Episode 28: The Amazing Story of Di Litziata

00:01 We continue our fascinating story about Rabbi Moishe, a grandson of the Maharal and an ancestor of Rabbi Schneur Zalman, the founder of Chabad. As you may recall, Rabbi Moishe had been at the Vatican, where he managed to influence young Jews who, for one reason or another, had been caught in the Vatican’s net. He succeeded in bringing them out, strengthening them, and reconnecting them with their Judaism. Then he resumed his travels across Europe. Rabbi Moishe first stayed in Mantua, Italy, and from there corresponded with the young scholar Gedalia Moishe, who was now called Professor Gordon. Both felt that a spiritual battle had to be waged against the Christian world’s attempts to take hold of the Jewish people. From Mantua, Rabbi Moishe traveled to London. London had two Jewish communities, one Sephardic and the other Ashkenazic. Rabbi David Nieto headed the Sephardic community, and Rabbi Uri Mannheimer headed the Ashkenazic community. Both rabbis were known for their greatness in Torah and their fear of Heaven. Although Rabbi Moishe’s visit to London was primarily for business, he also devoted himself there, and especially, to matters affecting the Jewish people as a whole—above all, to printing strong responses to Christian arguments against Judaism, something he was convinced was urgently needed. From letters he received from Gedalia Moishe Gordon in Rome, Moishe learned that most of the Jewish students at the Vatican academy, who had largely been completely distant from Judaism and, sadly, many of whom had been on the verge of converting to Christianity, G-d forbid, had now returned in complete teshuvah. With Gedalia Moishe’s encouragement, they had all begun to devote themselves to studying Judaism and had become utterly convinced that their path was the path of Judaism, not, G-d forbid, one of drawing closer to Christianity. Moishe knew that his visit to Rome and the debate he had conducted at the Vatican had played a decisive part in this change. Now he felt with all his heart and soul that more and more books and pamphlets explaining and establishing the Jewish faith had to be published. London was then a major Jewish center, with many opportunities to print books

03:31 and pamphlets. Moishe therefore worked on printing pamphlets and books in English as well, to strengthen the faith of Jews who had become distant from their Judaism and to spread knowledge of Judaism among non-Jews. One of the letters Gedalia Gordon—Gedalia Moishe Gordon—wrote from Rome contained a fascinating and startling story that particularly caught Rabbi Moishe’s attention. It sounded imaginary, but as it turned out, it was a true account of something that had actually happened. A most distinguished visitor had suddenly appeared in Rome. He was the elderly Christian scholar and philosopher Professor Christian di Liziata. Years earlier, Professor di Liziata had been very well known in the Christian world, but he had disappeared from view some years before. In his youth he had studied under Archbishop Gregory di Firenze in Venice. Later he earned fame in his own right as a prominent intellectual figure in the Catholic Church. Now, on his unexpected return to Rome, di Liziata announced that he had come expressly to meet with the pope. When the Vatican learned of his arrival, a special delegation of senior clergy was sent to greet him with the honors due such a distinguished figure. The highest-ranking Christian authorities in Rome decided to invite him to stay in Vatican City. A special suite was prepared for him in the pope’s palace, including a room set aside for his worship. A date was also set for a grand ceremonial reception in his honor, hosted by the pope and attended by all the cardinals and other Vatican dignitaries. The delegation came to see di Liziata, and he thanked them for the honor they wished to give him. At the same time, he explained that for more than thirty-five years he had avoided all unnecessary contact with people and had practiced fasting and self-denial. He had only one request: to meet the pope face to face and speak with him privately. He explained to the delegation that he

