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March 23th, 2015 - Nissan 3rd, 5775
The Balance By Guido Vitale* The question is how do we balance a plurality of ideas with a hierarchy of ideas. Through pluralism we make way for new ideas and prevent toxic orthodoxies. Through hierarchies we accept that our ideas are best served by context and that this context can often be found in the wisdom of the past. This is not a new question. The Jewish intellectual tradition has long wrestled with this tension between a plurality and hierarchy of ideas. (Elissa Strauss) *Guido Vitale is the editor-in-chief of Pagine Ebraiche.   The King of Cheeses  By Daniela Gross This announcement has nothing to do with the troublesome international current events of the last few days. But it is good news, in some ways more meaningful to the Jewish world than it would seem to be at first. Starting in October, the “King of  Cheeses” - as Italian Parmigiano Reggiano has been nicknamed – will be available with a double kosher certification. As reported by Davide Paolini on Il Sole 24 ore, about five thousand units of it, certified by OU-The Orthodox Union and OK-Kosher Certification, will be distributed on the international markets by the producer Bertinelli, a farm in the outskirts of Parma. It’s not much, considering how large the market for quality kosher food around the world might be. Only in the US, it is estimated to be worth 12.5 billion of dollars, and its growth is remarkable. This increase in market demand is not driven only by religious issues, but by consumers’ perception that kosher foods are of a higher quality, safer, and healthier. Parmigiano Reggiano, as Italians know very well, is a delicious cheese, which can enrich even the simplest dish. But Italy has much more to give to the international kosher market. In fact, the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities spearheaded a project to spread kosher certification among Italian producers, through the specific brand "K.it", which symbolizes products both kosher and Italian.		NEWS Jewish Italian Couple Had a Narrow Escape in Tunis  By Adam Smulevich The Jewish Community of Turin adhered to the initiatives of remembrance of the victims of the terrorist attack in Tunis (among the victims was an employee of city hall), proclaimed by the mayor, Piero Fassino. Among the survivors of the attack were Alberto and Anna Di Porto (71 and 60 years old), the parents of the Chief Rabbi of Turin, Ariel Di Porto. In a message sent to the mayor, Dario Disegni, the new president of the Community, wrote: “The threat of terrorism which now affects everyone, aims to destroy any possibility of peaceful coexistence. We must react with determination so that all the forces of obscurantism will neither prevail nor slowly creep into our lives.” Read more NEWS The Jews of Rome and the Jubilee Year By Rossella Tercatin On March 13, while celebrating the second anniversary of his pontificate, Jorge Mario Bergoglio announced an Extraordinary Jubilee Year dedicated to mercy. Considering the impact the event will have on the city of Rome in terms of traffic and roadworks and the added fear of terrorist attacks (ISIS has singled out Rome and the Vatican as targets multiple times), every citizen of Rome will be affected by the Jubilee, regardless of their religious affiliation. “Every opportunity is good for fostering dialogue,” commented the Chief Rabbi of Rome Riccardo Di Segni in an interview to the Italian daily La Repubblica. He also confirmed that they are planning a visit of Pope Francis to the Great Synagogue in Rome. “The Extraordinary Jubilee Year is fully a Catholic event: we look at this Jubilee year with interest and attention, but we are merely bystanders of this important occasion." Read more CULTURE - New Life for a Glorious Jewish Italian Magazine By Rachel Silvera For the Rassegna Mensile d'Israel, a magazine focused on the cultural and social evolution of Italian Jewry, it was time for a change. The editor-in-chief Giacomo Saban has left his job. "This monthly magazine was started in 1925, just one year before I was born.  It seems obvious to me at this point that I should leave my position to a younger person," he wrote. A new committee of Jewish scholars was formed: Alberto Cavaglion, rabbi Gianfranco Di Segni, Angelo Piattelli, Myriam Silvera and Laura Quercioli Mincer. They will be in charge of editing the new magazine. The Rassegna will also have an Israeli committee coordinated by Angelo Piattelli with Paola Abbina, Alfredo Mordechai Rabello, Ariel Rathaus and Claudia Rosenzweig, all being scholars of Italian origin. The goals of the magazine are to inform about the developments of Italian Judaism throughout the world and to create a strong relationship between Israeli and Italian Jews.5. Read more ISRAEL ELECTION “My First Time” By Michael Sierra It is said that there is always a first time. And the first few times it is also said that they are special: the first love, the first kiss, the first child, the first word. In this election I voted for the first time! It really is not exactly the first time: I already voted for the municipal elections, because Israel can take part at the age of 17 years. But this time is the first time that I voted in the elections for Israel Parliament. Read more Português Sacrifícios por Eliezer Di Martino* As regras dos Korbanot, Sacrifícios, que dominam a maior parte do Humash de Vaikrá, Levitico, são uma das coisas mais difíceis de tratar, pois o Templo foi destruído há mais de 2000 anos portanto a pratica dos Korbanot extinguiu-se. Muitos comentaristas, especialmente os mais místicos, tentaram encontrar o sentido profundo dos Sacrifícios, para resgatar o espírito destes inclusive quando a sua pratica já não existia mais. Um dos mais simples, todavia considerado um dos mais profundos, comentário foi dado por rabi Shneor Zalman de Ladi, ou seja o primeiro Rebe de Lubavitch.  