Response to Martin Luther

Isaac ben Samuel Bassan was a shamash in a synagogue in Mantua, Italy, who supervised the printing of a Haggadah there, in the print shop of Giacomo Rufinelli, in 1560.

Giacomo Rufinelli was an Italian printer. From his father Venturino Ruffinelli, he inherited the post of Printer to the Duke of Mantua. After quarreling with the duke, he was stripped of this honor and from 1584 was forbidden to print books, though he continued to print some works illicitly. He then worked in Rome with two well-known printers.

Josel (Joseph) of Rosheim represented German and Polish Jews at the courts of Maximilian I and Charles V. Born in Hagenau, he lived in Mittelbergheim and later in Rosheim. In 1510, he was elected by the Jews of Alsace to represent them, and from that time on he worked as an advocate for Jewish communities, notably as representative for all Jews in the Holy Roman Empire. Besides his apologetic pamphlets, Josel of Rosheim wrote several religious and ethical works, parts of which are still extant. His memoir, written around 1547, is a personal testimony of some of the key events in the history of the Jews of the time.