Before the Dawn (Hardcover)

by Eugenio Zolli (Author) "I REMEMBER the scene as though it were yesterday..." (more)
Key Phrases: fifteen kilograms, regional commissioner, Saint Paul, Chief Rabbi, Jesus Christ (more...)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Roman Catholic Books; can't find and can't find current publication date. has copyright of 1953. edition (February 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0912141468
• ISBN-13: 978-0912141466
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,549,510 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Most Touching and Informative Spiritual Journey, October 8, 2000

By	Shawn Tzu (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

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.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Zolli's book is the story of a conversion and more., June 12, 1999

By A Customer

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.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Before the Dawn by Eugenio Zolli, March 30, 2000

By	Claudine Johnson (Camden County, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

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.