Israel Zolli

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Israel Anton Zoller (b. September 27, 1881, Brody, Galicia - d. March 2, 1956) was an Italian Jewish Rabbi, who converted to Roman Catholicism.

Contents 1 Early Life 2 Rabbi 3 Holocaust 4 Conversion 5 Later Life 6 Criticism 7 Memoir 8 Quote 9 External links 10 References

[edit] Early Life

Zoller was born in Brody, in the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia. His father was a formerly wealthy factory owner whose properties had been seized by the Russian government. His mother sprang from a family of dynastic rabbis. He received a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Florence. At the same time, he prepared for the rabbinate at a nearby yeshiva.

[edit] Rabbi

In 1918 he was appointed as rabbi of the city of Trieste, which had just been transferred from Austria-Hungary to Italy. The family Italianized their surname to "Zolli". Soler and Soli are also two variations of this Jewish family name. In 1939, Zolli was named as Chief Rabbi of Rome.

[edit] Holocaust

During the Holocaust, he was concealed in the Vatican by priests of the Roman Catholic Church. He later described his experiences as follows:

"It was from my father that I learned the great art of praying with tears. During the Nazi persecution, long years afterward, I lived near the center of Rome in a small room. There, in the dark, in hunger and cold, I would pray weeping: 'Oh, thou keeper of Israel, protect the remnants of Israel: do not allow this remnant of Israel to perish!'"^[1]

[edit] Conversion

According to biographer Judith Cabaud, in 1944, while conducting a Yom Kippur service, Zolli experienced a mystical vision about Jesus of Nazareth, who is called Messiah.[1]

Shortly after the end of World War II, the Chief Rabbi, joined with his wife the Roman Catholic Church, which was highly controversial at the time. Zolli then went to the Gregorian University. He was baptized by Father Dezza, also known as Paolo Cardinal Dezza. Israel Zolli was named Eugenio Maria Zolli as his baptismal in honor of Pope Pius XII, who was born Eugenio Pacelli.

[edit] Later Life

Employed afterwards at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Eugenio Zolli died in Rome, at the age of 74.

[edit] Criticism

Israel Zolli is not without his critics. While Christians often mention Zolli as an example of an observant Jew who found Christ, Orthodox Jewish scholars contend that Zolli's conversion was a result of being ostracized from the Jewish community following the Holocaust rather than a spiritual awakening.^[2]

[edit] Memoir

His 1954 memoir Before the Dawn gives details of his conversion and explains his highly positive view of Pope Pius XII.

[edit] Quote

• "Conversion consists in responding to a call from God. A man is not converted at the time he chooses, but at the hour when he receives God's call. When the call is heard, he who receives it has only one thing to do: obey. Paul is 'converted'. Did he abandon the God of Israel? Did he cease to love Israel? It would be absurd to think so. But then? The convert is who feels impelled by an irresistible force to leave a pre-established order and seek his own proper way. It would be easier to continue along the road he was on."^[3]

[edit] External links

• Before the Dawn: the Mysterious Conversion of Rome's Chief Rabbi
• The Chief Rabbi, the Pope, and the Holocaust: An Era in Vatican-Jewish Relations by Robert G Weisbord, available online from Google Print
• Eugenio Zolli's conversion story, from a Catholic point of view.
• Why Did the Chief Rabbi of Rome Convert to Catholicism?, from a Jewish point of view.

[edit] References

1. ^ Eugenio Zolli, "Before the Dawn," quoted in, "Sweet Honey from the Rock," edited by Roy Shoeman, page 73.
2. ^ Rabbi Tovia Singer, "Why Did the Chief Rabbi of Rome convert to Catholicism?" http://www.outreachjudaism.org/rome.html
3. ^ Eugenio Zolli, "Before the Dawn," quoted in, "Sweet Honey from the Rock," edited by Roy Shoeman, page 79.