Moses Vita Ascarelli (, ; 5 April 1826 – 11 December 1889), also known by the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Emet le-Ya'akov (), was an Italian physician, rabbi, writer, poet, and translator.

Biography

Moses Vita Ascarelli was born to a Jewish family in Rome in 1826. He received his religious education at the

Talmud Torah Talmud Torah (, lit. 'Study of the Torah') schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary education in Hebrew language, H ...

and Rabbinical College in that city, and later studied medicine at the University of Rome. He distinguished himself during the cholera epidemic in 1867, in recognition of which he received a medal from

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

. Ascarelli took an active interest in the organization of the Jewish community in Rome; he was one of the founders of the ''Società di fratellanza'', for the dissemination of education and development of the arts among poor Jews, and, together with , co-founder of the Roman branch of the

Alliance Israélite Universelle The Alliance israélite universelle (AIU; ; ) is a Paris-based international Jewish organization founded in 1860 with the purpose of safeguarding human rights for Jews around the world. It promotes the ideals of Jewish self-defense and self-suffi ...

. Ascarelli was a frequent contributor under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

"Emet le-Ya'akov" to the Hebrew journal ''

Ha-Maggid ''Hamagid'' (; ), also known after 1893 as ''Hamagid LeIsrael'' (), was the first Hebrew language weekly newspaper. It featured mostly current events, feature articles, a section on Judaic studies, and, in its heyday, discussions of social issues ...

'', for which he wrote many poems and articles on the condition of

Italian Jews Italian Jews (; ) or Roman Jews (; ) can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in Italy, or, in a narrower sense, to mean the Italkim, an ancient community living in Italy since the Ancient Roman era, who use the It ...

under Pope Pius IX. Ascarelli translated from Hebrew to Italian the work ''Naḥalah le-Yisrael'' ('A Heritage unto Israel'), a responsum sent by Chief Rabbi Israel Moses Hazan in connection with a disputed inheritance in the Gallichi family. Ascarelli also published ''Sefer 'am Polanim ve-gere Polanim'', a translation of

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

's ''Księgi narodu polskiego i pielgrzymstwa polskiego'' from Armand Lévy's

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

translation. He served as rabbi of the Scola Catalana synagogue, and one of his sermons was published under the title ''Panegirico sull' elezione d'Israele letto nel Tempio israelitico di Roma (Scuola Catalana) il Sciavuot 5640 (17 maggio 1880) per l'iniziazione alla maggiorità religiose del figlio Angelo Raffaele e altri giovanetti della Communione''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascarelli, Moses Vita 1826 births 1889 deaths 19th-century Italian physicians 19th-century Italian rabbis 19th-century Italian translators 19th-century Italian poets Rabbis from Rome Writers from Rome Physicians from Rome Jewish poets French–Hebrew translators Translators to Italian Translators from Hebrew Sapienza University of Rome alumni Jewish Italian writers