Having trouble viewing this email? Click here  April 5, 2021 - 23 Nissan 5781

An Italian rabbi who was able to convey joy and courage to countless Jews, but above all a man whose splendid voice and contagious smile opened hearts. This was Rav Elia Richetti, who passed yesterday at the age of 71. Born in Milan, he obtained the rabbinical title with the Chief Rabbi of Haifa Shear Yashuv Cohen and after some work experiences in Israel, both as a chazan and as a hospital rabbi, he put his skills and humanity at the service of various Italian communities.
His commitment left an indelible mark in all the places where he was called to act: from Trieste, where he arrived in 1979 and for ten years was chief rabbi, to Venice, where he worked for nine years. Between the two positions, he worked twelve years in Milan, where he was deputy chief rabbi and, among other duties, lecturer at the Rabbinical College, teacher at the local Jewish school and head of the central synagogue. Rav Richetti, who from 2010 to 2014 presided of the Italian Rabbinical Assembly, was a member of the Rabbinical Council, reference rabbi of the Milanese synagogue in Via Eupili and of the Jewish Community of Vercelli.

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Rav Elia Richetti was a valued cantor and held a deep knowledge of the ancient rituals of Italian Jewish communities. In order to collect and catalogue these music and tradition, passed through generations, a project was recently launched by UCEI with the Institut Européen des Musiques Juives. Rav Richetti took up the project with the same passion and enthusiasm that marked his longlife commitment to the Jewish word.
 
An invaluable knowledge is in danger of falling into oblivion due to declining birth rates, the numerous aliyot, the subsequent demographic change and an increasing distancing from Judaism. The various rituals and songs of Italian Jewish Communities are among the many treasures in jeopardy. To this day, community rituals’ preservation has been entrusted to individuals who taught the local rituals’ music, upon request by a few volunteers. The “Chazanut Project” was launched in order to raise interest, to provide a broader public and a comprehensive understanding of the evocative differences found among the rituals of Italian Communities – even those geographically close.
It is an UCEI – Union of the Italian Jewish Communities initiative, in collaboration with the Institut Européen des Musiques Juives, a Paris-based institution which catalogues and preserves rituals from Communities all over Europe. In charge of the project was Rav Elia Richetti, the scientific head of the project, with Maestro Riccardo Moretti as coordinator of the UCEI Culture Commission and Ishai Richetti, operative coordinator.

Translated by Silvia Bozzo and revised by Antonella Losavio, students at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of Trieste University, interns at the newspaper office of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities.

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Three hundred and fifty-five victims. The challenge, related to each of them, to tell their story, hope and dreams shattered by barbarism. Memory as a pillar and life-giving element of a society. A theme that has always been dear to the President Sergio Mattarella and was the cornerstone of the visit to the Ardeatine Caves which on March 24^th marked the 77^th anniversary of the massacre, accompanied by the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities President Noemi Di Segni and the National Association of Italian Martyrs’ Families President Francesco Albertelli.
For the first time, in the name of Marian Reicher and Heinz Eric Tuchman, the two fallen who have recently been given an identity and which the Quirinale, gave particular importance to in the official communication following the visit. The intention is that of organizing a moment dedicated to them in the future, hopefully in the presence of the relatives.

Translated by Oyebuchi Lucia Leonard and revised by Silvia Bozzo, students at Trieste University and the Advanced school for interpreters and Translators of Trieste University, interns at the newspaper office of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities.

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By David Bidussa*

Ceasing of being slaves does not mean to be free. We become free when we learn how to be responsible.

*Social historian of ideas
 

 

By Gabe Friedman*   

As Stephen Durchslag’s love of Passover started at a young age. One could argue it started at birth, when his parents gave him the middle name Pesach. So it’s not surprising that Durchslag, now a retired lawyer, amassed what’s being called the world’s largest private collection of Passover Haggadahs — over 4,500 versions of the book that leads Jews through the holiday’s seder meal. He is bequeathing the collection to the University of Chicago, where he earned a master’s degree in divinity after retiring in 2013. “It will be a treasure trove for faculty, students and visiting researchers seeking to explore Jewish religion, history and culture and will significantly enhance our important academic collection in Jewish studies,” the university’s library director, Brenda Johnson, told UChicago News.

*This article was originally published on Jewish Telegraphic Agency on March 26, 2021.

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