Friday, March 04, 2005

Toras Mortara

I am reading Daniel Kertzer's The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara.

Briefly, these are the facts of the case:

In 1858 a 6-year-old Jewish boy was taken from his parents' home in Bologna, Italy, by agents of the Papal inquisition. The year before, Edgardo had been secretly baptized, by the Mortaras' Catholic servant (or so she claimed); it was against the law for baptized Christians to be raised by Jews, and so, in the eyes of the Church, the kidnapping was only just.

Outraged? Good. Me, too.

But, hold on.

As I read, I had a thought, an insidious thought, I would like to share with you.

Suppose, the facts of the case were as follows:

In 2015 a 28-year-old Jewish woman was taken from her home in Jerusalem, Israel, by agents of the Sanhedrin. The year before, Chani, previously divorced by her first husband Boruch, had married Aaron, a kohen; it is against the law for a divorced woman to marry a kohen, and so, in the eyes of the Sanhedrin, the kidnapping was only just.

Still outraged? If not, why?