Italian b’nei anousim celebrate Shabbat with a unique candelabra

For thousands of Italians who live in the southern Italian region of Calabria, the island of Sicily and the Aeolian Islands, connecting family traditions with an ancient Jewish heritage can be little more than a lucky guess. But as B’nei Anousim (those who were forced into Christian conversion during Inquisition times) continue to search for their lost and hidden Jewish roots, one ritual item, the Shabbat candelabra offers an important clue.

For years I believed that the triple candelabra that was one of our family heirlooms was little more than a lovely artifact. Later on as I began a search of our family’s anousim roots, I discovered that this three-branched candelabra was a special part of the family Shabbat table.

- by Rabbi Barbara Aiello: the first woman and first non-orthodox rabbi in Italy. She opened the first active synagogue in Calabria since Inquisition times and is the founder of the B'nei Anousim movement in Calabria and Sicily that helps Italians discover and embrace their Jewish roots.

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/italian-bnei-anousim-celebrate-shabbat-with-a-unique-candelabra/