Chabad of East Lakeview

Dr. Leonard Kranzler Memorial Shiur

Small Yud, Broken Vav, Elongated Final Nun = יון

Torah #1

Torah #2

בְּרִיתִ֖י שָׁלֽוֹם – What is this Covenant of Peace

I walked to Chabad of East Lakeview today.  Left my house at 8:45 AM and got to Shul at 10:50 AM.  They were right before leining and I was able to say a Kaddish for my mother in law.

There was a Shabbos Sheva Brochos for Sarit & Daniel Dorman.  They got married last Sunday in Akron, Ohio.  Sarit Weinstok is from Toronto and her parent’s live just North of Steeles, behind the Bali Laffa strip center.   They met on Saw You At Sinai. Dylan was there without his new wife.  Dylan got married in Madison, WI last Sunday.  Tzvi went to the wedding.  Tzvi looked very handsome.  We are looking forward to his wedding.

Sholem came to the Kiddush.  It is always great to see him at Chabad.

I spoke at the Dr. Leonard Kranzler Memorial Shiur.  I started by mentioning that tonight is the 119th Yahrzeit of Theodore Herzl, Binyamin Zev Ben Yaakov.  Mother was Jeanette.  I gave this speech on Shabbos Parshas Pinchos 2020.  I talked about the repentance of Theodoe Herzl that he did not kiss the Pope Pius’ X’s hand despite Theodore Herzl desperately trying to find a solution to save the Jews of Europe.  15 years earlier Theodore Herzl proposed converting all the Jewish children to catholicism.  This was his Tshuva – repentance.  Look at the end of the blog post for Herzl’s diary entry about his meeting with the Pope.

Torah #1:

In each of these three Pesukim there is an anomaly.

A – 25:11 – The Yud of   פִּֽינְחָ֨ס is written as a small letter

B – 25:12 – The Vav of שָׁלֽוֹם is split in the middle

C – 27:5 – The Final Nun of מִשְׁפָּטָ֖ן is elongated.   

These three letters are the shape except for their lengths.  Perhaps it is telling us that we have to read the situation and know how to act.   Sometimes we have to make ourselves small, the small Yud, sometimes to just behave normal and fit into the crowd  – the Vav and at times we have to extend our full prowess, become elongated like a final Nun; we have to be warriors, strong men. Above all we have to be straight.  Yashrus is critical.  There has to be a better Pshat.

They also spell out Greece.  I do not know what to do with this thought.  

1 –  Verse 25:11.  The word פִּֽינְחָ֨ס is written in the Torah with a small Yud

פִּֽינְחָ֨ס *(בספרי ספרד ואשכנז נהוג לכתוב פִּֽינְחָ֨ס ביו״ד זעירא) בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָ֜ר בֶּן־אַהֲרֹ֣ן הַכֹּהֵ֗ן הֵשִׁ֤יב אֶת־חֲמָתִי֙ מֵעַ֣ל בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּקַנְא֥וֹ אֶת־קִנְאָתִ֖י בְּתוֹכָ֑ם וְלֹא־כִלִּ֥יתִי אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּקִנְאָתִֽי׃

“Phinehas, son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the Israelites by displaying among them his passion for Me, so that I did not wipe out the Israelite people in My passion.

2 – verse 25:12   לָכֵ֖ן אֱמֹ֑ר הִנְנִ֨י נֹתֵ֥ן ל֛וֹ אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֖י שָׁלֽוֹם׃ *(בספרי ספרד ואשכנז וי״ו קטיעא)

Say, therefore, ‘I grant him My pact of friendship.

3 – Verse 27:5 וַיַּקְרֵ֥ב מֹשֶׁ֛ה אֶת־מִשְׁפָּטָ֖ן לִפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃ –  Moshe brought their case before Hashem

Answer for the small Yud in Verse 25:11

The Yud is hinting to us that zealotry is only a virtue if there is fear of God and humility, otherwise it is just corrosive behavior.  As Rabbi Efrim Goldberg put it – zealtory without Godliness and humility is just someone who loves chaos.  

The Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel may be backing this up.  

פִּנְחָס קַנָאָה בַּר אֶלְעָזָר בַּר אַהֲרן כַּהֲנָא אָתֵיב יַת רִתְחִי מֵעַל בְּנֵי יִשְרָאֵל בִּזְמַן דְקַנֵי יַת קִנְאָתָא וְקָטִיל חַיָיבָא דְבֵינֵיהוֹן וְאַמְטוּלֵיהּ לָא שֵׁיצְיַית יַת בְּנֵי יִשְרָאֵל בְּקִנְאָתִי

Phinehas the zealous, the son of Elazar bar Aharon, the priest, hath turned away mine anger from the children of Israel, in that, when zealous with My zeal, he hath slain the sinners who were among them; and for his sake I have not destroyed the children of Israel in My indignation.

Notice that the Targum  spells Pinchos without a Yud – פִּנְחָס.  He then adds the word  קַנָאָה .  Perhaps he is saying that if one is zealous without turning to God, he is a lover of zealotry, fighting, a lover of chaos.

How do we know that Pinchos lived with God within him and humility?  Pasukim 25:6 and 25:7 in last week’s Sedra describe Pinchos’s reaction to the desecration of Zimri and Cozbi.  Rashi provides color and explains it like Rav from the Gemor in Sanhedrin 82A.

Verse 25:6:

הִנֵּ֡ה אִישׁ֩ מִבְּנֵ֨י יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל בָּ֗א וַיַּקְרֵ֤ב אֶל־אֶחָיו֙ אֶת־הַמִּדְיָנִ֔ית לְעֵינֵ֣י מֹשֶׁ֔ה וּלְעֵינֵ֖י כׇּל־עֲדַ֣ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְהֵ֣מָּה בֹכִ֔ים פֶּ֖תַח אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד׃

Rashi says – והמה בכים. נִתְעַלְּמָה מִמֶּנּוּ הֲלָכָה, גָּעוּ כֻלָּם בִּבְכִיָּה; בָּעֵגֶל עָמַד מֹשֶׁה כְּנֶגֶד שִׁשִּׁים רִבּוֹא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר “וַיִּטְחַן עַד אֲשֶׁר דָּק” וְגוֹ’ (שמות ל”ב), וְכָאן רָפוּ יָדָיו? אֶלָּא כְּדֵי שֶׁיָּבֹא פִינְחָס וְיִטֹּל אֶת הָרָאוּי לוֹ (תנחומא):

 AND THEY WERE WEEPING — the law (decision on this matter) escaped him and therefore they all burst out into weeping (Sanhedrin 82a). — In the case of the golden calf Moses successfully resisted six hundred thousand men, as it is said, (Exodus 32:20) “And he ground it to powder [and he made the children of Israel drink of it]”, and here his hands were weak (he did not know what to do)?! But this was intentionally caused by God in order that Phineas might come and receive that which was meant for him (Midrash Tanchuma, Balak 20).

The next Pasuk 25:7 says – וַיַּ֗רְא פִּֽינְחָס֙ בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָ֔ר בֶּֽן־אַהֲרֹ֖ן הַכֹּהֵ֑ן וַיָּ֙קׇם֙ מִתּ֣וֹךְ הָֽעֵדָ֔ה וַיִּקַּ֥ח רֹ֖מַח בְּיָדֽוֹ׃

Rashi explains what Pinchos saw.    

 – וירא פינחס. רָאָה מַעֲשֶׂה וְנִזְכַּר הֲלָכָה — אָמַר לוֹ לְמֹשֶׁה מְקֻבַּלְנִי מִמְּךָ הַבּוֹעֵל אֲרַמִּית קַנָּאִין פּוֹגְעִין בּוֹ. אָמַר לוֹ “קַרְיָנָא 

דְּאִגַּרְתָּא אִיהוּ לֶיהֱוֵי פַּרְוַנְקָא”, מִיָּד ויקח רמח בידו וגו’ (סנהדרין פ”ב

Rashi says that Moshe forgot the Halacha what to do about the immoral actions of Zimri and Cozbi.  Pinchos remembered and said to Moshe, you told us that the Halacha is קַנָּאִין פּוֹגְעִין בּוֹ – zealous people may attack him.  Pinchos did not just go and take a spear and kill Zimri and Cozbi, but first spoke to Moshe about it and Moshe answered, you are correct, and since you reminded us of the Halacha, you are the one to kill them.

