David Martinetti was born an only child to a typical Italian family in a small city called Cesano Boscone he hopes to be a shliach and find the place in the world where he and his wife are most needed By Sofya Sara Esther Tamarkin – Chabad.org but not particularly observant in their daily lives From a young age David questioned the authenticity of his parents’ traditions yet the answer he received did not satisfy his curiosity David came to the understanding that the foundation of the Christian faith is Judaism and felt it important to pursue the source and read original texts David still hadn’t encountered an opportunity to meet an actual Jew he attended the annual celebration of Italy’s liberation from the Nazi regime where he saw representatives of the Jewish Brigade Group wearing Jewish attire His dream of meeting a Jewish person was coming true at last I told them that I was interested in their organization One of the members invited me to participate in a celebration of Israel’s Independence Day just a few weeks away “Although this was my first encounter with ‘real’ Jews I had secretly already been trying to learn to read Hebrew on my own my parents were not particularly supportive of this new interest So while I did not share my plans to attend the Israel Day parade with my parents she traveled with me to Milan to help me find my way “I was so excited that I arrived hours early to set up his outreach work for the large crowd that was anticipated and offered me my first Jewish greeting: ‘Shalom.’ I froze I observed this warm and friendly rabbi putting “black boxes” (tefillin) on participants he was the first rabbi who shook my hand and greeted me in the holy tongue I was too shy to speak to him or ask questions.” David had made the life-changing decision to join the Jewish people he had no idea what conversion to Judaism entailed or just how complex his journey was going to be he was committed to sacrifice whatever it took to become a part of the Jewish people “It took a lot of courage before I finally dialed the number of one of the organizers from the Israeli parade,” David recalls I asked to be connected to a teacher who could help me learn about Jewish traditions I was greeted by that same friendly face and unforgettable smile of the rabbi who shook my hand months ago—a clear sign that I was on the right track “It was the beginning of my lifelong connection with Rabbi Shmuel Rodal We started learning about the Seven Laws of Noah Although 16 people attended the second class of the series I was the only student present for the first which gave me an opportunity to ask questions ending late at night when the trains were no longer running David’s parents picked him up after the first class but made it clear that they were unwilling to do it again he was visibly worried that he had no way of returning home his fellow classmate shared that he lived a few minutes away from David’s house and would be happy to give him a ride home each week David saw this as a sign that he was on the right path and was being guided by his Creator David’s commitment to his Jewish education intensified He appealed to Rabbi Rodal to include lessons on important Jewish ideas in addition to the Seven Noahide Laws Recognizing how seriously the young man took his studies Rabbi Rodal agreed to teach him twice a week David knew with certainty that he belonged with the Jewish people I became legally independent and decided to move to Israel My parents were shattered and went to speak to the rabbi asking him to convince me to finish high school in Italy “The rabbi listened to their anguish and told me You need to complete your high school education and then move on to the next stage of your life.’ The rabbi also advised me to honor my parents and get the best grades possible I started looking for a Jewish school—a yeshivah either in the United States or in Israel—with hopes of beginning my conversion process I knew that I needed to start living in a Jewish environment “It had become increasingly complicated for me and my parents to live together my plan to attend yeshivah did not come to fruition since no Jewish school was willing to take me in Rabbi Shmuel Rodal acted as my guardian angel and offered to create a custom curriculum just for me we studied together every day for four hours hiding everything Jewish in order not to upset my already aggravated parents I moved in with my grandmother where I could be more open about my observance Rabbi Rodal was away in another city so I had to take a break from our learning My usual daily schedule included a two-hour commute as well as extra time with the rabbi’s family I moved into a vacant family vacation home where I spent my days watching countless videos of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s talks I worked to improve my Hebrew reading skills I thought back to the way I concluded my first article about Elisheva At the time I did not know what had become of her so I simply wrote what I imagined: “In my dream she is holding hands with her skirt-wearing daughters while her kippah-wearing husband is talking to her in a soft reality is even more magnificent than dreams Yet I could have never imagined that while Elisheva was finding her way to the Jewish people David was seeking the same truth in another part of the world fortunately Elisheva had support of her mother When I asked David where he drew his courage despite his loneliness and the resentment from his family “In one of the many arguments with my mother saying that even if I was to convert to Judaism I would never truly belong because no ‘real’ Jew would ever marry me She was certain that I would be completely alone in the world “She was worried that I would have no friends I was surprised by my own reply when I asked her ‘What is the difference between gold and aluminum?’ She was confused by my question I explained that while both metals seem similar yet to me the value of the ‘golden’ truth was infinitely greater than all the noise of the mundane ‘aluminum’ world.” “At the end of my second year of intense studies Rabbi Rodal smiled and announced that by Rosh Hashanah I would be counted as a 10th person in the minyan on the 24th day of the Jewish month of Elul but the day already had significance as it is Elisheva’s birthday Rabbi Rodal arranged and paid for my studies No words can express the gratitude that I feel thoughtfulness and financial support can never be repaid I simply want to emulate his kindness by the way that I live my life This is the only way I can honor the rabbi that changed my life.” Two years prior to David’s arrival in Israel was studying a few blocks away in this same city David went on to learn in a yeshivah in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn he was embraced by the kindness of the Jewish people He met the Blizinsky family who “adopted” him as their own When I spoke to David about meeting his wife he concluded that the story was nothing short of a miracle Many people expressed their concern for my future I had a complex identity and an unusual past I decided for myself that if I was not married or engaged by my 24th birthday Elisheva and I celebrated our engagement on the night of my 24th birthday.” Elisheva and David were married in London in October 2018; their wedding was attended by friends and rabbis from China Their stories span continents and cultures each detail clearly orchestrated by Divine Providence David’s parents are proud of the life he has built with Elisheva They love to visit and play with their beautiful granddaughter David is a rabbi and continues to spend his days learning Torah I asked both David and Elisheva about their future dreams I was not surprised by the answer of this power couple “Our dream is to emulate all the kindness we received along our journeys We hope to become Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries, shluchim and find the place in the world where we are most needed.” I wiped away tears as I looked through the screen of my Zoom meeting with this Chinese-born young woman and Catholic Italian-born young man David and Elisheva experienced Divine guidance and tremendous kindness empathy and dedication from the Jewish people The way these seekers of truth were treated and cared for offers us a glimpse to the powerful Their journey is a clear reminder that when a person wants to find a path back to the Creator As David pointed out: “A life where G‑d’s ways are revealed is a life of true blessing!” Reprinted with permission from Chabad.org Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content Italy (Reuters) - A somber and silent Silvio Berlusconi entered a Catholic old people's home outside Milan on Friday to begin community service as part of a one-year sentence for tax fraud at 77 still the most influential politician of Italy's center-right had a four-year jail sentence handed down last August commuted into an obligation to spend four hours a week for a year at a center for the elderly The billionaire media tycoon and former Italian prime minister arrived in the morning in a black sedan with darkened windows Ignoring around 200 Italian and foreign journalists Berlusconi left bodyguards outside as he entered the Sacra Famiglia center a sprawling structure caring for the elderly and mentally ill "I think all this media attention is excessive given that he's not coming here because he wants to help those suffering from Alzheimer's disease he's here because he was forced to come," said a man who works as a volunteer at the center and only gave his name as Mario The obligation to do community service does not bar Berlusconi who was expelled from Italy's Senate after the conviction from campaigning for his Forza Italia party ahead of European Parliament elections this month Opinion polls suggest Forza Italia could command just short of 20 percent of the vote making it Italy's third largest party after the center-left Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement a Berlusconi supporter who came with her husband and 18-month nephew in a show of support said "We came because we are in love with him as a leader The president (of Italy) should have pardoned him." After completing the first six months of community service Berlusconi's sentence of one year of community service will automatically be reduced to 10 1/2 a half months Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi leaves a Catholic hospice in Cesano Boscone on May 9 after serving his first day of community service for tax fraud alpha-male billionaire who said things no career politician ever would — someone who promised to use his business savvy to reform the system and bring back jobs Voters believed that his great wealth insulated him from corruption But his administration was marked by criminal investigations and crony capitalism Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was — until Donald Trump came along — the best known example of a certain type of wealthy businessman who decides to go into politics, promising that, as an outsider, he is uniquely qualified to shake up the system, says Darrell West vice president of governance studies at the Brookings Institution and for exactly the same reason that Trump did which is [that] people like business people They think they know how to create jobs and run the economy It's a kind of white-knight phenomenon," West says In the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Bidzina "Boris" Ivanishvili formed his own political party and was elected prime minister in 2012 after the sitting leader threatened to join NATO Ivanishvili was worth more than $5 billion about a third of his country's annual economic output Other immensely wealthy people who have been elected to office include Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as well as regional and local politicians in Austria Many of these