I have Jewish clients who will be in Rome over April 12th and wish to attend a Seder. Any leads on how to find one that might welcome tourists?

Interesting question. I'd been curious about the Seder for years but only got to attend one when a co-worker from an observant family invited me to her home. Is there such as thing as a "public" Seder, or is this generally a family event?

I think they are absolutely family/friend events for the most part. But my own Methodist Church here in Austin does a Seder every few years, and anyone is welcome. Thought there might be an off-chance that a synogogue in Rome might be hosting one and tourists could join in.

A good place to start would be the Comunita Ebraica di Roma (the community of the Rome Synagogue). Here is the e-mail address:

info@romacer.org

Some synagogues have communal seders; not sure about this one. Often the Lubavitch organization welcomes tourists to their functions; a google for Chabad and Roma should find contacts, if your clients wish.

M

In the US there are often congregations that provide sedars at Passover for their congregants and others. Since there is more than one night of the holy day, many folks attend a "public" sedar and have a family/friends sedar, as well. Unfortunately, I don't know what the custom is in Italy. Jews tend to "customize" some of our traditions due to the nature of the diaspora we've had to integrate into our lives. Keep asking, you'll most likely find a sedar to attend. Ciao,
Cheryl

The main synagogue in Rome, as far as I know, is the one on Lungotevere Cenci:

Comunita' Ebraica Di Roma
00186 Roma (RM) - Lungo Tevere Cenci
06 684006

However, there is also a listing for:

Comunita' Ebraica Di Roma Snc
00153 Roma (RM) - Lungo Tevere Sanzio Raffaello, 14
06 87450205 (with 10 lines - through to 214)

Perhaps it's the administrative office...

If you were to contact the rabbi there, would he perhaps be prepared to ask the members of his community whether someone would like to invite foreign guests to a Seder?

Thank you all for the quick and useful replies!

The Istituto Pitigliani in Rome runs a community seder...check this link for information and contact information.

http://www.pitigliani.it/

go to www.chabad.org. Find the Rome contact information and go the websites or contact them. Chabad seders are open to everyone and those who attend are often backpackers, not the religious. I attended Chabad seder in Chiang Mai, Thailand, several years ago and it was very memorable. Rome has a large Jewish community and they won't have trouble finding something.

There is a Chabad seder....

Passover Community Seder 8:00 PM

Passover Seder for Students and Tourists, the Seder will be conducted in English. Join us for a meaningful Seder with hand-baked Matzah and the 4 cups of wine or grape juice and delicious home made dinner. Reservations required.

Event Location Event Location: Chabad of Parioli

So if one wants to go to a seder in English for foreigners, this is probably the best solution. If, on the other hand, someone wants to experience an Italian version of the Passover seder, I think the event put on by "Il Pitigliani" will be very interesting.

The Pitigliani seder sounds more authentic to me. One cannot fault Chabad for their efforts to revive Jewish life, but some European Jewish friends of mine say their version is very North American, of Eastern European origin. Which is fine, but shouldn't cancel out other Jewish traditions.

I have had the privilege of attending a not-very-religious Seder with Italian Jewish friends (remember, my studies touched on an Italian Jewish theme), but to do that, you have to get to know people, as Seders are typically family gatherings, though guests were always welcome.

Alisohn, are you familiar with the Jewish community (or communities) in Rome? Are there also Mediterranean (such as Tunisian) Jews? I've read that there were Iranian and other Eastern Jews in Milan...

Once again, "I get by with a little help from my friends."

Grazie from me and my client, who will be in Rome at this time with her 17 year old son and 19 year old daughter; the daughter is spending this semester at a university in Tel Aviv and flying in to meet the mother and brother (family lives in Washington State) for a few days in Italy.

Lagatta, to answer your question about the origins of Jews in Italy, most would be "sephardic," which is different from those of us in the US who are mostly "ashkenazi," meaning our families came from Russia/Poland, etc. Sephardic Jews have been in Italy for centuries. However, Jews from other places have likely settled there. The Iranian Jewish community dispersed many places, so i wouldn't be surprised if they are in Italy as well, but i don't have any personal information.

quote:

most would be "sephardic," which is different from those of us in the US who are mostly "ashkenazi,"

I don't have the research information at my fingertips but I am not sure that "most" Jews in Italy at this time are indeed Sephardic. Since the first Jews arrived in Rome before the birth of Christ, the earliest Italian Jews predated both streams of Judaism. I believe that the Italian rite is still followed in major synagogues....

The Sephardim came to southern Italy in the 10th and 11th century and, if my memory serves, the Ashkenazi started coming in the 13th century to north and central Italy.

In Venice, for example, there were five active synagogues based on where the members came from. Even in Ferrara, there were three including a "rite" from the town of Fano.

When I have some time, I will try and do some more research on the subject.....Perhaps another poster has some citations at hand.