{"id":6247,"date":"2020-04-06T20:24:20","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T18:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moked.it\/international\/?p=6247"},"modified":"2020-10-14T11:28:44","modified_gmt":"2020-10-14T09:28:44","slug":"italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"ITALICS How Jewish communities mourn \u2014 and live \u2014 under lockdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"italics\"<\/a>By Giovanni Vigna*<\/strong><\/p>\n

On March 16, the former secretary general of the Jewish community of Milan, Michele Sciama, became the first Italian Jew to die of COVID-19. To date, Italy has suffered the most COVID-19 related deaths and is second in the world for infections, after China.<\/p>\n

Sciama was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Milan, but his family was forbidden to hold a funeral fitting for the community leader he was.<\/p>\n

\u201cLosing a loved one without saying goodbye is really painful. My father died alone and now I can\u2019t even comfort my mother,\u201d Michele\u2019s daughter Stefania told The Times of Israel this week.<\/p>\n

Sciama\u2019s son-in-law, Simone Sinai, explained that government regulations that prohibit religious services in places of worship precluded a public memorial service. \u201cCurrently only a short farewell ceremony is allowed. It\u2019s very painful, but we had to adapt to the new rules,\u201d said Sinai.<\/p>\n

Stefania Sciama and her husband spent the shiva, or traditional seven-day Jewish mourning period, alone and unable to leave the house. Some relatives who live nearby left provisions on their doorstep. <\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately my mother is currently alone,\u201d Stefania said. \u201cWe kept in touch via Skype, and there were friends, relatives and rabbis who comforted us. We prayed at a distance. They were very intense moments of coming together. Last Friday we lit Shabbat candles together with over 400 people connected online.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spread of coronavirus is increasing day by day. As of March 25, there are 74,386 confirmed coronavirus cases in Italy, 7,503 dead, and 9,362 healed. Dozens of Jews have contracted the virus, and six have already died.<\/p>\n

About 30,000 Jews live in Italy. The Italian Jewish communities have adapted to the increasingly stringent provisions of the government aimed at creating a social distancing between citizens. Although the new rules allow the opening of places of worship, the synagogues have been closed as a precaution.<\/p>\n

Stefania Sciama and her husband credit the Jewish community of Milan, now under the leadership of Milo Hasbani, as well as the president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, Noemi Di Segni, with guaranteeing that its members receive appropriate care.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation is very serious,\u201d Di Segni told The Times of Israel. \u201cI think foremost of the difficulties faced by the sick, but also of the people forced to stay at home. There is an atmosphere of sadness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Di Segni noted that the Jewish community is no stranger to times of emergency and war, \u201ceven if we are aware that this pandemic is not an actual war.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we are listening to the stories of our elders with a different ear,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is a listening that generates a shared bond and sense of identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Union of Italian Jewish Communities is set to launch a nationwide emergency telephone line to provide companionship for those who are isolated, offer psychological support to those who need help, and guarantee medical assistance for issues unrelated to the coronavirus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to help everyone, and in particular the elderly,\u201d said Di Segni. She said the organization is currently bringing basic necessities to homes and hospitals. Unfortunately, she said, there are many more in need than ever and social workers receive constant requests. To raise funds for Jewish Italian families in need, the Union of Italian Jewish Communities and the Jewish Communities of Rome and Milan have launched a crowdfunding campaign.
\nMilan<\/p>\n

\u201cI am worn out,\u201d said Milan Jewish community president Hasbani. \u201c[Fifty-four-year-old] Giorgio Sinigaglia died on Monday. He was very active in the community and had four children. Altogether there are seven or eight sick people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The local Jewish community has 5,300 official members and an additional estimated 1,500 unregistered Jews in the area. In Lombardy, the epicenter of the epidemic in Italy, there are also about 500 Israelis working on fixed-term contracts.<\/p>\n

The Jewish community has taken steps to contain the virus. \u201cThe schools have been closed for several weeks. Our nursing home, which houses 100 patients, is closed. Relatives can\u2019t enter\u2026 Fortunately, there were no cases of contagion,\u201d Hasbani said.<\/p>\n

While offices and synagogues throughout Milan are closed, the community continues to provide assistance to those in need through a call center and social service.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Alberto Somekh teaches at the Jewish high school in Milan and was formerly the chief rabbi of Turin. In an article published on the Jewish community website, he recalled how the Torah describes the Jewish people dealing with epidemics throughout history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe masters of the Talmud affirm that the risk to health requires greater attention and behavioral rigor than the normal prohibitions of the Torah,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe that the most significant Talmudic passage for our present situation is the following: \u2018If there is a plague in the city, withdraw your steps.\u2019 That is, shut yourself in the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever leaves the house without reason does not just break a state law. He breaks Jewish law,\u201d Somekh said.<\/p>\n

Among other concerns for the Jewish community is access to kosher food, as strict travel restrictions are enforced by the government. The local kosher store has upped its accessibility by allowing customers to order groceries and pick them up at a scheduled time.
\nRome<\/p>\n

Numbering about 15,000, the Jewish community of Rome is the largest in Italy. One of its members has died from complications of the coronavirus. Ss the virus increasingly forces people into isolation, Rome\u2019s Jewish leadership is working to virtually bridge the gaps and bring members together, said community spokesman Daniel Funaro.<\/p>\n