politicians succeed by assembling unconventional coalitions and displaying a willingness to think outside the box people notice that they're not separating their personal businesses from the government," West says they almost always suffer a big fall in popularity." greet supporters on arrival at a court in Bangkok in July 2008 He was convicted on conflict of interest charges and lives in self-imposed exile Berlusconi came to office bragging that his wealth made him incorruptible, says Alexander Stille author of The Sack of Rome: How a Beautiful European Country with a Fabled History and a Storied Culture Was Taken Over by a Man Named Silvio Berlusconi But the Italian leader had a history of bribery and corruption and his business interests were a lot more tenuous than anyone knew Berlusconi set about trying to derail investigations into his conduct by rewriting Italy's penal code and giving immunity to business associates He even made sure members of his defense team were elected to parliament "It was a situation where the conflict of interest was massive and entered into some of the most important business of the Italian state," Stille says Despite numerous corruption investigations and trials Berlusconi clung to power for nine years total resigning in 2011 after his party lost a parliamentary majority He has since been convicted of tax fraud and abuse of power though the latter conviction was subsequently overturned The Berlusconi case illustrates what happens when politicians can pursue policies that benefit them financially, and underscores the need to set up strong firewalls between elected leaders and their business interests, says Meredith McGehee of Issue One a group that works to get money out of politics "Those places where you've had these kinds of businessmen as leaders and they have not taken steps to take care of these conflicts — their administrations have become bogged down in scandal," McGehee says It also highlights some of the problems that could await President-elect Trump who has said he will "separate" from his business operations Trump transition team spokesman Jason Miller said Tuesday that the president-elect sold all his stock holdings in June A federal disclosure form Trump filed in May suggests his shares were worth tens of millions of dollars a fraction of his multibillion-dollar fortune which is largely made up of commercial real estate and golf courses Trump's business holdings are widely expected to become an ethics minefield, presenting the new chief executive with numerous conflicts of interest McGehee notes that the United States has often held itself up as a paradigm of clean government lecturing other countries about the need for strong bribery laws and an independent legal system Even the appearance of conflict of interest by the Trump administration threatens to undermine that "The United States has been the shining light on these issues and has been respected around the world for how you deal with these conflicts," she says "And I would hate to see us lose that leadership." Become an NPR sponsor Scores of reporters were kept at a distance from the entrance to the hospice Italy's former prime minister gave a nod in their direction but ignored their shouted questions before disappearing into the hospice to start his first day of up to a year of community service The only incident came after his arrival when a man who said he was a health service trade unionist shouted that Berlusconi should be in jail "We workers have a dream in our hearts – Berlusconi in San Vittore [a Milan prison]," he yelled before being escorted away by security men The 77-year-old leader of the Italian right was convicted last year and given a four-year sentence Three years were taken off because of the continuing effects of an amnesty passed by a centre-left government in 2006 and under legislation approved when Berlusconi was in office convicted criminals over the age of 70 cannot be sent to prison He begins his sentence at a low point in his fortunes is trailing third in the runup to the European elections this month Though expelled from the Italian parliament and banned from standing in the election Berlusconi is nevertheless fronting his party's campaign Politics are not the only thing going badly for him According to a report in Friday's edition of the weekly news magazine L'Espresso is demanding a divorce settlement of more than €500m Officials at the Catholic hospice in Cesano Boscone have stressed that he will not be allowed to use his community service for political showmanship while complaining that he was unjustly convicted Berlusconi has so far shown every intention of taking his new role seriously "I think that in the end I will stay a lot longer than I have to," he told a radio interviewer recently adding cryptically: "I have a big surprise ready." Berlusconi said he had spent 10 days learning about the treatment of Alzheimer's patients a former TV newscaster who was found guilty of procuring prostitutes for his employer's so-called bunga bunga parties said Berlusconi would carry out his community service "well and with humanity" said his father was facing a situation "he does not in any way deserve" He said "The consequences of the sentence are scarcely those of a civilised country." told the daily La Repubblica that Berlusconi would get a gradual introduction to the work "We go forward with tiny steps here," he said Patients often responded better to one particular assistant in the hospice "We shall see whether Mr Berlusconi's presence will create some sort of special relationship," he said the former prime minister could help with meals "which are a very delicate aspect [of the care] because it may be necessary to remind the patient that he or she is eating" He said giving baths was more problematic because of the physical strength needed Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was dogged throughout his life by legal woes and scandal