The invention of the printing press in the middle of the 15th century revolutionized communication and book production in Europe, leading to a thus far unimaginable spread of knowledge. From its early days, Hebrew printing was part and parcel of this innovative device. A succinct introduction to its the history can be viewed on-line at the Penn Libraries' Judaica exhibition "From Written to Printed Text: The Transmission of Jewish Tradition" of the David Katz Center for Judaic Studies.
The spread of knowledge, however, did not only unite people in their intellectual endeavors; it equally divided them in that it brought to light differences of opinion and ideological opposites. In a time of religious turmoil, the Roman Church considered that the most effective means of beating Luther's Reformation was to control and restrict the spread of knowledge, a tactic that resulted in the ineffective tool of censorship. In order to make up for loss of believers the Church authorities also targeted the unbelievers through missionary activities, which did not leave the Jews in the Pontifical State untouched. Like the works of the reformers and their catholic sympathizers, the literary output of Jewish tradition was submitted to an ongoing process of expurgation. In an effort to deprive the Jews of the hope of redemption and the coming of their Messiah, and to accelerate their conversion, ecclesiastical censors were supposed to erase all such passages. Every contradiction of Christian doctrine or alleged offence against the Christian faith, the Church and its flock was to be removed.
When looking at early Hebrew printing that had undergone pre-publication censorship or expurgation, one easily
