BOOKS – Autobiography of Rome’s historic Rabbi Toaff released in Hebrew translation

“A wave of emotions swept over me when the Pope came toward me with open arms and embraced me. Two thousand years of history, pain, and suffering weighed upon my heart.” With these words, the then Chief Rabbi of Rome, Elio Toaff, described the historic visit of Pope John Paul II to Rome’s Great Synagogue in his book, Perfidi giudei, fratelli maggiori (Perfidious Jews, Elder Brothers). Originally published by Mondadori in 1987 and reprinted by Il Mulino in 2017 with previously unpublished texts and testimonies—including a letter to his brother Renzo, who had emigrated to then-Mandate Palestine in 1945—the distinguished Livorno-born rabbi’s autobiography has recently been introduced in Israeli bookstores. Curated by Yad Vashem and translated from Italian to Hebrew by Cesare Pavoncello, this edition marks a new chapter for the book.

“The initiative came from the younger members of our family, from the children of my wife Miriam and me. The idea was then warmly received by the next generation, even by grandchildren who never had the chance to meet the extraordinary man that Rabbi Toaff was,” recounted Sergio Della Pergola, Italian-Israeli renowned demographer, son-in-law of Toaff, and one of the leading voices in 20th-century Italian Judaism. What began as a family memory project has joined forces with the Shoah Memorial in Jerusalem, opening a window onto Italian Jewry through the legacy of one of its central figures.

Among those who remember Toaff’s contributions is former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yisrael Meir Lau. In his introduction to the Israeli edition, Rabbi Lau describes Toaff as “a great person, a great teacher, and a great leader,” whose charisma helped restore the Roman Jewish community from the physical and moral devastation of the Holocaust. Rabbi Lau speaks from experience; he survived Buchenwald at eight years old, having been deported there with his brother Naphtali after being separated from their mother.

The book was launched at the Italian Synagogue in Jerusalem and will be presented at other initiatives throughout Israel. “It’s essential that Rabbi Toaff is remembered also through this text, which is both a significant historical document and an engaging read,” Della Pergola emphasized. 

“In its pages, one feels the essence of his spirit, his unique way of being and expressing himself—even through the Tuscan expressions he often used to describe certain situations. For the translator, conveying these nuances in Hebrew was no simple task, but undoubtedly a fascinating one.”