International

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

January 7, 2019 - Shevat 1, 5779

news

Circumcision, Jewish Rules Example
to Protect Newborns

By Giorgio Mortara*

Ritual circumcision is not a medical act because it has no therapeutic purpose but is an exclusively religious act. A religious act that however must follow the medical rules for safeguarding the health of the child. The problem we face is not exclusively scientific but ethical, legal, religious and cultural.
In recent years there has been a growing tendency to consider this practice exclusively in the light of its possible attack on the physical integrity of children without dwelling on the profiles inherent in the right to religious freedom and on the possible inclusive value of its recognition for universal citizenship. Circumcising our children is one of the most significant symbols of our being Jews and protecting it is an act in defence of our religious freedom.
Since ancient times in Judaism has been identified a person in charge of carrying out this act that must follow precise rules both religious and health so that circumcision can be deferred if there are signs or symptoms such as to discourage the execution.

*Giorgio Mortara is a doctor and Vice-President of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities.

obituarieS

Enzo Cavaglion (1919-2019)

By Pagine Ebraiche staff

Enzo Cavaglion, a hero of the Italian armed Resistance against the Nazis, passed away last week, only a few months before his 100th birthday. Cavaglion was the soul and custodian of the life and memories of the Jewish community of Cuneo, the Piedmont town he was from.
Cavaglion was born on June 19, 1921. From a very young age he was active in the anti-fascist movement. After September 8, 1943, he helped Jews who were fleeing deportation.
He and his brother Riccardo were among the twelve members of the group Resistant group Italia libera (Free Italy), that then became part of Giustizia e Libertà (Justice and Freedom).

kultur

«Deutschland soll das von den Nazis gestohlene Gemälde zurückgeben»

Pagine Ebraiche Staff

«Ein Aufruf an Deutschland für 2019: Wir wünschen, dass dieses Jahr die berühmte Vase mit Blumen des niederländischen Malers Jan van Huysum den Uffizien von Florenz zurückgegeben wird. Das Gemälde wurde während dem Zweiten Weltkrieg von den Nazis gestohlen und befindet sich gerade bei einer deutschen Familie, die es nach all dieser Zeit und trotz den zahlreichen Anfragen des italienischen Staats noch nicht dem Museum zurückgegeben hat» das ist der Aufruf vom Direktor des florentinischen Museums, dem deutschen Eike Schmidt. Dieses Bild ist ein Meisterwerk von Jan van Huysum (Amsterdam 1682-1749), einem sehr berühmten Maler von Stillleben. Es handelt sich um ein 47 x 35 cm großes Ölgemälde, das bereits vom Jahr 1824 zu den Kunstsammlungen von Pitti-Palast gehörte, als der Großherzog von Lothringen Leopold II. es für die neugegründete Galerie des Palatins kaufte. Das Museum berichtet, dass es für mehr als ein Jahrhundert im Saal der Putti samt anderen niederländischen Stillleben, wie den von Rachel Ruysch und Willem van Aelst, ausgestellt geblieben sei; im Jahr 1940 sei der Palast evakuiert worden und das Gemälde sei zur Villa der Familie Medici in Poggio a Caiano gebracht worden. 1943 sei es zur Villa Bossi Pucci verlegt worden, immer noch in Florenz, und da sei geblieben, solange deutsche Soldaten, die auf dem Rückzug gewesen seien, es zusammen mit anderen Werken nach Castel Giovio (Provinz Bozen) gebracht hätten. Die Kiste, wo Vase mit Blumen lag, sei geöffnet worden und das entwendete Bild sei nach Deutschland gebracht worden, wo man seine Spuren verloren habe.

*Übersetzung von Anna Zanette mit der Hilfe von Giulia Schincariol, Studentinnen der Hochschule für Dolmetscher und Übersetzer der Universität von Triest und Praktikantinnen bei der Zeitungsredaktion der Union der jüdischen Gemeinden von Italien (UCEI).

Mehr

bechol lashon - deutsch

Kultur

David Bidussa*

„Wir leben in einer besessenen Welt. Und wir wissen es. Es käme für niemanden unerwartet, wenn der Wahnsinn eines Tages plötzlich ausbräche in einer Raserei, aus der diese arme europäische Menschheit zurücksänke, stumpf und irr, indes die Motoren noch surren und die Fahnen noch flattern, der Geist aber ist entwichen“.
Mit diesen Worten beginnt „Im Schatten von morgen. Eine Diagnose des kulturellen Leidens unserer Zeit“, ein im Jahr 1935 veröffentlichtes Buch von Johan Huizinga.
Von Zeit zu Zeit muss man es wieder lesen, nicht nur um eine Vorstellung davon zu bekommen, wie es begann, sondern auch, wie es enden könnte.

*David Bidussa, Sozialhistoriker der Ideen. Übersetzung von Anna Zanette mit der Hilfe von Giulia Schincariol, Studentinnen der Hochschule für Dolmetscher und Übersetzer der Universität von Triest und Praktikantinnen bei der Zeitungsredaktion der Union der jüdischen Gemeinden von Italien (UCEI)..

Mehr

pilpul

Stubborn and Rebellious Rabbinical Hermeneutics

By Yaakov Mascetti*

As I have been studying the topic of the “Stubborn and Rebellious Son” in the Sanhedrin Treatise of the Babylonian Talmud, the text has faced me with one of the most blatant examples of the rabbinical hermeneutical project, which is that of entirely re-reading the Biblical canon and, at times, gutting it with the sharp razor of their interpretational skills. In only fourteen pages of intense discussions, the clear-cut statements of the Bible with regard to the rightful punishment for a rebellious son are turned into nothing but senseless instructions, an inapplicable regulation for an unrealistic concept – the discussion takes on a series of very eclectic turns, as the Gemara endeavors to understand who is the “son,” how is a son different from a daughter and how old he has to be in order to be punishable, how extreme his behavior must be for him to become rebellious and stubborn.

*Yaakov Mascetti holds a Ph.D. and teaches at the Department of Comparative Literature, Bar Ilan University.

Read more

ITALICS

Reclaiming the Past

By Rob Streit*

Ancestry and genealogy have seen a recent boom in popularity. With a host of services available to those wanting to trace their lineage, the curious can swab their mouths, send their DNA away and have the past illuminated in six to eight weeks.
Matthew Larcinese of West Bloomfield has a different approach. Larcinese started Digging the Past Inc., a nonprofit that focuses on DNA and archival research to trace ancestry. The organization specifically looks at Y-DNA, which traces the paternal line. Coupled with archival materials such as wills and birth notices, Larcinese fleshes out a more complete picture of the past. Drinking with the locals is sometimes part of the process as well.
“I have these stages to my research,” Larcinese says. “Archives, DNA and Guinness stout.”
While researching his own family in Abruzzo, Italy, Larcinese made a surprising discovery. He found the last will and testament of an ancestor from 1580. The will indicated that the ancestor had significant wealth and owned a good deal of land.
“We didn’t know why, and we didn’t know how. We weren’t noble or royalty or anything like that,” Larcinese says.
Larcinese tested his own Y-DNA, which reveals common ancestors. He was then contacted by a DNA expert who told him about some of his forbearers.
“When I got my Y-DNA done, my matches were all Jewish,” says Larcinese, who previously thought he had no blood connection to Jews. “I had no concept of what was going on.”

*This article was published in the Detroit Jewish News on January 3, 2018.

moked è il portale dell'ebraismo italiano

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.
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.
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.