MODENA – Recognizing the good and the duty of gratitude

In Modena, the “Bene, Gratitudine, Memoria” (Good, Gratitude, Remembrance) project has taken off with an event organized by the Diocesan Churches together with the Jewish Community. Ideated by Enrica Talà and Father Luca Bandiera, the initiative aims to present the stories of clerics who were involved with rescue operations that saved Italian and foreign Jews during the years of persecution, while also bringing to light stories of gratitude from those who were saved.

At the opening event, Marco Cassuto Morselli, president of the Federazione delle Amicizie Ebraico-Cristiane (Federation of Jewish-Christian Fellowships), reminded attendees that “in Hebrew, the concept of recognizing the good is called ‘hakarat ha-tov’. Giving thanks and remembering the benefits received permeate spiritual and religious Jewish life, even in daily life.” If evil exists, then so does good. “It is up to us to decide which side to lean on.”

Translated by Rebecca Luna Escobar, student at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of the University of Trieste, trainee in the newsroom of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities — Pagine Ebraiche.