Olive Oil Beaten For The Light
The Torah commands an ancient practice that lives today in Italy It is May in Calabria, an isolated region stretching from the “instep” to the “toe” of the Italian “boot,” and the olive trees are in bloom. Tiny cream colored flowers grace each branch as we southern...
Ash Wednesday Ashes Have Roots in Jewish Tradition
This week my Catholic brothers and sisters participated in a ritual that has its roots in Jewish tradition – Ash Wednesday as it is called, actually originated in ancient biblical times – in the era of the Old Testament, as Christians would say, when the use of ashes...
Italian Jewish Roots in Squillace
Exploring Italian Jewish Roots in Squillace “Searching for the remnants of the historical Jewish presence in Calabria is my passion,” says Rabbi Barbara who recently applied her investigative skills to exploring Squillace, an ancient Calabrian village, known...
At the Ferramonti Concentration Camp -Three Synagogues, High Holy Days and Bed Sheet Brides
A wedding gown fashioned from a bed sheet and a veil crafted from mosquito netting – these were shared among the 24 Jewish brides who married under the chuppah in, of all places, a WW II Concentration Camp. It happened in southern Italy at the Ferramonti...
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