Midrash, Polemic, and the Formation of the Latin Talmud

The Dialogi contra Iudaeos by Petrus Alphonsi and the Adversus Iudeorum inveteratam duritiem by Peter the Venerable were pioneering Christian works engaging extensively with rabbinic texts, notably exposing significant theological challenges within the rabbinic corpus to a Christian audience. These works are often credited with initiating extensive citations of Talmudic aggadot, which contributed to events leading to the burning of the Talmud in Paris. My dissertation, "Midrash, Polemic, and the Formation of the Latin Talmud," reevaluates this narrative through a source-critical examination of the aggadic literature in these polemical works. It posits that Alphonsi and Peter relied not primarily on the Talmud, but on a broader array of midrashic, liturgical, mystical, and popular texts circulating widely in medieval Jewish communities. These texts were often compiled together, influencing the Christian scholarly response and the organization of aggadah around themes like anthropomorphism. This study elucidates how Alphonsi and Peter’s engagements with Jewish texts offer insights into the process of anti-Judaizing in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, reflecting a complex cultural ecosystem that included non-legal texts. Moreover, it challenges the conventional distinction in scholarship between polemic and exegesis, showing that polemical writers accessed and utilized the same texts as their more benign counterparts, possibly interacting directly with Jewish scholars. Finally, by exploring how both Christian authors identified and used these texts alongside the Jewish identification of similar sources, my work addresses broader questions about the meaning and implications of the word 'Talmud' in medieval Christian and Jewish contexts.