By Yaakov Mascetti* A few weeks ago, in a parents’ meeting at my son’s religious boys high-school in Jerusalem, a couple of father expressed, each in his own way, the concern for “our boys” abandoning the religious lifestyle, taking off their kippot and not respecting the sanctity of Shabbat. They we concerned with their (our) …
By Daniela Fubini Once upon a time, in that part of my life that happened in the North of Italy, we witnessed two opposed and equally social trends: the era of the aperitivo, and the one of fusion food. Since I was born in Turin, that little pre-meal treat made of light wine (absolutely no …
By JTA A former Italian soccer player known for his pro-fascist views has been suspended as a TV commentator after displaying a tattoo on the air referring to Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. The satellite channel Sky Sports Italia suspended Paolo Di Canio after he appeared on camera while reporting on a match Sunday wearing …
By Susanna Calimani* Whether it is about burkinis on French beaches, a controversial campaign about fertility in Italy, the pretty extreme slits on the red carpet at the Venice film festival, or the introduction of “curvy” candidates for Miss Italia, I have the feeling it is always about the same issue: someone else judging women’s body …
By Yaakov Mascetti* Act 1 A few weeks ago, I had an interesting conversation with an old friend in Italy – the discussion revolved around things I had expressed on Facebook regarding the role of religion and God in the daily life of a Jew. At the end of the discussion, I proclaimed myself a …
By Benedetto Carucci Viterbi* According to the Biblical narrative, we all descend from a single man and we all share the same genealogical tree. According to some evolution theories, we all descend from apes (perhaps African). No matter what, no one can claim to be better than another. *Benedetto Carucci Viterbi is a rabbi.
By Daniela Fubini* The trick coming with living in Tel Aviv is that people think it’s a place to go on vacation to, while we, the locals, actually work our nine, ten or eleven hour job like any Israeli and just don’t get the chutzpah of the surfers coming back from the sea when we …
By Susanna Calimani* One of the things I like the most among all Jewish laws and rules, are those about shivà, the seven days of mourning prescribed to the close relatives of someone who passes away and leaves us here, still. The wake and the funeral are just the beginning, and then you rip your …
By Yaakov Mascetti* A desert is an arduous context, wherein water is not the sole thing that lacks, but also the basic necessities for the normal functioning of a social collective. Within the dryness of this context, the People of Israel are required, in the Book of Numbers, to undergo the transformation from “a chaotic …
By Benedetto Carucci Viterbi* When Aaron, the High Priest and main actor in the inauguration of the Tabernacle, sees that the presence of God does not descend upon it, he exclusively blames himself. This is an exceptional quality, rabbi Yerucham Levi of Mir comments, in a world of people who, whatever happens, tend to blame …
By Susanna Calimani* Although the UK has just voted for the Brexit, let us stick to important things. Last month, almost a year after moving to Frankfurt, my parents came to visit me. We toured the city, they came to my workplace, explored the unexplored, compared the city to Venice: something better, something worse, something …
By Yaakov Mascetti* I was never a rebellious child, never a rebellious adolescent, and of course I have had to experience the yoke of rebellion (to everything except Yeshayahu Leibovitz, and maybe lasagna…) in my early 40s – seriously, I have a soft spot for revolutionary ideologies, I have a very hard time tolerating authority, …
By Daniela Fubini* Tel Aviv went back to its usual white and sandy beige, after over one week of streets full of rainbow flags, and rainbow people spreading around town like happy campers on a summer holiday. 35.000 from abroad, they say, and if it’s accurate, that means over 160.000 were Israelis, last Friday, marching …
By Maria Teresa Milano At a glance, it may sound like an adventure novel. Family issues, European history and Jewish life: a tale that begins in the alleyways lined with cinnamon colored shops of the hamlets painted by Chagall and enlivened by klezmoyrin’s music, a tale that travels through the countryside to reach the major …
By Susanna Calimani* I did it. I have always tried not to, but finally I did. And, frankly, I do not even feel that bad about it. It all started the week before: Martino, a friend and colleague of mine, had told me that Edith Erbrich would have come to the bank to have a …
By Yaakov Mascetti* Jewish holidays do not take place in an historical vacuum, ever – Pesach, together with Purim, is one of the more problematic holidays, at least so I think it is for those people who, to quote Milton, do wish to “be govern’d by reason, and not generally give up thir understanding to …
By Daniela Fubini* When I am back home in my small Tel Aviv apartment, if I switch on the television the voices I hear (sometimes I even listen to) are in Hebrew. Obvious, I am in Israel. But not too obvious, since I have many friends who switch on their TV in Israel and hear …
By Benedetto Carucci Viterbi* According to Toledot Jaacov Josef, freedom is awareness of what we lack, of our limits. Without it, we are still irreparably slaves. *Benedetto Carucci Viterbi is a rabbi.
By David Bidussa* Nadav and Avihu, believing that they were taking a step further in giving thanks to God, performed an act of devotion that exceeded the bounds of what is permitted. For this reason, they were punished (Lev. 10, 1-2). Fanaticism, as Shaftesbury already pointed out three centuries ago, is never the way to …
By Susanna Calimani* I had never done it before, but they say there is always a first time: I have watched twice the same movie at the cinema. The first time it was in Venice, my hometown, I was at the Venice Film Festival, there were 1409 people from all over the world and I …