Leon Modena and the Discourse of Judaism

Abstract Chapter 3 explores Leon Modena’s History of Jewish Rituals (1637), a comprehensive portrayal of Judaism that displaced anti-Jewish accounts, several of which had been written by Jewish converts trying to destroy their former faith. The chapter explains how Modena designed his handbook as a concise, systematic overview of Jewish life, written in an accessible style, though shaped in several ways to demonstrate not only the partial compatibility of Judaism and Christianity but also the economic utility, political loyalty, and social benevolence of Jewish communities. It was a publishing blockbuster, reprinted over thirty times in various formats and languages. The French translation by renowned Catholic scholar Richard Simon, the most frequently printed version, served as a foundation for major works on Judaism by Jacques Basnage, Bernard Picart, and others. Equally important, Simon composed a supplemental tract that compared Jewish and Christian rituals, expressing a favorable view of Judaism and a strong condemnation of persecution. The chapter also analyzes a work by Modena’s rabbinic colleague Simone Luzzatto, Discourse on the State of the Jews (1638), a supplement to Modena that offered economic arguments for tolerating Jewish communities (in addition to assurances of Jewish loyalty to Christian governments and societies). Although Luzzatto’s work did not garner a wide reception, it directly informed the perspectives of Menasseh ben Israel and John Toland, two writers who later exerted strong influence on Christian–Jewish discourse. The chapter argues that Modena’s text became a foundation for a hybrid, collaborative Christian–Jewish discourse on religious toleration.