JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

Barcinsky, Henryk
a conversionist sermon was to be delivered. The king himself
attended the synagogue in state and gave an address, an event
without medieval precedent. Naḥmanides was permitted to
reply on this occasion. The following day, after receipt of a gift
of 300 sólidos from the king, he returned home.
The disputation had far-reaching consequences. It
prompted the Dominican Raymond Martini to devise a better
method of providing christological interpretations to the
aggadah. In 1280 Martini concluded his book Pugio Fidei
(Paris, 1651), and henceforward it was used indiscriminately
by every Christian controversialist wishing to invalidate Judaism.
The king cooperated with missionary activities throughout
the realm and the Jews were forced to listen to the sermons
preached by the Dominican friars. An order was issued by the
latter between August 26 and 29 directing the Jews to erase
from their copies of the Talmud any passages vilifying Jesus
and Mary. Failure to do so was punishable by a fine, and books
which had not been censored as required would be burned.
The Mishneh Torah of *Maimonides was also condemned to
be burned because of the references to Jesus in the chapter
on the laws of kingship at the end of the work. Subsequently,
the bishop of Gerona obtained a copy of Naḥmanides’ own
account of the disputation. Perhaps through his agency, proceedings
were then instituted against Naḥmanides in 1265
before the court of the Inquisition on the charge that he had
blasphemed Jesus. James’ intention to sentence him to two
years’ banishment and to condemn his work on the disputation
to be burned, evidently did not satisfy the Dominicans.
He thereupon ordered the case to be tried before him personally,
intending to adjourn it until the fanaticism had abated.
The militant Christian religious mendicant orders acted as
the instrument of the church in its war on Judaism. It was
at the request of the friars that Pope Clement IV ordered the
archbishop of Tarragona to collect all the Jewish books in the
Kingdom of Aragon and surrender them to the Dominicans
and Franciscans for examination; Paulus Christiani was recommended
as a trustworthy and able assistant for this task.
The bull Turbato Corde, also issued by Clement, became the
basis of the Inquisition policy for prosecuting suspected Judaizers
(see papal *bulls), and may also be regarded as an outcome
of the disputation. The inference drawn by Naḥmanides
is self-evident: he left Spain for Ereẓ Israel, arriving there in
1267. Judeo-Christian polemics continued in Barcelona in the
days of *Adret, Nahmanides’ outstanding disciple. On the
Christian side Martini and Ramon Lull participated in the
debates that took place in a more private forum. The use of
Jewish classical texts by Paulus in his confrontation with the
foremost rabbinic authority in Spain was an innovation in Judeo-Christian
polemics. The Barcelona Disputation was the
first arena where Paulus Christiani was able to try out his new
technique of missionizing and where Naḥmanides provided
Jewish counterarguments to the newly formulated Christian
claims. While the Disputation may have been a great achievement
for Paulus Christiani in his innovative use of rabbinic
sources in Christian missionary efforts, for Naḥmanides it
represented an additional example of the wise and courageous
leadership which he offered his people.
Bibliography: Baer, Spain, 1 (1961), 150–62; idem, in: Tarbiz,
2 (1930/31), 172–87; C. Roth, Gleanings (1967), 34–61; M.A. Cohen,
in: HUCA, 35 (1964), 157–92; Ben-Sasson, in: Molad, 1 (1967), 363–5.
Add. Bibliography: J. Forment, in: Escritos del Vedat, 7 (1977),
155–75; H. Grossinger, in: Kairos n.F., 19 (1977), 257–85; 20 (1978),
1–15, 161–81; M. Orfali, in: Sefarad, 39 (1979), 111–20; R. Chazan, in
Speculum, 52 (1977), 824–42; idem, in HUCA 51 (1980), 89–110; idem,
in: HUCA, 61 (1990), 185–201; idem, Barcelona and Beyond, (1992);
H. Maccoby, Judaism on Trial (1982), incl. text of the Disputation;
H-G von Mutius, Die christlich-jüdische Zwangsdisputation zu Barcelona
(1982); J. Riera I Sans and E. Feliu (eds.), Disputa de Barcelona
de 1263 (1985); S. Schreiner, in: Judaica, 42 (1986), 141–57; M. Fox, in:
JJS, 40 (1989), 95–109.
[Haim Beinart / Yom Tov Assis (2nd ed.)]
BARCINSKY (Barczinsky), HENRYK (Henoch; 1896–
1941?), painter and graphic artist. Barcinsky was born in Lodz,
Poland. As a child, he received a traditional Jewish education
and prior to World War I attended a private art school in
Łodz. In 1915–16 he studied at Henryk Glitzenstein’s studio in
Warsaw. As a teenager, he became close to the circles of young
Jewish writers and artists who made it their aim to develop
“contemporary national art.” These ideas were a formative influence
on the development of Barcinsky’s national and artistic
Weltanschauung, and the artist maintained close ties with
this environment all through his life. In 1918, he participated
in the exhibition in Białystok organized by the Artistic Section
of the local Kultur-Liga. In 1919, in Łodz, he joined the
“Yung Yiddish” modernist group and published his drawings
in its anthologies. In the same year, he moved to Dresden,
where he attended the Academy of Arts. In 1924, upon completing
his studies at the Academy, he traveled around Spain
and then settled in Berlin. He joined Elsa Lasker-Schüeler’s
group, which brought together German-Jewish intellectuals
and cultural figures. In the 1920s, he participated in a number
of exhibitions in Berlin and Dresden. Living in Germany,
he never broke ties with Poland and regularly sent his works
to be shown at exhibitions there. In 1933, when Hitler came
to power, Barcinsky returned to Poland and settled in Łodz.
In 1934, the Jewish Society for the Encouragement of Artists
organized his solo exhibition in Warsaw, in the Jewish community
building. Barcinsky is one of the most remarkable
and original representatives of expressionism in Polish art.
He drew his themes from the Jewish life around him, as well
as from Jewish folklore. When German occupation troops entered
Poland and were approaching Łodz, Barcinsky fled to
Tomaszow in the hope of finding refuge with friends there.
After 1941, no trace of him remained..
Bibliography: Y. Sandel, Umgekumene Yidishe Kinstler in
Poiln, vol. 1 (1957), 47–53; J. Malinowski. Grupa “Jung Idysz” i żidowskie
środowisko “Nowej Sztuki” w Polsce. 1918–1923 (1987); idem, Malarstwo
i rzeźba Żydow Polskich w XIX i XX wieku (2000), 158, 189–91.
[Hillel Kazovsky (2nd ed.)]
146 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 3