In the sacred embrace of memory, where memories intertwine in the perpetual river of existence, the stillness of this sacred place holds a story of joy, sorrow, enlightenment and profound faith. My name is Moses David Valle. I was born in Padua in 1697 and this is the story of my life and my journey along which I became a rabbi and a kabbalist.
The 18th century was a very difficult period for the Jewish community in Padua, which was faced with a complex and challenging situation. Although Jewish residents had been present in Padua since the Middle Ages, their status and conditions varied throughout history.
We Paduan Jews were subjected to various restrictions and discrimination. We had to reside in the designated Jewish quarter, known as the ghetto, founded in 1603. The ghetto was a narrow, cramped space with high walls and gates that were closed at night, isolating the Jewish community from the rest of the city.
Despite these heavy restrictions, the 18th century saw some positive developments for Padua's Jewish community. Intellectual and cultural exchanges with non-Jewish intellectuals were favoured, resulting in greater opportunities for Jewish scholars. In addition, the Venetian Republic granted favourable tax exemptions to attract Jewish merchants, leading to greater economic prosperity.
Growing up in this scenario, as a child, I felt the call of a dream, which later became a desire, to turn into a goal: to expand the common horizons of science and faith and to generate knowledge through the balance between the intellect and the questions that lie beyond its boundaries.
I had a vast knowledge of the Bible, philosophy and medicine, which I studied at the University of Padua until I graduated. I learned from the rabbis of Padua and, together with Moshe Chayym Luzzatto and Isaiah Romanin, I was ordained a rabbi in 1725. When Luzzatto founded the Kabbalistic study circle in 1727, I was responsible for organising the study cycles and eventually took on the role of the circle's leader after Luzzatto was sadly forced to leave Padua.
The obstacles were high, the winds of violence and intolerance blew, but in spite of this, my spirit kept shining brighter and brighter, tracing a path for my heart in the storm and preventing my leader from bowing down. I stumbled and fell, I embraced tears and despair, yet in those darkest nights, faith did not stop whispering words of courage to my soul, nourishing it with hope.
During this period, Padua was under Venetian rule and the Jewish community was subject to the policies of the Venetian Republic. The city's Jewish population was relatively small but had a significant impact on the local economy, particularly in the fields of medicine, finance and trade.
My bond with Luzzatto was incredibly deep and bound by a shared fascination with mysticism, so deep that our roles changed from teacher to student and from student to teacher. Despite the different roles, my thirst for knowledge was never quenched, generating an increasingly prolific intellectual output. I left an incredible treasure trove of writings, collected in some 15,000 pages, written between 1722 and 1774. These include a profound commentary on the entire Bible.
I also wrote the Séfer Shivìm Tikkunìm, or The Book of 70 Corrections, a mystical commentary on the last verse of the Torah, a text in Italian, a critique of Christianity, entitled "The Seven Days of Truth", and the Séfer HaLikutìm, a series of writings in which I presented my thoughts on various topics.
I had a unique mystical approach to my commentaries, stating that "the literal meaning of the verse is directed towards its secret, and its secret towards the literal meaning. The secret meaning transports and does not transform the literal meaning. A concept that is anything but abstract, if one focuses on the deeper meaning of the words.
My curiosity crossed the boundaries of sacred literature, expanding to everything related to the secret of life. That is why my studies also led me to be an expert in other fields... such as medicine. My research, however, was based on a conviction: I believed that the wisdom of ancient times, for the most part, was true, while the wisdom of my time was mostly false. Therefore, I based my medical practice on the physiological theories of ancient philosophers, such as Galen's 'four humours' concept and the methodologies of Hippocrates and Avicenna. I argued that this approach, which 'essentially does good and only occasionally causes harm', is superior to chemical medicine, which 'occasionally does good and more often causes harm'.
I also wrote in Séfer HaLikutìm I: 'And if you maintain that wisdom must be compared to those who received it, and ancient medicine was good for the ancients, but the new ones require new medicine... know that this is the way of deception. The truth will never change over the centuries, and we must not deviate in any way from what our ancestors taught us. Only the quantity of a drug may change, but not its quality."
The balance, in fact, is in the truth. And truth is unscathed by the wear and tear of time. Rather, it is nourished by it, so that the words of the great masters can echo through the centuries, tracing the path for future generations.
Unlike its own message, every messenger is condemned to follow the inexorable laws of time. This was also the case for me, when God chose to call me into his presence. My journey into the world of the living came to an end right here, in Padua, in the twilight of autumn. My mortal remains rest a few steps from your gaze.
On the tombstone in front of your eyes is engraved the inscription: “Here lies the sage, physician, kabbalist Rabbi Moses David Valle, who died on Tuesday 7 Tevet 5537”, or 17 December 1776.
Here lies a soul that weathered the storm of life, a story of triumph, of tenacity, of rebirth. Listen carefully, dear visitor, as I speak, for the end of my journey holds a unique wisdom.
Education has become my pole star, igniting a hunger to fly far. I have knelt before wisdom, seeking its embrace, in its light, finding comfort, finding grace.
Oh, the wonders I have brought to light through the wonder of discovery. Now, my legacy is yours and that of all those who would draw from the knowledge I have acquired for the sole purpose of sharing it.
But let me let you in on a secret: it is in the depths of compassion that true strength lies. The power to give calm to a troubled heart through the light of faith.
Now, as you contemplate the peace of this hallowed ground, take my memory with you, let it envelop you. May my life be a concrete testimony that, for those who believe, faith knows no limits.