fbpx Reclaiming Judaism After Centuries Underground | Reconstructing Judaism

Reclaiming Judaism After Centuries Underground

Article

The mountain town of Serrastretta in the Calabria region of southern Italy is not an obvious place to find a synagogue, let alone a Reconstructionist one. But beneath the Catholic surface of this remote community lies a surprising Jewish legacy: Many families are descended from b’nei anusim, Jews who underwent forced conversion to Catholicism during the Inquisition. Their synagogue, Sinagoga Ner Tamid del Sud, affiliated with Reconstructing Judaism in 2017. Although their rabbi, Rabbi Barbara Aiello, grew up in Pittsburgh, her father’s family originated in Serrastretta. For Rabbi Barbara’s grandmother, Judaism was something practiced only in secret: Shabbat candles were lit behind shuttered windows or in the basement, out of sight of the neighbors, and her father was sent to a neighboring town to learn Torah.

When Rabbi Barbara returned to live in her ancestral village in 2004, she found similar stories of secret Jewish practice. And Jewish roots were often kept secret even within families. She relates numerous stories of deathbed revelations by elderly men and women, who as their final act told their astonished families the real reason for unusual family customs: “We’re Jewish.”

Such remnants of hidden Jewish practice kept cropping up. When she went to the home of a neighbor whose mother had died, she found the mirrors covered, chairs removed and a plate of hard-boiled eggs on the table — “our family tradition,” the neighbor told her, unaware of any commonality with Jewish mourning practices. Other local customs included throwing out eggs with bloodspots, holding special meals for 12-year-old girls and getting married sotto la coperta (“underneath the bedspread”) echoing a traditional Jewish wedding canopy.

Since starting Sinagoga Ner Tamid del Sud and its sister organization, the Italian Jewish Cultural Center of Calabria, Rabbi Barbara finds that people approach the possibility of Jewish heritage in a variety of ways. Many are simply curious about their roots and intrigued to know the origin of family traditions. But others are drawn not only to explore, but to embrace their Jewishness. Reconstructionist Judaism offers a welcoming model for these seekers and learners. It is an inclusive non-Orthodox Judaism that welcomes those of all backgrounds and stages of exploration. Those values drew Sinagoga Ner Tamid del Sud to join Reconstructing Judaism as an affiliate.

The Reconstructionist approach to Jewish tradition affirms that Judaism grows and evolves in every generation. This spirit is evident in the community’s innovative way to officially welcome back those who wish to claim formal Jewish status through conversion. Rabbi Barbara created a unique document to accompany a standard conversion certificate: Recononscimento dello Status di Ebreo/a, a formal recognition of Jewish status. Crafted to address the emotional and spiritual needs of a community with a long history of trauma, this certificate embodies a Reconstructionist affirmation of the power of Jewish peoplehood and of a conscious transformation of traditional conversion ritual to address unique historical needs.

Written in Italian and English, the document reads, in part:

“This document represents the recognition of your Jewish roots that were stolen from your ancestors. We recognize that your ancestors were Jews but during times of persecution such as the Inquisition in Spain, Portugal, Sicily and Italy there were forced conversions where anusim families lost their Jewish religion and Jewish traditions …You have found and embraced your Jewish roots, you have studied the Jewish religion and have made the commitment to live as a Jew with love of Torah and the Jewish people. Your Jewish family says to you, ‘Welcome Home.’”

Certificate of Jewish status in English and Italian

<

Interim Rabbi, Temple Beth-El of Poughkeepsie

Related Resources

News and Blogs

Reconstructionists Featured at Society for Jewish Ethics Conference

The Reconstructionist movement is being well represented at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Society of Jewish Ethics, taking place Jan. 6-9 over Zoom. In fact, in terms of the number of presenters —at least three — the movement will have a greater presence at this year’s virtual gathering than at any time since the first conference was held in 2003.

News

God in Metaphor: A Guide for the Perplexed

Rabbi Toba Spitzer explores the obstacles to prayer posed by stale language about God, and suggests new language that may ease our way in finding connection.

Article
News and Blogs

New Online Community for Jewish Poets and Liturgists Aims to Produce “Ripple” Effect

For 20 years, Ritualwell has served as a pioneering resource for original Jewish liturgy and rituals, along the way nurturing an informal network of liturgists, poets and ritual innovators. Now, it has launched ADVOT @ Ritualwell, a formal online community offering unprecedented support and empowerment to writers who are imagining new ways to mark life’s most salient moments in a Jewish context.

News
News and Blogs

The "Next Normal" and Our Movement

The last sixteen months of the pandemic have highlighted the necessity of community as something both poignant and urgent.  With many of us physically removed from our “normal” sites of gathering (i.e., workplaces, schools, cultural venues, “third spaces,” places of worship), we’ve learned to cultivate relationships online, to use digital tools to create new places of meeting and connection, and to experiment with alternative and even more accessible forms of engagement.  Despite the very real challenges of long-term isolation and Zoom fatigue, we’ve found new ways to experience community, to address pragmatic needs, and to fill our souls.

News
News and Blogs

America's First Bat Mitzvah and its Legacy for American Jewish Life

The first American bat mitzvah took place nearly a century ago, but its effects reverberate to this day. This podcast episode explores how the bat mitzvah helped pave the way for greater inclusion of women in public Jewish ritual and practice and laid the groundwork for further steps toward inclusion.

News
News and Blogs

Rooted and Relevant: 21st Century Jewish Life

In her presentiation, Rooted and Relevant: 21st Century Jewish Life, Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., explores how Reconstructionist Judaism can lead the way in the post-COVID world toward a religious revival that meets this century’s new realities. 

News
News and Blogs

Collaboration Across Difference: An Innovation Power Tool

This article was originally published in eJewish Philanthropy on Nov. 25, 2019.

News
News and Blogs

Provide for Yourself a Rabbi

If we are serious about building Jewish community, what could be more important than educating, nurturing and supporting Jewish leaders — rabbis — who will partner with us, teach us, learn with us, and both ground us in our tradition and inspire us to reach for new meaning?

News

Divine Justice: A Jewish Perspective

Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D. spoke at the Chautaqua Insitution about divine justice, about good and evil and about God’s presence, plans, and love in the face of what seems to be unearned suffering. 

Article
News and Blogs

New Book Sparks Conversation Between Torah, Kaplan and Real Life

A Year With Mordecai Kaplan: Wisdom on the Weekly Torah Portion by Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben, Ph.D. is a deeply rooted and boldly relevant Torah commentary. For each week’s reading, Rabbi Reuben weaves together traditional commentary, a nugget of Mordecai Kaplan’s thought, and a vivid personal insight that illuminates the connection between the two. This powerful and accessible work invites us to engage with Torah, Kaplan and contemporary human experience in ways that are nourishing, optimistic and inspiring.

News

Session 5: Questions and Answers

Audience questions and answers at Reconstructing Jewish Communities panel

Article

Session 4: The Need to Wrestle with Difficult Issues

Rabbi Shira Stutman on Reconstructing Jewish Communities panel

Article

Session 3: The Need to Reconstruct Judaism Itself

Rabbi Michael Strassfeld on Reconstructing Jewish Communities panel

Article

Session 2: Redeveloping Congregational Identity So That Being Part Of The Congregation Makes Meaning

Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann on Reconstructing Jewish Communities panel

Article

Session 1: The Need for Progressive Jewish Communities to Reconstruct Themselves in This Era

Rabbi Sid Schwarz introducing Reconstructing Jewish Communities panel

Article