n>Centuries before Paris became known as the City of Light, it was remembered by Jews as the city of flames, flames which consumed cartloads of Jewish manuscripts following the infamous Trial of the Talmud (also known as the Disputation of Paris) in 1240. The burning of books, from the Kingdom of France to Nazi Germany, is one of many kinds of outrages perpetrated upon the Jewish people throughout their history, yet it has inevitably been experienced as an unusually cruel punishment inflicted upon the body politic. In his opening remarks at the Procès du Talmud, Rabbi Yechiel of Paris was said to have cried, “Our bodies are in your hands even if our souls are not.” The conflagration of sacred books inspired a Hebrew lament that mourned the loss as if it were a real massacre of human lives. Read Full Article »