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Before the Dawn

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This book outlines the spiritual journey of Rabbi Israel Zolli to the Church from Judaism. Conversions of Jews to the Faith are always pleasing to read about but when the subject who converts was (at the time) the very Orthodox and Chief Rabbi of Rome (a profound Scriptural and Talmudic scholar who basically sacrificed everything he had to pursue the Truth), it stands as a wonderful testament to the spirit of man which is always restless until it rests fully in Christ Jesus.

Having been written in 1952, the story is also a wonderful antidote for the recent lies and revisionist propaganda that sought to smear the name of Eugenio Pacelli (Pope Pius XII) whose birth name was taken by the ex-rabbi upon his baptism into the Faith (he took the pope's birth name out of gratitude for all that Pope Pius XII did for the Jewish people during WW II - a point recently glossed over by those with a polemic axe to grind against the Church). In truth Pope Pius XII played a major role in saving an estimated (by Jewish sources) 850,000 Jewish lives during the war (which was FAR more then the rest of the world combined I might add). The degree of outright lies and slander against Pius XII are ones which the major media should be ashamed of. The media at the time of the rabbi's conversion was far more respectable then what passes for "journalism" today. Nevertheless the newspapers of the time still announced Zolli's conversion as if it was a sudden and uncritical reaction undertaken by the elderly rabbi (or one that he took for some kind of financial or scholarly gain). But as the story indicates, it was far from either of these speculations but was instead a move that took place gradually over the course of a 30 plus year period with even a few pointers from his early childhood that the rabbi recognized in retrospect when touching on his childhood faith formation.

The highlights of his journey are covered in this book along with some marvelous insights by Rabbi Zolli on Judaism, mysticism, the Law, and the Gospel. Eugenio Zolli speaks of his journey not as a betrayal of the Synagogue but as a completion and himself as becoming a "completed Jew" by recognizing Rabbi Yeshua as the Messiah and joining His Church. The continuity between the Synagogue and the Church is a wonderful topic in and of itself and the ex-rabbi also touches on it a bit in this memoir. I cannot recommend this book enough and feel that it will benefit anyone who reads it who is looking for an uplifting spiritual journey and some interesting insight into the Scriptures - including the New Testament - from an Orthodox Jewish perspective.

This is the remarkable story of how the Cheif Rabbi of Rome - through prayer, study, and experiance - became a christian and entered the Catholic Church. He did not abandon his Jewish heritage, but discovered the fulness of what God offered in Jesus and His Church. We need to hear about such a journey of Faith and what motivated it, from the one who experianced it.

Eugenio Zolli gives us insight into his life and spiritual journey. As Rabbi Israel Zolli, we experience with him some of the most difficult years for a Jew--WWII and the Holocaust; and we see him handle some difficult situations. Although a great scholar, I also see him as a mystic who is first drawn to Christ through love, and then seeks to understand. He also mentions his great esteem for Pope Pius XII. I recommend this book for those who appreciate a good conversion story, and also for those who want a glimpse of this turblent period through the eyes of one who lived it as a Jew and converted to become Catholic.

I had heard of this book, several years ago. It had been out of print for decades, and I had poor luck tracking down a used copy. This reprint was well worth the wait. Zolli doesn't give his reader a chronological narrative of his conversion to the Catholic Church. What he does, is to give his reader his theological and philosophical arguements for embracing Christianity. Zolli's account, while containing some heavy intellectual matter, is highly personal, and, at times, moving.

The history and life of Israel Zolli is strictly related to pope Pius XII. Zolli was one of the most important scholars of Judaism and is said he knew quite all the Torah. After the 2nd world war he became a christian after an apparition of Jesus in the roman synagogue. He took the name of Eugenio Pio, remembering what the pope had made for the jews during the war ( the pope and the catholics as we reed now in M. Marchione: Yours is a precious witness ). Zolli' s history of the facts is a great help to understand the greatness of Pius XII. An important addition to understand that period and the several problems the roman Church had to go trough.

Eugenio Zolli was the cheif rabbi of Rome...until he became a Catholic. This is his memoirs, which trace his life from childhood when he first sees a crucifix to why he converted. Eugenio was his baptismal name in honor of Pope Pius XII, and the chapters on Zolli's days in Italy during WWII prove that the lies said about Pius being agaisnt the Jews is false.

The history and life of Israel Zolli is strictly related to pope Pius XII. Zolli was one of the most important scholars of Judaism and is said he knew quite all the Torah. After the 2nd world war he became a christian after an apparition of Jesus in the roman synagogue. He took the name of Eugenio Pio, remembering what the pope had made for the jews during the war ( the pope and the catholics as we reed now in M. Marchione: Yours is a precious witness ). Zolli' s history of the facts is a great help to understand the greatness of Pius XII. An important addition to understand that period and the several problems the roman Church had to go trough.

If his fellow Jews were to read this book written by Rabbi Eugenio Zolli, Jews would convert to Catholic Church immediately.

If his fellow Jews were to read this book written by Rabbi Eugenio Zolli, Jews would convert to Catholic Church immediately.

Zolli's conversion to Catholicism had little to do with any spiritual conviction. Rather, it was the result of his ostracism and banishment after the Holocaust by the survivors of the Italian Jewish community, whom he callously abandoned during the war when he hid in the Vatican while fleeing the Nazis. At the beginning of September 1943, when the Germans entered Rome, he abandoned the community and took refuge in the Vatican. At the end of the hostilities he reappeared to assume his position as rabbi, but was rejected by the community because of his unworthy behavior at the time of the greatest danger. On February 14, 1945, he converted to Catholicism,

People interested in this topic may read: Robert Weisbord and Wallace Sillanpoa, The Chief Rabbi, The Pope, and the Holocaust: An Era in Vatican-Jewish Relations, Transaction Publishers (1991)