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December 7, 2015 - Kislev 25, 5776
Le grand defi By Guido Vitale* "Le grand défi, c’est de montrer comment l’étude de la Torah participe à une réflexion générale sur la lecture et sur la compréhension du monde. La Torah n’est pas une exclusion du monde, mais, au contraire, un outil d’analyse et de compréhension de la complexité de celui-ci. Le défi n’est pas de se cloîtrer dans le Judaïsme mais de trouver le langage pour dialoguer de manière réelle avec le monde et sa complexité". (Rabbi Marc Alain Ouaknine) *Guido Vitale is the editor-in-chief of Pagine Ebraiche.   100 Notable Books  By Daniela Gross Although it was fairly predictable, it was nice to find The Complete Works of Primo Levi, edited by Ann Goldstein, in the prestigious list of “The 100 Notable Books of 2015” in this Sunday Book Review of the New York Times. “Twenty-eight years after Levi’s death, this collection of everything he published brings into focus the breadth and coherence of his genius,” reads the caption. For a writer, to be or not to be in this roster is a turning point. Not by chance, a year ago, Ayelet Waldman – the Israeli-American author married to Michael Chabon – had a pathetic nervous breakdown on Twitter, because her last book Love & Treasure had been excluded. Obviously, the work of Primo Levi goes far beyond these aspirational and bestselling obsessions, as Edward Mendelson explained a week ago in the Book Review, in a cover story titled “Bearer of Witness”. “[…] These three handsome volumes – he wrote - bring into focus the breadth and coherence of his genius, and make unexpectedly clear how deeply his work as a chemist shaped his unsettling work as a moralist and his unique vision of psychology and history.” This is to say, his value as a writer and as a witness is so wide and faceted that journalistic acknowledgements are redundant. However, the inclusion of The Complete Works of Primo Levi in the New York Times list is a powerful reminder that hopefully will help its circulation in the US.		NEWS Chanukah Lights Up Italian Squares  By Rossella Tercatin Chanukah candles are lighting up Italian squares. In Rome, Milan, Florence, Turin, Venice, public menorah lighting is taking place attracting local Jews and fellow citizens who have chosen to overcome fear in the wake of the latest wave of terror attacks in Paris. The ceremonies were mostly organized by members of Chabad-Lubavitch, the Chassidic group who started the tradition of public menorah lightings almost 40 years ago in the US. Nowadays, thousands of lightings take place every year all over the world. In Rome the lighting took place in central Barberini Square, and it was attended, among others, by Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon, Rome’s Commissionaire Paolo Tronca, president of the Jewish Community of Rome Ruth Dureghello and chief rabbi Riccardo Di Segni. Read more BOOKS In the Fight Against Terror No Room for Giving Up to Fear By Adam Smulevich The new book by Italian Minister of Interior Angelino Alfano Chi ha paura non è libero (Those who are Afraid are not Free) published by Mondadori was presented in Rome last week. Among the speakers invited by the Minister to present the book was the president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, Renzo Gattegna. "In the fight against terror we have to reject any form of self-pity and self-deprecation. It is essential to remain united in defense of our values. This is our strongest weapon," Gattegna said during the event. The introduction was made by popular television journalist Bruno Vespa and the event was attended by Monica Maggioni, the president of Rai (Italy's national public broadcasting company), archbishop Rino Fisichella and Imam Yahya Pallavicini. Read more FOOD - A Kosher Gourmet Paradise in Paris  By Francesca Matalon Everybody remembers TV super-star chef Gordon Ramsay fighting against culinary nightmares in every corner of the world shouting, throwing dishes and then later reconstructing them in order to make the worst of taverns become the trendiest foodies’ paradise. With that in mind, it is hard to be surprised by the metamorphosis of the kosher Paris restaurant, Le Rafael. It shouldn't be surprising as it comes from the expert hands and mind of Gordon's Italian student, Simone Zanoni. Zanoni also runs Ramsay's starred restaurant the Trianon Palace in Versailles. His goal, after a year from the opening, is to get the precious Michelin stars reward for Le Rafael as well; as the first luxury kosher restaurant in Paris. Read more media  Girls on DafDaf: Terrible, Smart and Honest   By Ada Treves Pippi Longstocking’s braids have turned into brushes in the cover by Luisa Valenti, an animage that captures the spirit of DafDaf number 63. Sixteen pages of books, music, ideas, projects and a great desire to smile and play, together with the capacity to take some risks, without forgetting history and traditions, but looking at the future. With equal sensitivity Nadia Terranova has mixed, in the section dedicated to books, the birthday of a mythical character, the heroine of a generation, with the history of many “terrible little girls”, with Lotta Combinaguai, the other character by Astrid Lindgren that arrives for the first time in Italy (published by Mondadori) with the illustrations by Beatrice Alemagna, and we added a sketch by Vanna Vinci to open five pages in which everything speaks of smart girls, from La bambina fulminante and La piccola battaglia portatile by Paolo Nori, to Matilde by Rohal Dahl to Elsina. Read more עברית קול הספרים Sarah Kaminski, University of Turin האם אנחנו מכירים או מתעניינים בתרבות הדתית של ״האחרים״.? ולא מדובר באיסלם שבו דן כעת כל העולם אלא בדת הנוצרית. האם לא הגיע הזמן להבין ולהכיר את הרקע ההיסטורי, מיהו ישו היהודי, במה עוסקים ספרי האוונגליון ולהגדיר ביתר דיוק את יחס הנצרות ליהודים לאורך אלפיים שנות היסטוריה. כל שנה ב-5 לדצמבר נערך מפגש בין דתי, נוצרים קאתוליים, פרוטסטנטים ויהודים חרדים וחילונים במנזר קמלדולי שבקרבת העיר ארצו (איטליה). במבנה האבן היפה המוקף יער עד ונחלים, נדון  השנה במקורות המשותפים לשתי הדתות עם התייחסות מיוחדת לאמהות התרבות המערבית: מרים ואסתר. קריאה אחרת של גיבורות בתנ״כ   Small Gestures By Pierpaolo Pinhas Punturello* There are small gestures, barely visible, that change the history of the world. One of these happened on a bus in Alabama, when a woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person. This episode occurred precisely 61 years ago, in December 1955. The lighting of a candle can also become a revolutionary gesture that changes the history of the world. In order for this to happen, it is enough for this candle to be publicly lit in a square in Paris, or Brussels, or Stockholm, in cities where darkness is thickening and, tragically, in order to protect themselves from this darkness people turn off the lights and close the doors of synagogues. *Pierpaolo Pinhas Punturello is a rabbi. The article was translated by Rossella Tercatin. 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, 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, Rachel Silvera, Adam Smulevich, Simone Somekh, Rossella Tercatin, Ada Treves, Lauren Waldman, Sahar Zivan.