Obj. ID: 40679  Der gantz Judisch Glaub by Antonius Margaritha, Frankfurt am Main, 1561

This text was prepared by William Gross:

Third edition of the book "Der Ganz Juedisch Galub" (The Whole Jewish Belief). Woodcut vignette on title with four further woodcut illusration and sporadic use of Hebrew. An apolstate and anti-Jewish writer (his name is a corruption of the family surname Margolis), Margaritha was born c.1490 and converted to Catholicism in 1522, This libellous tract in which the author ridicules Jewish religious practice and beliefs had a great influence upon Martin Luther, who quoted it often in his own writings. Margaritha accuses Jews of lacking charity and piety, of harboring sentiments hostile to Christians, and finally, of treason. What gave Margarith special "credibility" was the fact that he was no ordinary Jew but the son of Samuel Margolis, the Chief Rabbi of the City of Regensburg, the Empire's most distinguished Jewish community. Elisheva Carlebach has dealt extenisvely with this work which she describes as a :sixteenth-century bestseller.". See Carlebach, Divided Souls (2001), pp. 55-56, 63-64 and 179-182; see also EJ, Vol. XI, cols. 958-9.
There are several illustrations of Jewish customs in this early book, including Pesach. This volume is bound with another book, "Ein Sermon", printed in Vienna in 1562. This latter book has Hebrew in red printing on the titlepage. Both are together in the original leather binding.