I looked up the Gemora in Sanhedrin 82A  and there are three explanations of what Moshe saw; Rav, Shmuel, and Rav Yitzchak in the name of Rav Eliezer.  Rashi explains the Pasuk like Rav.  Rav says that Moshe and his students were sitting in the Bais Medrash and they forgot the Halacha.  Pinchos reminded Moshe of the Halacha, that קַנָּאִין פּוֹגְעִין בּוֹ.  Moshe told Pinchos, you are the one to kill Zimri and Cozbi.  Pinchos then picked up a spear and killed Zimri and Cozbi.  

According to Rav, Pinchos did not Paskin by himself, he did not act until he received the approval from Moshe.  This is how we know that Pinchos and the fear of God in him and had humility because he did not do things on his own.  He asked the leader of the generation.

Shmual and Rav Eliezer seem to argue with Rav and say that Pinchos acted on his own.  Rashi chose to explain it like Rav and not like Shmuel or Rav Eliezer.

Sanhedrin 82A:

מה ראה אמר רב ראה מעשה ונזכר הלכה אמר לו אחי אבי אבא לא כך לימדתני ברדתך מהר סיני הבועל את כותית קנאין פוגעין בו אמר לו קריינא דאיגרתא איהו ליהוי פרוונקא

ושמואל אמר ראה שאין (משלי כא, ל) חכמה ואין תבונה ואין עצה נגד ה’ כל מקום שיש חילול השם אין חולקין כבוד לרב ר’ יצחק אמר ר”א ראה שבא מלאך והשחית בעם

The Gemara asks: What did Pinehas see that led him to arise and take action? Rav says: He saw the incident taking place before him and he remembered the halakha. He said to Moses: Brother of the father of my father, as Moses was the brother of his grandfather Aaron, did you not teach me this during your descent from Mount Sinai: One who engages in intercourse with a gentile woman, zealots strike him? Moses said to him: Let the one who reads the letter be the agent [parvanka] to fulfill its contents.

And Shmuel says: Pinehas saw and considered the meaning of the verse: “There is neither wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord” (Proverbs 21:30), which the Sages interpreted to mean: Anywhere that there is desecration of the Lord’s name, one does not show respect to the teacher. In those situations, one need not consult his teacher, but must immediately proceed to right the wrong that is transpiring. Therefore, he took the spear and took immediate action.

Rabbi Yitzḥak says that Rabbi Eliezer says: He saw that an angel came and destroyed among the people in punishment for the sin of Zimri, and he realized that he must take immediate action to ameliorate the situation.

I explained how per Rav’s explanation. Pinchos’s actions and the small Yud work together.  How would I explain the small Yud according to Shmuel and Rav Yitzchok.   Maybe more so, less you think that Pinchos wanted chaos;  he was acting for Hashem’s sake or to save the Jewish people and all the more so he did fear Hashem and have humility.

There is another fascinating point in the Gemara.  When did Moshe tell Pinchos this Halacha?  The gemara says “did you not teach me this during your descent from Mount Sinai:”.   Why would Moshe specifically teach Pinchos this Halacha at this time?    The Ben Yehoyada says that Moshe only told this halacha to Pinchos.  Pinchos understood that in the future he will need to know this Halacha and act on it.

