Love in its many forms

Love—the theme of this year’s European Day of Jewish Culture—is a concept that runs through all of Jewish thought.
Leviticus 19:18 states, “Love your neighbor as yourself”—a precept defined in the Talmud as a fundamental principle of the Torah.
In Judaism, however, love is conceived not merely as a feeling but as a system of relationships binding the individual to their neighbor, family, study, and the Lord—and the Lord to the individual, animals, and all of nature—with each relationship manifesting this love in a distinct way.
The daily routine within our Community guides us on a journey through all these forms of love.
As happens every year, a selection of short excerpts—drawn from biblical texts and other sources—displayed on panels attached to the Synagogue’s gate will illustrate the various expressions of this precept.
These quotations reveal the different types of love that are recognized.
“Two are better than one (…) if they fall, one lifts the other up (…) if two sleep together, they keep each other warm” (Qohelet 4:9–12)
“Many waters cannot quench love, nor can rivers sweep it away” (Song of Songs 8:6)
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:4–5)
“If you come across a bird’s nest in a tree or on the ground, with chicks or eggs, and the mother is brooding over the chicks or the eggs, you shall not take the mother along with the young” (Deut. 22:6–7).
“The law of love for one’s neighbor encompasses both the Israelite and the non-Israelite” (Hayim Vital, Sha’are Qedushah, 1-5)
“…Let the love of your fellow be as dear to you as your own” (Pirkei Avot, 1:15)
“Love the stranger, for you too were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Deut. 10:19)

At 10:30 AM, Israeli poet Sarai Shavit, together with Sarah Kaminski, will open the day’s events with a lecture on the evolution of the concept of love in Jewish poetry and the role of the body as the origin of poetic language.
From 11:30 AM to 5:00 PM, visitors can take free group tours of Turin’s synagogues and the permanent exhibition of Piedmontese Jewish ritual art.
Also from 11:30 AM to 5:00 PM, the exhibition “A Sublime Song for the Voice of the Groom and the Bride: Wedding Poems from the Terracini Archive” will be open to the public.
At 5:30 PM, a roundtable discussion titled “Midrashim and the Ambivalence of Affection: Love and Disaffection in Couple Relationships” will take place, featuring Ruth Mussi, Giuseppe D’Agostino, and Sarah Randaccio.
Those interested may join a guided walk through the buildings that once formed the city’s ghetto; the meeting point is at Piazza Carlina (Piazza Carlo Emanuele II) No. 19 at 11:00 AM.
As it does every year, ADEI WIZO will set up a stall at the Community Center featuring Judaica items, Jewish cookbooks, novels, sweets, and challah bread available for purchase—demonstrating how love for holidays, tradition, and people can be expressed through cooking as well.
Information stands regarding Jewish community associations will be located in front of the synagogue.
The activities will continue over the following days with a performance-concert by Miriam Camerini on September 8 at 9:00 PM at the Centro Sociale—focusing on the theme of the Dybbuk and the legendary figure of Shloyme Ansky—and a literary-musical roundtable on September 9 at 5:00 PM dedicated to the centenary of Yehuda Amichai, a central figure in modern poetry, to be held at the National University Library of Turin (Piazza Carlo Alberto 3).
We are all invited to attend these open days in large numbers—events rich in opportunities for reflection and learning that will pleasantly guide us through the various aspects of this important principle in Jewish thought.

Ori Sierra