Foto Friday – The Italian Synagogue

December 4, 2009 - 9:24 AM by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Art, Foto Friday, History and Culture, Life, Profiles, Travel 

The Conegliano Synagogue in Jerusalem is the heart and soul of the local Italian Jewish community. The building, formerly a German Catholic school for girls, houses a museum, a restoration center, research and educational center, and a chapel, magnificent though modest in size, whose interior was rescued from destruction and brought to Jerusalem imported from Italy after World War 2.

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The Italian synagogue, or Minhag Bnei Roma (the Roman rite), also serves to protect the Jewish prayer rituals not only of Rome but of communities from all over Italy, the roots of which date back all the way to the Second Temple period. According the Jerusalem Italian Jews Association website: “It is still possible to identify some traces of that ancient rite in the present Italian rite, such as the special Shema blessings on the eve of Shabbath “asher kila ma’asav beyom hashevi’i” – “emet ve-emunah bashevi’i kyamta” and the Hebrew “kol nedarim” on Yom Kippur night, instead of the Aramaic one “kol nidre’” which is said in other rites.”

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The synagogue itself, however, is far less classical Ancient Rome and way more fabulous over-the-top Baroque. The womens’ section has elements of a balcony at the opera…

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I should point out that the Italian rite is traditionally open to influences — there is no one Italian ritual, with Northern Italian communities having a more Ashkenazi rite, central Italian communities having a more Sefardi one and all of Italian Jewry now being influenced heavily by Chabad — and Bnei Roma has an informal sort of gender-neutral area outside the main hall where men and women pray alongside one another. Definitely worth visiting on any Saturday morning – check the website for details. And if you can’t get there right away, take the virtual tour.

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I also want to mention that the photos were taken by Jonathan Sierra; a sensitive and imaginative photographer, he is also my beloved life partner who suffered a sad loss this week when his father, Professor and Rabbi Sergio Joseph Sierra, passed away at the age of 85. Rabbi Sierra was a great scholar who, together with wife Ornella, reconstituted the Jewish community of Bologna after the war. He also researched, wrote and edited books and essays on medieval Jewish scholarship (he translated a good portion of the commentator Rashi into Italian), was Chief Rabbi of Torino (Turin) and, after coming to Israel a decade ago, continued as an active member of the Italian Jewish community in Jerusalem until Alzheimer’s cruelly stepped in and vanquished his mind and spirit.

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This week, as the family mourns, the entire Italian community has gathered to pay tribute – whether physically at the shiva, or virtually through emails, instant messages and even Facebook – and to pray in the Italian rite.

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From Qumran to Rome

December 26, 2008 - 3:42 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Politics, Religion 

Dead Sea scrolls get the bootThe Dead Sea scrolls have recently become a great excuse for intensifying Israel’s relationship with Italy. The Italians have been in the business of preserving antiquities for far longer than the Zionists, and a team of scientists from the Italian Central Institute for Restoration has been working together with the Israel Antiquities Authority to restore, analyze and maintain the famous Bible fragments.

The scrolls were well-preserved when they sat in clay pots in Qumran’s dry caves for 2000 years, but in the 61 years since their discovery, they’ve undergone some wear and tear – even the Israel Museum’s strange-looking yet high-tech and emblematic Shrine of the Book seems to be a problematic home.

Considered one of the most the most significant archeological finds ever, many of the Dead Sea scrolls have been on tour of the world’s museums over the years (including, among others, the Library of Congress, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and the San Diego Natural History Museum). So when Italian President Giorgio Napolitano came to Israel for a visit last month, to see first-hand how the restoration project is going, he used the opportunity to announce that many Dead Sea scrolls would soon be on display in Rome, telling Israel Antiquities Authority spokespeople, “I am extremely pleased with the cooperation and scientific ties that have been formed between our representatives in Italy and the IAA.”

Coverage of the visit and announcement in the Italian press included an estimate that the Rome exhibit would take place some time in 2009, as well as some good-old Israeli confidence.

”We are sure that the scrolls will arouse great interest in the Italian public,” [IAA spokesman Yoli] Schwartz said, adding that Napolitano had pledged to be ”the first visitor” to the show.

Photo of Napolitano examining a scroll that mentions the Ten Commandments courtesy of Clara Amit for the Israel Antiquities Authority.

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