In Rome Ghetto, Survivor's Menorah Lighting Completes a Circle

I want to conclude with a story. The story literally just unfolded and the person who it happened with shared it with me. So this is not a story you know sheni kamishi. There's a man named Rabbi Aaron Mal Canarito an Italian Jew lives in Rome and uh has been influenced by the community there. grew up there and not long ago became the Kabach in the ghetto of Rome. Rome has a ghetto and a year and a year ago he shared this with me a year ago he put up the Kabad house in the Rome ghetto. It's a building that's 500 years old. It's the old ghetto of Rome if you know the history of Jews in Rome. And he got that building and he put up a kabad house in the ghetto of Rome. Rabbi Canarito Canarito Italian name Arin Mak he starts making programs davening and learning and Jewish programs and educational programs social programs youth programs a lot of people come to the ghetto of Rome so it's very very successful just a year just mamish a year a year and a half [snorts] and he tells me on Kanek a Jew comes 90 year old Jew comes into the kabaras in this Roman in the in the ghetto of Rome 500y old And he asks the Jew, "Did you ever have a B mitzvah?" No, he never had a Bitzvah. Wow. Didn't put on fill in. Didn't have a B mitzvah. Nothing. So he says, "You know what? There's going to be a few bakram coming. A few yeshiva boys came for Kaneka to help him out with all the activities. So let's wait till they come. We'll make a minion, bring out the Tyel, get an aliyah." With him comes to his mitzvah, another Jew. What's your name? Gabriel. How old are you? 86 years old. You had a bitzvah? No. [laughter] So they make two bait mitzvah. 90 year old Jew, 86 year old Jew. They're putting on films. The fifth day of Kaneka palace is they both get aliyah. He sent me a video of them dancing with the You should see the the the It's like a a soul coming out of something otherworldly. They're both like dancing so emotionally. They never learned any of this. Holocaust survivors. Sh 86 years old 90 years old a beautiful beautiful event there was a few bakim and the shul and the rabbi the and these guys they're dancing with the sat very emotional khan the last night of kaneka was when Sunday night right Sunday night the last night of kaneka I think the boys had to go to the airport to going back to yeshiva whatever it is so he said he'll drive them to the airport but he wants to do a public kaneka lighting before just that kaneka should be should the kanek should be lit But there was nobody really there. So he got together a few people and the bakim came. But as he starts the midnight a whole crowd comes over. Suddenly huge people gather from everywhere to the public the last night of Kaneka. And suddenly who shows up? The 86 year old Jew who had the bitzvah just a few days ago whose name is Gabriel Sanino an Italian Jew. He shows up. So the says you know what we have here a Jew who had a bitzvah. Now he's a survivor of the war. We want to give him the honor to light the last night of Khanek the here in front of the Kabat house in the Rome ghetto to kindle the eternal flame of of the Jewish people and of Judaism. So this Gabriel, this 86 year old Jew who just put on film the first time in his life a few days before had his bitzvah was dancing with the potato gets up and he lights the eight candles. It's very emotional. It's very moving. And the Schlakh tells the people, "Look, look at this. We're in the ghetto of Rome. The Nazis made this the ghetto of Rome from where the Jews were sent to uh liquidation and [snorts] murder." And Kaneka is burning. Our light is burning. And who lights it? A survivor who just had his mamits with his friend. And he sped a few words and he inspired the people and they danced and they sang and life moves on. The tells me, Rabbi Karito tells me, he left me a a voice note on WhatsApp and he says, "This Jew afterwards, Gabriel tells him something. When the Nazis entered the Rome ghetto, the ghetto of Rome, they put all the Jews into the ghetto of Rome in Italy. The Jews were there for a long time. There were two little Jewish children, a brother and a sister. Mameish cla a few years old. They didn't know. They didn't understand Hitler, the Nazis, the ghetto. They didn't understand. They didn't have that knowledge yet. So this brother and sister were playing in the ghetto in the street innocently, unaware of any danger. You know, little kids, they kids adopt to circumstances very, very fast and they're just playing innocently in the streets. They didn't know that you have to be careful of certain people. And there's a Nazi soldier walking down the street. And you know, by the Nazis, if you were a mouse, you had more significance than if you were a Jew. If you were an ant, you got more dignity than if you were a Jew. The Nazi soldier is walking in the ghetto. And what does he see? He sees a little Jewish boy, an angelic cute Jewish boy with his beautiful little sister playing around, having fun, laughing, running. violently. He sees them. He seizes both of them. He cups both of them with his monstrous arms and he shles them down to take them to uh be murdered. He's shleing both of the kids, this little brother and this sister going through the ghetto. And he passes by the Nazi with the kids. passes by a dairy shop by a local Italian man, a non-Jewish Italian man who had a dairy shop. He would milk cows and sell milk and other dairy products. The owner was there and he sees this. He sees the Nazi schleing these two little kids and he's not a Jewish guy. He's a has a quick thinking. He started to scream at these kids. I'M LOOKING FOR YOU FOR HOURS. >> [screaming] >> WHERE ARE YOU? YOUR MOTHER IS SCARED. YOUR BROTHER IS SCARED. I'M SCARED. I'M GOING TO GO CRAZY. I WANTED TO CALL THE POLICE. He runs over and he slaps the girl IN HER FACE. NEVER DO THIS. Never do this. NEVER DO THIS. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? And the Nazi says, "Oh, you're their father." He says, "Yeah." He says, "Oh, I'm sorry." The Nazi apologizes. The Nazi apologizes and he says, "Take your children." The kids apparently were so shell shocked from everything that thank God they didn't protest because they were just, you know, overwhelmed. And the Nazi says, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize. I thought they were Jewish children. That's why I took them. I didn't realize they were your children. Here, take them back." The Nazi left. He took these kids in. He saved their lives. Gavia looks at the [snorts] and he says I want you to know something. I stood up to lit the minra. This was the place where I was saved 82 years ago. This very spot where [snorts] this mana is standing. That's where I was with my sister and the milkman came out, slapped her and saved her and me. I didn't think that 82 years after [snorts] that event because he's 86 years old now. He was four years old. I would light the minora zaneka in the place where we were actually physically saved. And he says and your kabad house is the dairy store from where he came out because the mana was in front of the kabad house. Your kabad house is the dairy store. That's where he came out from. And right here at this mana we were saved.