Ben Yehoyada

לֹא כָּךְ לִמַּדְתַּנִּי בִּירִידָתְךָ מֵהַר־סִינַי (במדבר כה, ו). כך הגרסה בגמרא דידן לִמַּדְתַּנִּי ולא לִמַּדְתָּנוּ לשון רבים, ונראה דטעמא טעים בדבר זה לצורך הענין שאומר כי נזדמן דרק לי למדת הלכה זו בודאי לאו על חנם אתרמי מילתא בהא דרק אלי תגיד הלכה, אלא ודאי זה היה מן השמים להורות דהלכה זו שייכה לעצמי שאני עתיד לקיים אותה! ואמר לו משה רבינו ע”ה כן דברת דזה הוכחה שהלכה זו שייכה לך שעל ידך תתקיים בפועל לכן אמר לו ‘קַרְיָנָא דְּאִגַּרְתָּא אִיהוּ לִיהֲוֵי פַּרְוַנְקָא‘ כי הואיל ואין מורין לו לעשות בפירוש נתחכם משה רבינו ע”ה לומר משל דאמרי אינשי בלבד והוא יבין מדעתו לעשות מעשה.

However, why, when Moshe was going down the mountain, was this Halacha told to Pinchos?  Perhaps that sometimes the greatest lessons a Rebbe imparts to a Talmid is not during Shiur.  It is in the “small” moments of time; walking together, being in a car together, being at a wedding.

On a personal note, I always like sharing my Torah with people.  I want to make a connection through Torah.   I feel that if these Torah thoughts are going through my head, it must be important to tell anyone I meet my thoughts.   One of my reasons is that up until I was 50 I never had any Torah to repeat to someone and felt stupid.  Chazal say that if you meet someone, always leave off with a Torah thought.  Now that I do have some Torah, I want to share,especially, when meeting someone.

The Vav that is broken in the middle is explained in the Daas Zekeinim:

ובקידושין פרק האומר מסיק וי”ו דשלום קטיעה היא למדרש כשהוא שלם ולא כשהוא חסר מכאן לכהן בעל מום שעבודתו פסולה:

In the Talmud, Kidushin, folio 66, attention is drawn to the fact that the letter ו in the word שלום is written with a break in the stem of that letter, to indicate that when a priest is not totally whole in all of his limbs, he is not fit to perform the service in the Temple. His service would be rendered invalid retroactively.

Torah #2:

Verse 25:12 – (לָכֵ֖ן אֱמֹ֑ר הִנְנִ֨י נֹתֵ֥ן ל֛וֹ אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֖י שָׁלֽוֹם׃ *(בספרי ספרד ואשכנז וי״ו קטיעא 

All the english Chumoshim translate בְּרִיתִ֖י שָׁלֽוֹם  as My Covenant of Peace.  Only JPS 2006 translates it differently as My pact of friendship.  JPS 1917 translates it as My Covenant of peace like all the other translations. It is interesting that the JPS updated in the 2006 version changed the translation..

JPS translates it as Rashi’s explanation:  Rashi on Verse 25:12 says

את בריתי שלום. שֶׁתְּהֵא לוֹ לִבְרִית שָׁלוֹם, כְּאָדָם הַמַּחֲזִיק טוֹבָה וְחַנּוֹת לְמִי שֶׁעוֹשֶׂה עִמּוֹ טוֹבָה, אַף כָּאן פֵּרֵשׁ לוֹ הַקָּבָּ”ה שְׁלוֹמוֹתָיו:

את בריתי שלום [I GIVE TO HIM] MY COVENANT — PEACE — This means: I give him my covenant that it should be to him as a covenant of peace; just like a man who shows gratitude and friendliness to one who has done him a kindness. So here, too, the Holy One, blessed be He, expressed to him His feelings of friendship towards him.

Rashi continues in the next Pasuk,Verse 13 and says that this pact of friendship, the  בְרִיתִי זֹאת is that Pinchos and his descendants will be Cohanim.

