valmadonna Trust (1989) Appendix; and K. Stow, Catholic Thought and Papal Jewry Policy 1555-1593 (1977) esp. pp. 54-7.</p>
<p><br /></p>](/img/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaWRzcGlyaXQtaW1hZ2VzLmdsb2JhbC5zc2wuZmFzdGx5Lm5ldC9rZXN0ZW5iYXVtL2Nsb25lZC1pbWFnZXMvMTIyNjM5LzAwMS8wMDEuanBn.sOUy2Si_9LVZBSXGNFPe_Q)
