the Christian Hebraists of the thirteenth century who learned Hebrew in order
to attack rabbinic texts, Christian Kabbalists initially turned to the Kabbala in
order to gain a more nuanced understanding of Christian teachings. Foremost
among them was Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, who studied Hebrew and then
Kabbala under his friend Yohannan Alemanno. Pico used kabbalistic teachings
and exegesis to unravel the complexities and contradictions associated with
Christian doctrines such as the Trinity and the Virgin Birth.
The participation of Jews in philosophical speculation during the
Renaissance extended beyond Italy to other centers of Renaissance activity,
notably Prague. David Gans studied philosophy and astronomy with Tycho
Brahe and Johannes Kepler; his Nehmad ve-Na’imwas a Hebrew-language
text on astronomy (which in the sixteenth century included what we now call
astrology). No less important in this regard was Rabbi Judah ben Bezalel Löw
of Prague (MaHaRaL), commonly known in Jewish folklore as the creator of
the golem. Löw was in fact a leading talmudic and kabbalistic scholar who
made Prague a center of kabbalistic study for both Jews and Christians.
The kabbalistic atmosphere in Prague may offer an alternative explanation
of one of the oddities of the city: an eight-foot cross with the biblical/liturgical
verse “Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh adonai Tzevaot Melo Hol ha-aretz kevodo” (Holy,
holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; his glory fills the world) that adorns the Charles
Bridge, made from golden letters attached to the top. The conventional expla-
nation, which every local guide dutifully repeats, tells of a Catholic priest who
saw a Jew spit on the cross and attached the Hebrew letters to prevent further
such occurrences. Yet in a town saturated in kabbalistic study, it is no less
plausible that a Christian kabbalist interpreted the verse Christologically to
refer to the Trinity, and added it to the large cross accordingly.
Initially the scholarly endeavors of the Christian kabbalists led to a rap-
prochement between Jewish and Christian scholars. By the beginning of the
sixteenth century, however, this growing interaction prompted a backlash.
Erasmus, for example, disapproved of all forms of Christian Hebraism, argu-
ing that the study of Hebrew texts deflected Christian scholars from Christ.
Though a Renaissance scholar, Erasmus regarded Jewish learning as even
more dangerous than medieval Christian obscurantism. This mentality led to
the emergence of a more sophisticated expression of anti-Judaism, reminis-
cent of thirteenth-century Christian Hebraism, that was fortified by the
revelation that Kabbala contained disparaging views of Christianity.
This anti-Judaism included a renewed desire to segregate Jews from
Christians. In 1516, this mentality crystallized into actual state policy, when
the leaders of the city of Venice confined all Jews in Venice and its environs to
the newly created ghetto of Venice. The term ghetto, Italian for iron foundry,
refers to an abandoned iron foundry situated in the part of Venice that became
the Jewish ghetto. In retrospect, the decision to confine the Jews to the
ghetto was an alternative to expulsion or forced conversion. The ghetto main-
tained a greater separation between Jews and Christians without forfeiting
108 World Jewry in flux, 1492–1750