  ברית כהנת עולם. שֶׁאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁכְּבָר נִתְּנָה כְהֻנָּה לְזַרְעוֹ שֶׁל אַהֲרֹן, לֹא נִתְּנָה אֶלָּא לְאַהֲרֹן וּלְבָנָיו שֶׁנִּמְשְׁחוּ עִמּוֹ וּלְתוֹלְדוֹתֵיהֶן שֶׁיּוֹלִידוּ אַחַר הַמְשָׁחָתָן, אֲבָל פִּינְחָס שֶׁנּוֹלַד קֹדֶם לָכֵן וְלֹא נִמְשַׁח לֹא בָא לִכְלַל כְּהֻנָּה עַד כָּאן; וְכֵן שָׁנִינוּ בִזְבָחִים (דף ק”א) לֹא נִתְכַּהֵן פִּינְחָס עַד שֶׁהֲרָגוֹ לְזִמְרִי:

When I read the Rashi of את בריתי שלום I learned that this covenant was a covenant of friendship.  Meaning friendship itself is a reward.  To be a friend of God is info itself a reward.  Rabbi Efrem Godlberg quoted the Rov on Parshas Vayera:

Verse 18:1 –  וַיֵּרָ֤א אֵלָיו֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה בְּאֵלֹנֵ֖י מַמְרֵ֑א וְה֛וּא יֹשֵׁ֥ב פֶּֽתַח־הָאֹ֖הֶל כְּחֹ֥ם הַיּֽוֹם׃

It does not say Vayomer.  Hashem did not talk.    Just the mere presence of God visiting Moshe, not saying anything was comforting.  There was a sense of friendship.  Page 114 of the Rov’s Chumash, Mesoras Harav.

Rashi kind of ruins it when he says on the next Pasuk   הָ֤יְתָה לּוֹ֙ וּלְזַרְע֣וֹ אַחֲרָ֔יו בְּרִ֖ית כְּהֻנַּ֣ת עוֹלָ֑ם תַּ֗חַת אֲשֶׁ֤ר קִנֵּא֙ לֵֽאלֹהָ֔יו וַיְכַפֵּ֖ר עַל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃.  Rashi says on the words     – והיתה לו. בְרִיתִי זֹאת  – this this Bris is that Pichos will be a Cohen forever.  Meaning that this is the reward for friendship.  I want to explain the Pesukim that God gave him two rewards. The first being friendship and the second is priest hood.  Friendship alone is a valuable reward.  Rashi seems to be saying that there was only one reward.

The other Miforshim say that Pinchos received two rewards.  1)  that the בריתי שלום is either ling life, eternal life, or that the relatives of Zimri will not pursue Pinchos to kill him.  Only Rashi seems to say there was only one reward,

Different Miforshim on what the covenant of peace was:

Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel says that Pinchos received eternal life.

בִּשְׁבוּעָא אֵימַר לֵיהּ מִן שְׁמִי הָאֲנָא גָזַר לֵיהּ יַת קְיָמִי שְׁלַם וְאַעְבְּדִינֵיהּ מַלְאָךְ קְיַים וְיֵיחֵי לְעַלְמָא לִמְבַשְרָא גְאוּלְתָּא בְּסוֹף יוֹמַיָא

Swearing by My Name, I say to him, Behold, I decree to him My covenant of peace, and will make him an angel of the covenant, that he may ever live, to announce the Redemption at the end of the days.

Pirkei D’Rabbi Eleizer 47 – Picnhos  never died and re emerged as Wliyahu Hanavi

Ibn Ezra and Tur HaAruch say that Hashem gave him peace, that there will not be any avengers from Zimri and Cosbi’s family.  There was also a reward that Pinchos will be Kohanim and some say that the High Priests will come from Pinchos.

Ibn Ezra:

את בריתי שלום. טעמו את בריתי ברית שלום כמו כסאך אלהים ורבים כן והטעם שלא יגור מאחי זמרי כי הוא נשיא בית אב ושכרו שתהיה לו ולזרעו אחריו ברית כהונת עולם ונצח כי הכהנים הגדולים היו מבני פינחס ויתכן שהיו בנים אחרים לאלעזר:

MY COVENANT OF PEACE. The meaning of beriti shalom (My covenant of peace) is: My covenant, a covenant of peace. Compare, Thy throne God (Ps. 45:7). There are many such cases. Its meaning is that Phinehas should not fear the brothers of Zimri for Zimri was a prince of a father’s house (v. 14). Phinehas was rewarded with the covenant of priesthood for himself and his seed forever, for all the high priests were descendants of Phinehas. It is possible that Eleazar had other sons.

