WHAT IS THE GOLEM?

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

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“Erez took a book from the table and showed me two pages.

“‘You can see that there are two pages of explanation for four single words. Hebrew is not like Italian, where one word has one meaning. In our language, one word has many meanings.

Once in the city of Prague,’ continued Erez’s friend, ‘there was a rabbi who laid some soil shaped as a man on a table, and then he created a man without soul, made only by flesh. He created that soulless man just to protect the Jewish community of Prague.’

“‘This kind of creature is called the Golem. By word you can create a golem, and by word you can deactivate it. You cannot imagine how powerful the word is,’ said Erez turning to me. ‘The Rabbi of Prague created the Golem through Hebraic words, and afterwards, upon the request of the Emperor as the Golem had become too violent, he deactivated it by using different Hebraic words.’

“‘Word creates life, events, and actions…

This is an excerpt from The Vibrations of Words by ETTORE GRILLO

Ettore Grillo, author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
– Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

GOOD FRIDAY IN ENNA

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

 

 

 

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GOOD FRIDAY IN ENNA

In Enna, on Good Friday the procession is made up by fifteen confraternities (brotherhoods). On this day, about two thousand five hundred brethren of all ages file along the streets.

Their attire consists of a white alb, a white girdle, a white hood, a crown of wicker, and a cloak the color of which varies from one confraternity to another.

The oldest confraternity is that of the Most Holy Savior. Its members are granted the privilege to carry on their shoulders the feretory containing the statue of Jesus’s dead body. The color of their cloak is cream with a red cross which seems to evoke that of the Knights Templar. It was established in 1261. It is the oldest in Sicily. It is housed in the church having the same name.

The confraternity of Our Lady of Sorrows was founded relatively recently, but its members enjoy the privilege of carrying on their shoulders the litter of Our Lady. Their cloak is violet with a heart pierced by sever swords. The confraternity is housed in the church having the same name.

The confraternity of the Passion of Our Lord was established in 1660. It has the privilege to carry in procession the litter with the statue of Jesus on Palm Sunday. Furthermore, on Good Friday the brethren bear on trays the signs of the Passion of Jesus: the nails, the crown of thorns, the dice, the spear, and even an alive rooster. Their cloak is purple-red with the effigy of Jesus. The confraternity is housed in the church of Saint Leonard.

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The other not less important confraternities are: The New Woman; The Holy Ghost; Saint Joseph; Holy Souls in Purgatory; The Holy Sacrament; The Virgin; Madonna of the Rosary; Madonna of Valverde (a quarter of Enna); Our Lady of Grace; Sacred Heart of Jesus; Our Lady of Visitation; The Most Holy Crucifix of Pergusa; Saint Anne.

At five o’ clock in the evening, the Confraternity of the Passion moves from the Church of Saint Leonard and picks up from their churches one by one all the other confraternities. Therefore, it leads the procession. The others follow according to a fixed order.
All the brethren converge to the cathedral and from there they file to the cemetery. The municipal band, the chorus, and the city authorities follow the procession.
Every year, many tourists from all over the world come to Enna to see this event. Apparently, they are mesmerized by the parade. I have seen many of them following the procession hand in hand as if they were townspeople. It seems that they are enraptured with religious fervor.
Actually, a kind of mystic energy transpires from the procession. For what reason? Good Friday is not a mere folk event nor a rite. It is expression of intimate religiosity, innate in the soul of the people of Enna.

Ettore Grillo author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
-The Vibrations of Words
Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

THE SCARLET LETTER

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

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THE SCARLET LETTER

I bought this book at a flea market in India. I paid for it 50 rupees, a trifle compared to the value of this superb novel. It is set in the seventeenth century Puritan America.

A woman named Hester, married to a man who was believed lost at sea, gave birth to a child, the offspring of an adulterous liaison.

Hester had committed adultery, and the Puritan America of that time couldn’t tolerate such a sin.

The local authorities made an example of Hester. She was put in the pillory for three hours and forced to wear a scarlet letter A, which meant adulteress, over her breast her whole life.

She refused to reveal the name of her lover. Meanwhile her husband, who was a talented doctor, returned to his town under an assumed name. He was determined to find out who had been the lover of his wife, to take revenge on him.

He discovered that Hester had a love affair with the Puritan priest of the town. He wanted to destroy him psychologically.

At the end, all the characters that seemed to be bad revealed their bright side. The Puritan priest publicly confessed his sin and died in Hester’s arms. Hester’s husband also died and left Pearl, the illegitimate daughter of Ester and the Puritan priest, a big inheritance. She became the richest person in New England.

Why do I like this book? Because it shows how people can change throughout their lives. Nobody is completely good or evil. Everyone has something good inside. Let’s look for their bright side! This way, we will not be disappointed.

Ettore Grillo author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
-Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo