Jewish Questions by Goldish Matt;

Author:Goldish, Matt;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2008-04-05T04:00:00+00:00

Question: [The following] episode occurred in Zante. At the time that the Venetian Republic, may God protect it, was hiring people to go to war against the Shkokim [Uskoks], there was a certain man who showed up there, a debauched individual of our nation who had spent all his days following the whims of his heart. He debased himself with forbidden intercourse and prohibited foods, to which end he had earlier converted to Islam in Turkey—in order better to satisfy his lust for prostitutes and prohibited food. Even after his arrival in Zante, where he made pretense of his desire to return in penitence and revert to Judaism, he still did not curb his desires—so much so that he went and converted to the Christian religion in order to freely chase after prostitution with non-Jewish women and the like without fear.

The man hired himself out as a mercenary, changing his name to a non-Jewish one, which was how he was recorded in the register containing the names of all the mercenaries. He went and joined together with all the other soldiers in their eating, drinking, whoring, and debauchery; he even went to church like one of them. He only delayed having himself baptized because they told him that shortly, when they would arrive in Venice, they would baptize him there.

Before he left, he agreed to grant a divorce to his wife, but he would only give it for two years hence, because he joked with her that he would not accept baptism in Venice. For, in their religion, as long as one has not been baptized, even if he goes to their church and behaves like them, he can still retract any time he wants. On this basis he used to tell her that he would return to Zante a Jew. Therefore, he was granting the divorce on condition that it would be effective retroactively, in a legal and proper manner, as long as he returned to Zante a Jew within two years from that day. This was all lies, because he was a deliberate apostate.

And indeed, after he divorced her, we heard rumors that he had been alone with his wife after the divorce [!]. We wanted to investigate and know the truth, so we declared [with a threat of] excommunication before the entire holy community, may God preserve it, that anyone who had information, or had seen anything, must come report it before the three judges whom we had appointed to receive these testimonies.

Here is the wording [of the testimonies received]:

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