{"id":6161,"date":"2020-03-02T16:31:45","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T15:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moked.it\/international\/?p=6161"},"modified":"2020-10-14T11:27:40","modified_gmt":"2020-10-14T09:27:40","slug":"italics-italian-jewish-kid-supposed-bar-mitzvah-party-coronavirus-hit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/03\/02\/italics-italian-jewish-kid-supposed-bar-mitzvah-party-coronavirus-hit\/","title":{"rendered":"ITALICS This Italian Jewish kid was supposed to have a bar mitzvah party. Then coronavirus hit."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"italics\"<\/a>By Ben Sales*<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ruben Golran had studied for a year and a half in anticipation of this week, when 600 of his relatives and friends were supposed to converge on Milan to celebrate his bar mitzvah.<\/p>\n

First he planned to have a ceremony Tuesday, when he would put on tefillin, a Jewish ritual object, for the first time \u2014 a traditional rite of passage. Then it was a blowout party on Thursday night catered by a local kosher Israeli restaurant, and finally another ritual ceremony on Shabbat.<\/p>\n

Instead, Ruben\u2019s parents found out Sunday that everything would be canceled. Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus in northern Italy, regional officials had prohibited large gatherings. A day later, houses of worship were ordered closed.<\/p>\n

Within a matter of hours, the family called dozens of relatives across the globe, telling them to cancel their flights. On Tuesday, the tefillin ceremony included just Ruben\u2019s close relatives and no friends instead of the 400 planned guests.<\/p>\n

There was no party on Thursday night. Instead, Ruben and his family dined at the Israeli restaurant that was supposed to cater the affair. They\u2019re still not sure what will happen on Shabbat.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe learned everything, he was ready, he was waiting for the whole family to come and then they said it isn\u2019t happening, the synagogue is closed, you can go with your parents if you want,\u201d said Ruben\u2019s mother, Nethaly Golran. \u201cHe made us very proud because through all of this, he was very mature. He never cried. He was sad, but he said, \u2018It\u2019s OK. It\u2019s OK, mom. It\u2019ll be OK.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Jewish residents of Milan say they felt like the city, Italy\u2019s economic capital, had shut down this week: Soccer matches were canceled, the city\u2019s Duomo \u2014 a major tourist attraction \u2014 was closed and restaurants were instructed to shut before a national evening drink and snack time called \u201caperitivo.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s Jews \u2014 some 10,000 \u2014 are facing the same challenges as everyone else: Schools are closed, so people are scrambling for childcare even as some of them still go to work. Milan is devoid of tourists, a mega-industry throughout Italy. There was a rush several days ago on grocery stores. The ban on large gatherings persists, and no one is sure when things will return to normal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel like everyone here in Milan because it\u2019s such a strange, unusual situation,\u201d said Claudia Bagnarelli, who co-founded the local Jewish day school. \u201cEveryone is a little shocked. \u2026 Within [the space of] one day, they said the schools are closed and parents have to deal with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The community also has its share of unique challenges: Despite the closure of houses of worship, Jews have tried to convene prayer quorums in apartments in case someone needs to recite the Mourner\u2019s Kaddish. Some students taking a gap year in Israel who returned home for a short break are now stuck in Italy, barred from returning to their programs.<\/p>\n

Milan\u2019s official Jewish community organization has canceled its regular classes and programs, including some celebrating Purim. They hope that things will return to normal before the holiday comes on March 10. The community has also set up a task force to assist those who live by themselves and need to get food and other services. The Jewish school is setting up classes via video chat.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few people meet in apartments just to make the minyan, but there are no people from outside,\u201d said Milo Hasbani, the president of Milan\u2019s Jewish community. \u201cThese are the kind of people who know each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bar mitzvahs aren\u2019t the only Jewish ceremonies to be affected. A bris on Monday also had to be scaled back. At a normal Milanese bris \u2014 unlke their American counterparts, they are often held around noon \u2014 more than 100 guests would expect to enjoy a delectable menu of lasagna, ravioli and Italian pastries.<\/p>\n

But at this bris, conducted by community mohel Rabbi Shmuel Hezkia in a Milanese synagogue, only a handful of families showed up \u2014 and there was no feast to be had.<\/p>\n

Hezkia said the whole thing was over quickly. Local officials have instructed Milan\u2019s residents to avoid public gatherings, and the last thing Hezkia wanted was to anger the local government and provoke an investigation of the religious ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought of doing it in an apartment,\u201d Hezkia said. \u201cBut because it was organized, and we had already sent invitations on WhatsApp, we kept it as is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hezkia has said that, except for the ban on gatherings, life has gone on pretty much as normal. The thing he really notices is the lack of tourism.<\/p>\n

\u201cItaly and Milan live on tourism, people who go out and spend, and unfortunately that\u2019s missing,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can feel they\u2019re missing. We feel that this Shabbat there won\u2019t be a kiddush or guests to invite on Friday night.\u201d<\/p>\n

*The article was published in JTA on February 27, 2020.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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