Tur HaAruch:

לכן אמור. לבני ישראל והודיע להם שהוא כהן לעולם:

הנני נותן לו את בריתי. לפי הפשט הבטיח שלא יפחד מאחי זמרי וקרוביו אף כי הוא נשיא וגדול בישראל והיה לו רבים שינקמו נקמתו. ושכרו יהי’ שיהי’ לו ולזרעו ברית כהונ’ עול’:

Da’as Zikanim says the same as the Ibn Ezra::

לכן. שעשה דבר הגון לפני הנני נותן לו את בריתי שלום ואם ישנאוהו ישראל לא יחוש ואין לו לירא לא מקרובי זמרי ולא מקרובי כזבי שהיתה בת מלך

4) Ramban – Pinchos was to become the high priest after Eliezer and Itamer dies.

Diary entry of Theordore Herzl’s meeting with the Pope.

THEODOR HERZL: Audience with Pope Pius X (1904)

On January 26, 1904, Theodor Herzl had an audience with Pope Pius X in the Vatican to seek his support for the Zionist effort to establish a Jewish state in Palestine.  He recorded his account of the meeting in his diary. Source: Raphael Patai, The Complete Diaries of Theodor Herzl, translated by Harry Zohn (New York/London: Herzl Press, Thomas Yoseloff, 1960), 1601-1605.  The “Lippay” to whom he refers is Count Berthold Dominik Lippay, an Austrian papal portraitist, whom Herzl had met in Venice and who had arranged the audience with the pope.

Yesterday I was with the Pope. The route was already familiar since I had traversed it with Lippay several times.

Past the Swiss lackeys, who looked like clerics, and clerics who looked like lackeys, the Papal officers and chamberlains.

I arrived 10 minutes ahead of time and didn’t even have to wait.

I was conducted through numerous small reception rooms to the Pope.

He received me standing and held out his hand, which I did not kiss.

Lippay had told me I had to do it, but I didn’t.

I believe that I incurred his displeasure by this, for everyone who visits him kneels down and at least kisses his hand.

This hand kiss had caused me a lot of worry. I was quite glad when it was finally out of the way.

He seated himself in an armchair, a throne for minor occasions. Then he invited me to sit down right next to him and smiled in friendly anticipation.

I began:

“Ringrazio Vostra Santità per il favore di m’aver accordato quest’udienza” [I thank Your Holiness for the favor of according me this audience].”

“È un piacere [It is a pleasure],” he said with kindly deprecation.

I apologized for my miserable Italian, but he said:

“No, parla molto bene, signor Commendatore [No, Commander, you speak very well].”

For I had put on for the first time—on Lippay’s advice—my Mejidiye ribbon. Consequently the Pope always addressed me as Commendatore.

He is a good, coarse-grained village priest, to whom Christianity has remained a living thing even in the Vatican.

I briefly placed my request before him. He, however, possibly annoyed by my refusal to kiss his hand, answered sternly and resolutely:

“Noi non possiamo favorire questo movimento. Non potremo impedire gli Ebrei di andare a Gerusalemme—ma favorire non possiamo mai. La terra di Gerusalemme se non era sempre santa, è santificata per la vita di Jesu Christo (he did not pronounce it Gesu, but Yesu, in the Venetian fashion). Io come capo della chiesa non posso dirle altra cosa. Gli Ebrei non hanno riconosciuto nostro Signore, perciò non possiamo riconoscere il popolo ebreo [We cannot give approval to this movement. We cannot prevent the Jews from going to Jerusalem—but we could never sanction it. The soil of Jerusalem, if it was not always sacred, has been sanctified by the life of Jesus Christ. As the head of the Church I cannot tell you anything different. The Jews have not recognized our Lord, therefore we cannot recognize the Jewish people].”

