This Sunday, February 2 at 1 pm Eastern Time, prolific author Harry Freedman will join us from his native UK (the reason for the early time for us) in a Casual Conversation about his newest book: Shylock’s Venice: The Remarkable History of Venice’s Jews and the Ghetto Bloomsbury Continuum 2024) ISBN: HB: 978-1-3994-0727-4.
Mr. Freedman writes books and articles now, but before that he lived a life of “many colors”:
Before I started writing I had a varied and fascinating career, full of variety and change.
I started by setting up and running a wholefood restaurant in Devon. Since then I have run companies in property, construction, health care and consultancy and I’ve worked as a chief executive in the voluntary sector. Most recently I have been coaching people to help them make the most of their careers.
I discovered quite early on that I need variety as well as challenges. I went back to university, part time, and studied first for an MA and then a PhD, on an obscure Aramaic translation of the Bible. I started writing articles on academic topics and social issues, contributing occasionally to books and, when I got a bit more time, writing my own.
https://www.harryfreedmanbooks.com/about/ .
He has written books about Kabbalah, The Talmud, and Leonard Cohen. https://www.harryfreedmanbooks.com/ . His most recent is a history of Jews in Venice, almost all of whom were forced to live in two ghettos established to allow the Jews in, but not quite, Venicve. The admiring review from Times Literary Supplement states:
Because Venice was arguably the leading centre for print and publishing in Europe, the establishment of the Jewish community in 1516 made the city almost immediately a European centre for the publication of Hebrew books. In the decade following the creation of the Ghetto the publishing house of Daniel Bomberg in Venice published both the Hebrew Bible and the Babylonian Hebrew Talmud, the latter for the first time complete in print. The Venetian publication of the Talmud became increasingly controversial until that work was ultimately subjected to public burning by the Roman Inquisition. There was Europe-wide interest in Venice’s Hebrew publishing, and Henry VIII had a copy of the Venetian Talmud sent to England in the hope that rabbinical rulings might provide arguments for his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, while Rabbi Moses Isserles of Kraków eventually had to rule on which of two Venetian publishing houses had the proper rights to print the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides.
Mr. Freedman is an expert storyteller, and he introduces us to a fabulous series of individuals who populated this insecure haven for Jews for nearly three centuries. He explains why prominent Rabbis from Venice became consultants to Cardinals: understanding Hebrew was essential to getting the words of God right. And that task was not easy, with the sacred Torah written without vowels. Mr. Freedman gives an example of Psalm 22. Absolutely fascinating: Christian Hebraists seeking guidance from the Jews of Venice.
And then there are the false Messiahs who came to Venice, one of whom claimed that his brother ruled over Lost Tribes of Israel.
Of course, apart from the character sketches, written from deep research and understanding of the competing communities of Venice, Mr. Freedman gives us a window into Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. Or should I say windows, because apart from the resonance for Elizabethan audiences of the conversion of Jessica (Shylock’s daughter), the Kabbalah’s ten mystical potencies of God and their conflict and harmonizing may provide a key to understanding the trial scene: Justice and love harmonized through mercy.
Throughout this expertly told story (or stories) of the Jews and Venice, one theme repeats: will Venice allow the Jews to stay, or will they be told to leave; which Jews; from which countries. Will the charter that sets the conditions of their residence be renewed and what will it do to limit or open up opportunities for Jews. What taxes will be extracted from the community; what books can they print, possess; what occupations can they pursue and how regulated.
And finally, the Nazis came when Mussolini’s regime was toppled. The last tale told by Mr. Freedman is that of the courage of Giuseppe Jona, the man who saved more than 1,000 Venetian Jewish lives.
Please join us to discuss that the Ghetto was and the flourishing—for a time—of a Jewish community created from a few natives and many forced out of their countries, all of whom found a home in a small place in a city built on islands.
Usual rules apply let me know if you wish to attend by close of business on this Friday, January 31: arthur.fergenson@ansalaw.com .
Arthur Fergenson
P.S. In the meantime, imagine what would have happened in history if the other rabbi from Venice had convinced the Pope that Levirate marriage did not apply to non-Jews. Oy, vey!