Two works by Jewish apostates to Christianity, bound together:
1. Ein Sermon, durch Paulum Weidner… den Juden zu Prag Anno MDLXI den 26. Aprilis in irer Synagoga geprediget [Sermon preached by Paulus Weidner… in the Jewish synagogue in Prague on the 26th of April, 1561, which brought about the conversion of some of the community members to Christianity]. Vienna: Raphael Hofhalter, 1562. First edition. German. Some of the letters on the title page are printed in red. Printer's device on last page.
The rare first printing of a Christian sermon, which the Jews of Prague were forced to attend in 1561 at the command of Emperor Ferdinand I.
In the year 1560, holy books were confiscated from the Jews of Prague, the largest and most important Jewish community in the Holy Roman Empire at the time, and transferred to the capital city Vienna to be inspected by the church censor – the Jewish apostate Paulus Weidner (born Asher Yehudah son of Natan Ashkenazi). A year later, in March 1561, Emperor Ferdinand I decreed that the Jews were to gather occasionally in the synagogue and listen to the sermons of priests preaching for conversion. First and foremost of the preachers was the apostate Weidner, whose first sermon was held in the Jewish synagogue of Prague on April 26, 1561 – and that is the sermon that was printed in this work. A dedication to Emperor Ferdinand I is printed at the beginning of the work.
The apostate Paulus Weidner von Billerburg (1525-1585) was born in Udine, Italy, to a Jewish family of German origin, with the name Asher Yehudah son of Natan Ashkenazi (his brother is R. Shlomo son of Natan Ashkenazi, who served as a doctor and diplomat in the territory of the Ottoman Empire). He studied medicine at the University of Padua, and was invited to work as a doctor in Carinthia, Austria, although as a rule, Jews were forbidden from residing in the area. In 1558, he converted to Christianity in Vienna together with his family, and soon afterwards he was granted a title of nobility. Weidner composed books and worked to make converts for his new religion; he served as doctor to the Austrian emperors, as dean of the faculty of medicine, and as rector of the University of Vienna. In 1582 he was granted the right to use the noble title "von Billerburg".

2. Der gantz Judisch Glaub [The Whole Jewish Belief], by Antonius Margaritha (Anton Margaritha). Frankfurt am Main, 1561. German.
Third edition of the polemical antisemitic work by the apostate Antonius Margaritha (1492-1542), scion of a famous rabbinic family in Germany, son of the Rabbi of Regensburg Shmuel Margaliot and grandson of Rabbi Yaakov Margaliot. Several in-text woodcuts, including woodcuts depicting Jews at the synagogue.
This work, which claims to expose the true face of Judaism, mocks Jewish customs and makes serious accusations against the Jews. Among other things, Margaritha warns his Christian readers against having contact and trading with Jews, cautions them not to consult with Jewish physicians and negatively portrays the custom of using a "Sabbath Goy" (this work deeply affected Martin Luther, who was inspired by it to write his book "On the Jews and Their Lies"). This work includes the first translation of the Jewish prayer service for a non-Jewish readership.
As a result of the grim accusations against the Jews made in his book, Margaritha was invited to a public debate, conducted in 1530 before an imperial committee that convened in the Reichstag of Augsburg in the presence of Emperor Karl V. Margaritha's opponent in this debate was the well-known Jewish lobbyist Rabbi Joseph ben Gershon of Rosheim (Joseph Loanz). After Joseph ben Gershon refuted Margaritha's claims against the Jews, Margaritha was banished from Augsburg.

Two works bound together. [66]; [116] leaves. 19.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and light wear. Worming, slightly affecting text. Handwritten notation on the margin of one of the leaves. Decorated ancient leather binding, somewhat damaged, and restored (new endpapers). Stamped with the name of the owner and the year 1567 on the binding.
Source: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, NHB.185 / NHB.333.

This item is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item nos. 40623/374844.