Ele notou uma peculiaridade gramatical na primeira parte da nossa Parashá. *O rabino Eliezer di Martino é o rabino-chefe de Trieste Leia mais Architectural Preparation and Divine Presence By Yaacov Mascetti* Years ago, while spending a Shabbat with my best friend Amos and his family in Ma'aleh Gilbo'a, I bumped into Rav David Bigman, the rosh yeshiva there, and had a short chat on teaching literature in Israel, studying Torah, etc. Just the standard conversation one has when bumping into someone in the street… Rav Bigman always astonished me with his unique perspective on the various Gemara sections we studied there, but this time he said something that has remained with me ever since: he was lamenting the fact that the young men who came to study in the yeshiva every year were more and more educated to give for granted an ontological dichotomy between mind and body, or, if you wish, between soul and body. After a brief request on my part for an elucidation on what that meant, he said that the forma mentis of the rabbis of the Talmud rarely has common grounds with the very Platonic and dichotomous mindset the modern West, and that in order to understand some of the things they are reported to have said or done we should, at times, get rid of those polarities. *Yaakov Mascetti holds a Ph.D. and teaches at the Department of Comparative Literature, Bar Ilan University. Read more
Follow us on    This newsletter is published under difficult conditions. The editors of this newsletter are Italian journalists whose native language is Italian. They are willing to offer their energy and their skills to give international readers the opportunity of learning more about the Italian Jewish world, its values, its culture and its traditions. In spite of all our efforts to avoid this, readers may find an occasional language mistake. We count on your understanding and on your help and advice to correct these mistakes and improve our publication. Pagine Ebraiche International Edition is published by the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI). UCEI publications encourage an understanding of the Jewish world and the debate within it. The articles and opinions published by Pagine Ebraiche International Edition, unless expressly stated otherwise, cannot be interpreted as the official position of UCEI, but only as the self-expression of the people who sign them, offering their comments to UCEI publications. Readers who are interested in making their own contribution should email us at desk@ucei.it  You received this newsletter because you authorized UCEI to contact you. If you would like to remove your email address from our list, or if you would like to subscribe using a new email address, please send a blank email to  desk@ucei.it stating "unsubscribe" or "subscribe" in the subject field. © UCEI - All rights reserved - The articles may only be reproduced after obtaining the written permission of the editor-in-chief. Pagine Ebraiche - Reg Rome Court 199/2009 – Editor in Chief: Guido Vitale - Managing Editor: Daniela Gross. Special thanks to: Francesco Moises Bassano, Susanna Barki, Amanda Benjamin, Monica Bizzio, Angelica Edna Calò Livne, Eliezer Di Martino, Alain Elkann, Dori Fleekop, Daniela Fubini, Benedetta Guetta, Sarah Kaminski, Daniel Leisawitz, Annette Leckart, Gadi Luzzatto Voghera, Yaakov Mascetti, Francesca Matalon, Jonathan Misrachi, Anna Momigliano, Giovanni Montenero, Elèna Mortara, Sabina Muccigrosso, Lisa Palmieri Billig, Jazmine Pignatello, Shirley Piperno, Giandomenico Pozzi, Daniel Reichel, Colby Robbins,  Danielle Rockman, Lindsay Shedlin, Michael Sierra, Rachel Silvera, Adam Smulevich, Simone Somekh, Rossella Tercatin, Ada Treves, Lauren Waldman, Sahar Zivan. Questo notiziario è realizzato in condizioni di particolare difficoltà. I redattori di questo notiziario sono giornalisti italiani di madrelingua italiana. Mettono a disposizione le loro energie e le loro competenze per raccontare in lingua inglese l'ebraismo italiano, i suoi valori, la sua cultura e i suoi valori. Nonostante il nostro impegno il lettore potrebbe trovare errori e imperfezioni nell'utilizzo del linguaggio che faremo del nostro meglio per evitare. Contiamo sulla vostra comprensione e soprattutto sul vostro aiuto e sul vostro consiglio per correggere gli errori e migliorare. Pagine Ebraiche International Edition è una pubblicazione edita dall'Unione delle Comunità Ebraiche Italiane. L'UCEI sviluppa mezzi di comunicazione che incoraggiano la conoscenza e il confronto delle realtà ebraiche. Gli articoli e i commenti pubblicati, a meno che non sia espressamente indicato il contrario, non possono essere intesi come una presa di posizione ufficiale, ma solo come la autonoma espressione delle persone che li firmano e che si sono rese gratuitamente disponibili. Gli utenti che fossero interessati a offrire un proprio contributo possono rivolgersi all'indirizzo  desk@ucei.it Avete ricevuto questo messaggio perché avete trasmesso a Ucei l'autorizzazione a comunicare con voi. Se non desiderate ricevere ulteriori comunicazioni o se volete comunicare un nuovo indirizzo email, scrivete a: desk@ucei.it indicando nell'oggetto del messaggio "cancella" o "modifica". © UCEI - Tutti i diritti riservati - I testi possono essere riprodotti solo dopo aver ottenuto l'autorizzazione scritta della Direzione. Pagine Ebraiche International Edition - notiziario dell'ebraismo italiano - Reg. Tribunale di Roma 199/2009 - direttore responsabile: Guido Vitale - Coordinamento: Daniela Gross. Realizzato con il contributo di: Francesco Moises Bassano, Susanna Barki, Amanda Benjamin, Monica Bizzio, Angelica Edna Calò Livne, Eliezer Di Martino, Alain Elkann, Dori Fleekop, Daniela Fubini, Benedetta Guetta, Sarah Kaminski, Daniel Leisawitz, Annette Leckart, Gadi Luzzatto Voghera, Yaakov Mascetti, Francesca Matalon, Jonathan Misrachi, Anna Momigliano, Giovanni Montenero, Elèna Mortara, Sabina Muccigrosso, Lisa Palmieri Billig, Jazmine Pignatello, Shirley Piperno, Giandomenico Pozzi, Daniel Reichel, Colby Robbins,  Danielle Rockman, Lindsay Shedlin, Michael Sierra, Rachel Silvera, Adam Smulevich, Simone Somekh, Rossella Tercatin, Ada Treves, Lauren Waldman, Sahar Zivan.