06:42 needed to speak to the pope about matters weighing on his heart and to share certain secrets with him. Di Liziata’s answer astonished the papal delegation. They could not understand how anyone could turn down honors of worldwide significance. Still, they had no choice but to report his answer to those who had sent them. We have no clear information about Professor di Liziata’s later years. His beginnings, however, were well known. He was born in Verona, Italy, and lost his parents in early childhood. His uncle, a priest, raised him in his home. The orphan showed exceptional gifts and excelled in his studies. At the age of twenty he was recognized as a philosopher, and his uncle sent him to continue his studies with Archbishop di Firenze in Venice. Young di Liziata rose rapidly through the ranks of the clergy and the world of scholarship. Since, in addition to his other talents, he was an exceptionally gifted speaker, he was placed at the head of a group of priests whose task was to debate Jews and open the public’s eyes to the truth of Christianity. And indeed, for many years di Liziata delivered impassioned speeches and published pamphlets praising Christianity. He made a name for himself, and his fame reached the Vatican. A brilliant future awaited him in the Catholic Church. Archbishop di Firenze wrote to the pope praising him highly, especially the debates di Liziata had held with well-known Jewish scholars, in which, according to reports, he had done very well. Indeed, on the archbishop’s recommendation, di Liziata was twice received by the pope for special meetings and was accorded great honor at them. Then, all of a sudden, without any advance notice, di Liziata vanished without a trace. Rumors began to spread that the young priest had become a monk and was living somewhere in complete seclusion. Another rumor said that he had traveled to India. Many years passed, and the name di

09:51 Liziata became a legend of the past. So the tremendous surprise caused by his sudden reappearance in Rome is understandable. As we said, he wanted to meet with the pope. This time, though, he wanted to do so without any of the ceremony and publicity with which he had once been received, in keeping with his standing and distinguished past. The very sight of the extremely elderly di Liziata inspired reverence. He was tall, and despite his fasting and self-denial, his face was full and radiant. Against his black clothing stood out his long silver hair, which reached his shoulders. He looked like a holy man. Beneath his thick eyebrows, two dark, burning eyes gazed out with piercing intensity. Anyone who met his gaze felt humbled and small before a man who seemed to tower above others. The delegation returned to the pope and reported di Liziata’s request. A lengthy discussion began about how to treat a guest who rejected every form of public honor. They decided to leave the matter to the pope. They assumed that di Liziata’s avoidance of honor was connected to the self-denial he had undertaken. The pope, however, decided that despite everything, the elderly di Liziata should be given an official, festive reception, as was customary for distinguished figures. At the same time, his wish to meet privately with the pope was also honored. A separate meeting was arranged for after the reception. The members of the delegation explained to the monk—to the monk, as though he were a monk, yes, to the elderly man—that even if public honor was not to his liking, its purpose was not to please him. Rather, it was to show the whole world how the Church treated people who had devoted their lives to Christianity since early childhood. Di Liziata was informed of the date set for the two meetings, on the assumption that he would willingly accept the head of the Church’s decision. On the day appointed for the festive reception, the pope’s private carriage set out. On the pope’s personal instructions, it was

13:07 Drawn by eight horses, it headed toward Professor di Liziata’s inn. Behind this first carriage came five more magnificent carriages carrying high-ranking Vatican representatives. Horsemen from the Pope’s guard, dressed in their splendid uniforms, escorted the carriages. On its way to the inn, the procession drew the attention of the crowds, many of whom knelt and crossed themselves at the sight of the Pope’s personal carriage. When the distinguished delegation reached the inn, its members were stunned to hear that the monk was not there. The innkeeper said that the guest had asked for his bill that morning, paid what he owed, slung his satchel over his shoulder and left. No one knew where he had gone or why. The Pope’s representatives were at a loss. According to the plan, everything at the palace was ready for the festive reception. All the cardinals and senior Vatican figures, along with distinguished guests, were waiting there for the arrival of the honored guest. How could they return to the palace empty-handed? They decided that one of the horsemen should ride at once to the Vatican and ask for instructions. When he arrived, the cardinals were astonished to hear that di Liziata had disappeared from his inn and that the delegation sent to welcome him was awaiting instructions. After a brief consultation, they told the horseman to have the delegation search the other inns as well, assuming that di Liziata had decided to move to another one. One thing was clear: the reception had to go ahead as planned. There was no point in giving up on the monk’s appearance, since all the invited dignitaries had already gathered at the Pope’s palace and were waiting for the guest to arrive so the ceremony could begin. The horseman returned to the delegation with his instructions, and the entire delegation spread out among the inns. The splendid papal procession, with its ceremonial carriages escorted by uniformed horsemen, attracted a great deal of attention

16:00 as it went from inn to inn, and the streets filled with crowds of curious onlookers. But all their searching came to nothing. The monk di Liziata was nowhere to be found.