The community offers online courses and rabbis\u2019 talks via social media platforms, and has created Facebook groups for people to socialize, Funaro said. The Rome community has also opened a direct telephone line for those in need of support or assistance.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral hundred people have turned to us,\u201d Funaro said. \u201cWe are bringing groceries to the elderly and trying to give a comforting word to those who are particularly worried.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a time when standards dictate staying at home, people have a lot of spare time to read books and expand their knowledge. Rome\u2019s Jewish Community\u2019s cultural wing has promoted on its Facebook page a program in which writers, booksellers, journalists and historians present great works of Jewish literature.
\nSmaller Jewish communities<\/p>\n

Religious leaders from small to medium-sized Jewish communities such as Venice, Florence, Bologna, and Verona are working to strengthen unity and cohesion while their congregations are in isolation.<\/p>\n

Trieste, a city in northern Italy bordering Slovenia, houses one of the largest synagogues in Europe. Because the congregation is so small, however, until a few days ago, services were still regularly performed there.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnforcing the safety distances and other regulations was not a problem,\u201d wrote chief Rabbi Alexander Meloni in an article published on the \u201cPagine Ebraiche\u201d Italian Jewish news website.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil a few days ago I was thinking about opening the synagogue for the tefillot [Jewish prayers],\u201d said Meloni. \u201cDue to new government regulations aimed at preventing people from going out or moving around, we decided to close the synagogue.\u201d<\/p>\n

*The article was published in the Times of Israel on March 26, 2020.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Giovanni Vigna* On March 16, the former secretary general of the Jewish community of Milan, Michele Sciama, became the first Italian Jew to die of COVID-19. To date, Italy has suffered the most COVID-19 related deaths and is second in the world for infections, after China. Sciama was buried in the Jewish cemetery in… leggi <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4296,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7613],"tags":[],"position":[],"class_list":["post-6247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-italian-word-of-the-week"],"yoast_head":"\nITALICS How Jewish communities mourn \u2014 and live \u2014 under lockdown - Pagine Ebraiche International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ITALICS How Jewish communities mourn \u2014 and live \u2014 under lockdown - Pagine Ebraiche International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Giovanni Vigna* On March 16, the former secretary general of the Jewish community of Milan, Michele Sciama, became the first Italian Jew to die of COVID-19. To date, Italy has suffered the most COVID-19 related deaths and is second in the world for infections, after China. Sciama was buried in the Jewish cemetery in… leggi \" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pagine Ebraiche International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-06T18:24:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-10-14T09:28:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/moked.it\/international\/files\/2014\/04\/italics.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"rossellatercatin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"rossellatercatin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/\",\"name\":\"ITALICS How Jewish communities mourn \u2014 and live \u2014 under lockdown - Pagine Ebraiche International\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/moked.it\/international\/files\/2014\/04\/italics.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-06T18:24:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-10-14T09:28:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/#\/schema\/person\/51e9fca2f211041a5817e3678547fee1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/files\/2014\/04\/italics.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/files\/2014\/04\/italics.png\",\"width\":206,\"height\":92},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ITALICS How Jewish communities mourn \u2014 and live \u2014 under lockdown\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/\",\"name\":\"Pagine Ebraiche International\",\"description\":\"A Taste of the Italian Jewish World\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/#\/schema\/person\/51e9fca2f211041a5817e3678547fee1\",\"name\":\"rossellatercatin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3a2261350e4b6436b942e97ff77816c779ef1acb7b5238174c7cd8d96e4d0d91?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3a2261350e4b6436b942e97ff77816c779ef1acb7b5238174c7cd8d96e4d0d91?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"rossellatercatin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/author\/rossellatercatin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ITALICS How Jewish communities mourn \u2014 and live \u2014 under lockdown - Pagine Ebraiche International","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ITALICS How Jewish communities mourn \u2014 and live \u2014 under lockdown - Pagine Ebraiche International","og_description":"By Giovanni Vigna* On March 16, the former secretary general of the Jewish community of Milan, Michele Sciama, became the first Italian Jew to die of COVID-19. To date, Italy has suffered the most COVID-19 related deaths and is second in the world for infections, after China. Sciama was buried in the Jewish cemetery in… leggi ","og_url":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/","og_site_name":"Pagine Ebraiche International","article_published_time":"2020-04-06T18:24:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-10-14T09:28:44+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/moked.it\/international\/files\/2014\/04\/italics.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"rossellatercatin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"rossellatercatin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/","url":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/","name":"ITALICS How Jewish communities mourn \u2014 and live \u2014 under lockdown - Pagine Ebraiche International","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/moked.it\/international\/files\/2014\/04\/italics.png","datePublished":"2020-04-06T18:24:20+00:00","dateModified":"2020-10-14T09:28:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/#\/schema\/person\/51e9fca2f211041a5817e3678547fee1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/files\/2014\/04\/italics.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/files\/2014\/04\/italics.png","width":206,"height":92},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2020\/04\/06\/italics-jewish-communities-mourn-live-lockdown\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ITALICS How Jewish communities mourn \u2014 and live \u2014 under lockdown"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/#website","url":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/","name":"Pagine Ebraiche International","description":"A Taste of the Italian Jewish World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/#\/schema\/person\/51e9fca2f211041a5817e3678547fee1","name":"rossellatercatin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3a2261350e4b6436b942e97ff77816c779ef1acb7b5238174c7cd8d96e4d0d91?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3a2261350e4b6436b942e97ff77816c779ef1acb7b5238174c7cd8d96e4d0d91?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"rossellatercatin"},"url":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/author\/rossellatercatin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4296"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6247"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6248,"href":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6247\/revisions\/6248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6247"},{"taxonomy":"position","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/position?post=6247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}