Hence the conflict between Rome, represented by him, and Jerusalem, represented by me, was once again opened up.

At the outset, to be sure, I tried to be conciliatory. I recited my little piece about extraterritorialization, res sacrae extra commercium [holy places removed from business]. It didn’t make much of an impression. Gerusalemme, he said, must not get into the hands of the Jews.

“And its present status, Holy Father?”

“I know, it is not pleasant to see the Turks in possession of our Holy Places. We simply have to put up with that. But to support the Jews in the acquisition of the Holy Places, that we cannot do.”

I said that our point of departure had been solely the distress of the Jews and that we desired to avoid the religious issues.

“Yes, but we, and I as the head of the Church, cannot do this. There are two possibilities. Either the Jews will cling to their faith and continue to await the Messiah who, for us, has already appeared. In that case they will be denying the divinity of Jesus and we cannot help them. Or else they will go there without any religion, and then we can be even less favorable to them.

“The Jewish religion was the foundation of our own; but it was superseded by the teachings of Christ, and we cannot concede it any further validity. The Jews, who ought to have been the first to acknowledge Jesus Christ, have not done so to this day.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to say, “That’s what happens in every family. No one believes in his own relatives.” But I said instead: “Terror and persecution may not have been the right means for enlightening the Jews.”

But he rejoined, and this time he was magnificent in his simplicity:

“Our Lord came without power. Era povero [He was poor]. He came in pace [in peace]. He persecuted no one. He was persecuted.

He was abbandonato [forsaken] even by his apostles. Only later did he grow in stature. It took three centuries for the Church to evolve. The Jews therefore had time to acknowledge his divinity without any pressure. But they haven’t done so to this day.”

“But, Holy Father, the Jews are in terrible straits. I don’t know if Your Holiness is acquainted with the full extent of this sad situation. We need a land for these persecuted people.”

“Does it have to be Gerusalemme?”

“We are not asking for Jerusalem, but for Palestine—only the secular land.”

“We cannot be in favor of it.”

“Does Your Holiness know the situation of the Jews?”

“Yes, from my Mantua days. Jews live there. And I have always been on good terms with Jews. Only the other evening two Jews were here to see me. After all, there are other bonds than those of religion: courtesy and philanthropy. These we do not deny to the Jews. Indeed, we also pray for them: that their minds be enlightened. This very day the Church is celebrating the feast of an unbeliever who, on the road to Damascus, became miraculously converted to the true faith. And so, if you come to Palestine and settle your people there, we shall have churches and priests ready to baptize all of you.”

Count Lippay had had himself announced. The Pope permitted him to enter. The Count kneeled, kissed his hand, then joined in the conversation by telling of our “miraculous” meeting in Bauer’s Beer Hall in Venice. The miracle was that he had originally planned to spend the night in Padua. As it happened, I had expressed the wish to be allowed to kiss the Holy Father’s foot.

At this the Pope made une tête [a long face], for I hadn’t even kissed his hand. Lippay went on to say that I had expressed myself appreciatively on Jesus Christ’s noble qualities. The Pope listened, now and then took a pinch of snuff, and sneezed into a big red cotton handkerchief. Actually, these peasant touches are what I like best about him and what compels my respect.

In this way Lippay wanted to account for his introducing me, perhaps to excuse it. But the Pope said: “On the contrary, I am glad you brought me the Signor Commendatore.”

As to the real business, he repeated what he had told me: Non possumus [We can’t]!

Until he dismissed us Lippay spent some time kneeling before him and couldn’t seem to get his fill of kissing his hand. Then I realized that the Pope liked this sort of thing. But on parting, too, all I did was to give him a warm hand-squeeze and a low bow.

Duration of the audience: about 25 minutes.

In the Raphael stanze [rooms], where I spent the next hour, I saw a picture of an Emperor kneeling to let a seated Pope put the crown on his head.

That’s the way Rome wants it.

I love this last line,  “That’s the way Rome wants it” is perfect.