John of Valladolid (born 1335) was a Spanish Jewish convert to Christianity. An able speaker, and possessed of some knowledge of

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

nical literature, he persuaded King

Henry II of Castile Henry II (13 January 1334 – 29 May 1379), called Henry of Trastámara or the Fratricidal (''el Fratricida''), was the first King of Castile and León from the House of Trastámara. He became king in 1369 by defeating his half-brother Peter the ...

that he could convince the Jews of the truth of Christianity if they were obliged to listen to him and to answer his questions. An order was accordingly issued, compelling the Jews to attend John's lectures in their synagogues and to discuss them with him. In company with another Jewish convert, John traveled throughout the Castilian provinces and lectured and debated in the synagogues, but with lack of success. At

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, he assembled the Jews four times and discussed with them the tenets of Christianity before numerous Christian and Moslem audiences. At Burgos he summoned Moses ha-Kohen of Tordesillas to a religious controversy in the presence of Archbishop Gomez of Toledo. John endeavored to demonstrate from the Bible the Messianic claims and the divinity of Jesus, and the truth of the dogma of the Trinity and of other Christian doctrines. Thus, for instance, he claimed that the final closed "mem" used in Isaiah ix. 6 is an allusion to the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

. Moses ha-Kohen refuted arguments of this kind, and the controversy was broken off in the middle of the fourth sitting.

References

* Moses ha-Kohen of Tordesillas, '' 'Ezer ha-Emunah,'' Introduction * Grätz, ''Gesch.'' viii.20; *

Isidore Loeb Isidore Loeb (1 November 1839 – 3 June 1892) was a French scholar born at Soultzmatt, Haut-Rhin. The son of Rabbi Seligmann Loeb of Sulzmatt, he was educated in Bible and Talmud by his father. After having followed the usual course in the publ ...

, in ''R.E.J.'' xviii.228.

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{{JewishEncyclopedia 1335 births 14th-century Castilian Jews Year of death unknown Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Spanish Roman Catholics