Part IV:
Even after the passing of my father, his memory remains etched firmly in our hearts. Every Shabbos and Yom Tov when we sit at the table, we imagine him sitting with us and we can sense his presence hovering in our midst. Even now, fifty-three years after his passing, his memory is still fresh in our minds, and when we go visit his gravesite we often feel as if he is communicating with us from beneath the ground and is exhorting us to follow in his righteous ways, promising us long life and eternal bliss if we would. Oh, would that our lot be like his. Amen!
It was in his merit that we found favor in the eyes of all who knew us, and his circle was extremely helpful to my mother, his widow, and ourselves- his orphans. In particular, the wealthy Moses Herschel was very good to us, as were other wealthy benefactors, including Jacob Chai Minerva and Solomon Jedediah Norzi (great-great grandson of the Minchas Shai, 1560 - 1626).
[After the conclusion of the mourning period] my eldest brother left us to be with his wife and children, and my brother Abraham left for Tripoli in the land of Barbaria [Libya]. Those of us who remained behind lived a calm and simple, if frugal, existence. My mother and my sisters took on jobs typically done by women for pay, and my brother Joseph found work in the employment of a businessman. I continued my studies, for I was still young.
While my father was still alive and successful at his business, Iwould study the Bible every evening with my teacher Yaakov (Jacob) Chai Morpurgo, a pure minded and God-fearingindividual who was particularly successful as an educator of children. This teacher, ‘fattened me’ with biblical knowledge and trained me to have a mastery over Rashi’s commentary on the Torah and the Yad Hachazakah [Mishneh Torah] of Maimonides.
During the day, I attended the classes of my beloved teacher, the respected Rabbi Emanuel Wolf, from whom I learned the basic rudiments of Italian and German, as well as penmanship and arithmetic. I would also study Torah for a few hours a week with Rabbi Yosef Campus, a learned and pious man.
I was eight and a half years old when my father lost his wealth, and I thereupon joined the community Talmud Torah [school] where they taught—and still teach—for free. This, despite the fact that my aforementioned teachers urged my father to allow me to continue to study with them free of charge, for my father would not hear of it. During my four years at the Talmud Torah I studied Hebrew and secular studies, where I became a high achiever and soon rose to the head of the class. At the end of the academic year, I was always awarded the first prize, for I had an excellent memory and after reading a large number of pages only once or twice—even in German which I did not know too well—I was able to recall them verbatim without missing a word. Additionally, although I was born without a particularly strong intellect, I strengthened it through constant study, and competition with peers who were wiser than me was very beneficial for me. Not for naught does it say in Ecclesiastes “scholarly jealousy is an impetus for wisdom.” [NW: The correct source is Bava Basra 22a]
I studied the Bible with my primary teacher, the esteemed Rabbi Shmuel Chaim Zalman, a primary disciple of Shadal [Samuel David Luzzatto] and through him I attained a deep understanding of Hebrew grammar of which I knew very little previously. I learned a great deal from this amazing person, whoeven today, at over eighty years old, possesses a mind asbrilliant as the summer sun at midday, and he merits the fulfillment of the rabbinic statements, “Torah elders as they age their minds grow ever stately.” All the more so was his intellectual acumen in his youth! He was a very wise teacher, and a person of great courage and conviction to whom none can compare.
After learning with this teacher for two years, I advanced to the highest grade which was taught by our esteemed teacher Rabbi Moses Zacuto Norzi (of very distinguished lineage), another intelligent teacher who loved his students and was beloved by them. Tragically, after just four months of learning with him, he died suddenly, and since there was nobody to replace him, I went back to learn with Rabbi Zalman until the appointment of our esteemed teacher Rabbi Shabetai Elchanan Trevis as Rabbi of our city. This rabbi was a pure hearted and generous sage of distinguished appearance and great rhetorical ability. By the grace of God, I found favor in his eyes, and he was extremely kind to me, taking me under his wing and teaching me during his own time together with four other students of the Talmud Torah. Most of my knowledge of the Hebrew language is owed to him.
To be continued…