Censor, the Editor, and the Text

Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin is Senior Lecturer in History at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

• Introduction: Censorship and the Transition to PrintChapter 1. The Burning of the TalmudChapter 2. The Institutionalization of the Censorship of Hebrew LiteratureChapter 3. From Polemics to Censorship: The Development of the Expurgation of Written CultureChapter 4. Censorship and its Role in the Printing of the Hebrew BookChapter 5. From Polemic to Body of Knowledge-Sefer Hazikkuk and the Hebrew TextConclusion: Hebraism, Censorship, and ModernizationNotesBibliographyIndexAcknowledgments

"An important book, one that makes us reflect on past conclusions. . . . Raz-Krakotzkin writes history by emphasizing the nuances and inconsistencies intrinsic to cultural change and acculturation, a method that is not to be superciliously dismissed. If readers follow the author's own careful lead, they will be well rewarded." (Association for Jewish Studies Review) "In this brilliantly argued book, Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin seeks to explain the role of Catholic censors within two contexts: their place within the church's institutional quest to set boundaries of "permitted knowledge" and to reshape the boundaries of Catholic orthodoxy on the one hand, and their role in reshaping Jewish texts on the other." (Humanities and Social Sciences Online ) "The history of Jewish publishing and reading practices is often ignored by the scholars working on Western scribal and print cultures. This book can help them to understand the multiple connections that existed between Catholic authorities, Christian printers and publishers, convert editors and censors, and Jewish readers during the sixteenth century. Raz-Krakotzkin stresses the role of censorship not only as a repressive institution but also as an agent in the construction of a repertoire of canonical works and in the collective production of the texts themselves." (Roger Chartier)