Calabria Welcomes Rabbi Barbara Aiello Home

by | May 4, 2016 | Synagogue in Calabria

Calabria Welcomes Rabbi Barbara Aiello Home on May 12 

2016 marks our tenth year since the dedication of Calabria’s first active synagogue, Ner Tamid del Sud, the Eternal Light of theRabbiGoesHome South, in our little mountain village of Serrastretta. In fact we look forward to a wonderful anniversary celebration.

In May I will bring the story of Pluralistic Judaism and the b’nei anusim movement to conferences in Catanzaro and Taranto where I will share our work with an esteemed group of interfaith professionals.

In June we welcome Michael Pollack, fifth year rabbinic student who will serve as rabbinic intern from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Michael joins me as we organize and expand Pluralistic Judaism to b’nei anusim throughout southern Italy. Ner Tamid Palermo, our congregation in Sicily, will host a major summer event, while our new chavurot, Ner Tamid Sardinia and Ner Tamid Bari will begin in earnest.

In July we welcome our first Bet Din under the aegis of Darshan Yeshiva, the revolutionary distance learning program that offers conversion studies to students in isolated and remote corners of the world.  Rabbi Guy Hall of London and Rabbi Mitch Cohen of Atlanta, Georgia will travel to Calabria to join me to convene this historic event as we welcome “new Jews” from Sweden, Germany, Ireland, The Czech Republic, China, Italy and Bulgaria.

Destination weddings and our distance learning Bar and Bat Mitzvah program round out the spring and summer experience as we continue to extend the hand of Jewish welcome to Jewish families and expand Pluralistic Judaism throughout Italy.  

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