A Surprise Visit from Livorno!

A special visit from Livorno, Italy—hometown to two remarkable early contributors to American Judaism: Judah Monis, who introduced Hebrew instruction at Harvard College in 1722, and Rav Sabato Morais, founder of New York’s Jewish Theological Seminary in 1886.

Space is limited! Reservation is required: rsvp@primolevicenter.org – Program title in the subject line.

Join us for an evening with Rav Umberto Piperno, Rabbino Maggiore of Livorno. 

Join us for an evening with Rav Umberto Piperno, Rabbino Maggiore of Livorno. Born in Rome and ordained as a rabbi in 1983, Rav Piperno was appointed by Elio Toaff, the esteemed Livornese Rabbi, as the coordinator of the Italian Rabbinical College—one of the earliest modern Jewish educational institutions, founded in Padua in 1829.

Upon his appointment in Livorno, Rav Piperno expressed his vision: “I want the Jewish Community of Livorno to regain the central role it once held in the Sephardic world. Livorno’s tradition and perspective have long made it a flourishing center of scholarship, art, commerce, and especially publishing. Jewish communities from Safed to Rhodes, Salonika, and Cochin received prayer books and Haggadot from Livorno’s renowned Belforte printing press.”

Rav Piperno is a man of the world who carries around his Roman heritage with deep roots in the first millennium. Like a Medieval rabbi, he journeys wherever his wisdom and curiosity lead him, effortlessly navigating multiple languages as if Babel had never existed and treating life’s burdens as mere nuisances.

During his years in this city studying at Yeshiva University and serving as a Rabbi of the Riverdale Sephardic Congregation, he gifted Centro Primo Levi with an occasional pop-up synagogue called “Schola Nova New York, the Itinerant Italian Synagogue”. The most memorable service of this portable temple was held in 2011 at Club 101 when the entire choir, with cantor, organists, and conductor of Rome’s Tempio Maggiore, were in New York to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy.

Rav Piperno’s hope for Livorno is to attract youth and students from other communities. He is no stranger to these challenges, as he has served in many small communities, including Trieste, Naples, and Verona. Rav Piperno explores the intersection of daily life and Halacha (Jewish law). His fascination with food and textiles—and the natural materials that underpin both—unfolds in a unique intellectual space, where people draw sustenance from the environment without exploitation and experience nature’s bounty as an ongoing, transformative lesson.

For many years, he has traveled across Italy—from Puglia to Sardinia—seeking partnerships with local food artisans who create cheese, wine, oil, and other delicacies following age-old traditions and the requirements of Jewish observance.

Before departing for this visit, Rav Piperno ensured that kosher fresh mozzarella, Sardinian fregula (a flavorful roasted couscous), and hand-pressed olive oil were shipped to New York for all to enjoy. He will also bring treasures from Livorno: new and classic volumes from Salomone Belforte, one of the most significant historic Jewish publishers in the Sephardic and Mediterranean world.

LIVORNO

Salomone Belforte: A Brief History

On Sabato Morais, by David Shasha

The Conversion of a Protestant Rabbi, by Ysroel Ben-Porat

CONVERSATIONS WITH RAV UMBERTO PIPERNO

Filo-So-Fare: The resurgence of the Italian silk tallit

On Wine