The Synagogue of Rome

Today, my parents and I decided to visit the Jewish Synagogue and the Hebrew Museum of Rome. The security around the temple can be a bit off-putting (just as it was on Yom Kippur), but once inside the people were much warmer. The Main Synagogue is grand; it was built in 1904. Prior to that time, from 1555 to about 1870, the Jews of Rome were forced by the Papal State to live in a ghetto. They were allowed only one building of worship so they created five synagogues within the one temple. Three of these followed the Sephardic service, one followed the Ashkenazi service, and one followed the "Italian service." The Italian service is an amalgamation of all the Jewish traditions - both Sephardic and Ashkenazi. This service has been followed in Italy for centuries. In fact, the Roman Jews are very proud of the fact that there has been 2200 years of uninterrupted Jewry in Rome, beginning before the start of the common era (C.E. which is the same as A.D. for the non-Christians). Today, the Italian service is used in the Main Synagogue. As part of the complex, there is also a much smaller, Spanish synagogue which, of course is Sephardic, and also the Museum.

Entry into the sanctuaries is permissible only with a guide which is part of the admission price. The museum is comprised of seven rooms that house several exhibits including original artifacts from the 16th and 17th centuries that were in one of the five synagogues of the ghetto building. Part of the collections also touched on ghetto life. It's remarkable that the Jews lived under these oppressive conditions for over 300 years. Jews were limited in terms of their profession during this period. They were allowed to lend money, and they were allowed to sew. As a result, the Jewish women became very accomplished embroiderers, and an entire room of the museum is devoted to displaying the beautiful textiles embroidered with silver and gold threads.

The unification of Italy in 1871 meant the papal state lost its power and the ghetto was dismantled. Subsequently, the Main Synagogue was built with a distinctive squared cupola. Shortly thereafter, World War II meant the deportation of 200o Jews from Rome. Only 16 of them returned. Many Italians hid Jews during the War and thus the Jewish community in Rome survived.

The Synagogue also survived. In an effort to ensure the safety of Saint Peter's Cathedral during the War, the Pope negotiated for Rome to be decreed an "open city" which meant that none of its monuments could be destroyed. As a result, the Synagogue was also spared.

Today, there are 12 synagogues in Rome -- all of them orthodox. Rome is home to 14,000 Jews while there are only 30,000 in all of Italy. And while the services are all orthodox and the men and women do not sit together, we did learn that girls are commonly being "bat-mitzvah." Although they do not read from the Torah, the girls receive a blessing from the Rabbi.

After visiting the Synagogue, we walked around "ghetto area" where I showed my parents the ancient market of Octavia and Teatro Marcello.

We drove back home to meet Josh for lunch. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we ate in the garden. Josh had just returned from a 75K bike ride so he was bushed.

Tonight before dinner, we drove in to centro with my mom and dad for a stroll. We walked up to Campidoglio to take in the views of the Forum; we also strolled around the Piazza Navona and the Piazza Campitelli. Then we found ourselves back in the old "ghetto" quarter where Josh could not resist the opportunity to have a falafel sandwich. It was truly disappointing. Having eaten at least a quart of hummus a week when we lived in Chicago, Josh is going through some serious hummus withdrawal... and tonight's pita sandwich was no cure!

Back at the villa, I made the fish Josh had bought at the market earlier that day. I don't know what kind of fish it was (Josh didn't remember the name) but it sure was good!