which became as much a part of his legend as his work in politics who was prime minister three times between 1994 and 2011 faced dozens of legal cases going back to the 1980s -- most of them for bribery or fraud linked to his various business interests Almost all the cases resulted either in acquittals under appeal to the Supreme Court or expired under the statute of limitations Berlusconi often took aim at the judiciary portraying himself as the innocent victim of left-wing magistrates with a political agenda he was forced out of parliament after his conviction for corporate tax fraud was upheld by the country's highest court being ordered instead to do a year of community service at a home for people with Alzheimer's Disease Italian former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi leaves the Catholic hospice "Sacra Famiglia" (Holy Family Institute foundation) in Cesano Boscone after his first day of community service for tax fraud on May 9 a lower court convicted Berlusconi of paying a senator a bribe of three million euros (then $3.4 million) to quit the fragile centre-left coalition that governed Italy between 2006 and 2008 which played a part in bringing down the government That conviction was still subject to appeal when it timed out under statute of limitations rules In June 2013 he was sentenced to seven years in jail for paying for sex with a 17-year-old The conviction was overturned on appeal in 2014 the judge ruling that there was reasonable doubt as to whether Berlusconi knew she was a minor Berlusconi was also cleared on appeal of abusing the powers of the prime minister's office with his efforts to avoid theft charges against El-Mahroug These included pretending she was the niece of then Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak The scandal over Ruby and Berlusconi's notorious "bunga bunga" parties -- which some described as orgies but he said were elegant dinners -- dragged on for years.  a Milan court acquitted him of bribing witnesses to lie about what happened a verdict that followed acquittals in two related cases in Siena and Rome Berlusconi had been accused of doling out millions of euros in hush money in the form of houses that the money was compensation for reputational damage for those involved in the case Berlusconi said he had been cleared "after more than 11 years of suffering mud-slinging and incalculable political damage".  Berlusconi was investigated by authorities over such allegations He has repeatedly denied having ties to organised crime His long-standing associate Marcello Dell'Utri was jailed in the 2010s for having acted as a go-between for Berlusconi and the Sicilian Cosa Nostra mafia in the 1970s According to Italy's highest appeals court Dell'Utri was responsible for Berlusconi's hiring of a Cosa Nostra member as his stable master at his villa outside Milan.  the court said the billionaire had paid "conspicous sums" in protection money to the mafia over a period of two decades please register for free or log in to your account Silvio Berlusconi smiled and waved as he left an old people’s home yesterday after his first stint of community service a symbolic punishment for tax fraud that still allows him to wield huge influence over Italian politics had initially received a four-year jail sentence but that was commuted to one year’s community service and he will spend at least four hours a week at a centre for Alzheimer’s patients in a small town near Milan the media tycoon arrived in the morning in a sedan with darkened windows Berlusconi left bodyguards and aides outside as he entered the Sacred Family institute he waived and smiled briefly at the media without making a comment in line with rules that prevent him from speaking to reporters while on the premises Following his definitive tax fraud conviction last year in a case revolving around his Mediaset broadcaster Berlusconi was stripped of his seat in the Italian Senate and barred from holding public office for two years But he remains the most influential politician on Italy’s centre right as leader of the Forza Italia party he created and he played a key role in negotiations with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi this year on reforming the electoral law Berlusconi has promised “surprises” during his service and told a radio station on Thursday he had been studying the latest treatments for Alzheimer’s disease to help patients “do more” said last month Berlusconi would at first go through a period of observation of the needs of Alzheimer’s patients before assisting them more actively helping them eat or taking them for a stroll He won’t do something enjoyable or relaxing he will do activities with suffering people who are a challenge for all those having contact with these patients.” Silvio Berlusconi’s appeal of his conviction for abuse of office and paying for sex with a minor began yesterday opening a new legal battle that could severely limit any active political role for the former Italian prime minister Berlusconi was convicted last year for paying for sex with former nightclub dancer Kharima El Mahroug better known by the stage name “Ruby the Heartstealer” and of abusing his authority to get her released from police custody over unrelated theft accusations still the most influential politician on Italy’s centre right was handed a seven-year jail sentence and banned from holding public office He will not serve any time in jail unless his conviction is upheld and the two-stage appeals process is exhausted The appeals trial that started yesterday was the first part of the process Ruby has always denied having sex with Berlusconi The final verdict in the so-called Ruby trial could have implications for Berlusconi and his freedom to engage in political activity beyond the case itself Berlusconi received a definitive conviction for tax fraud last year and was stripped of his seat in Parliament but that was commuted to a year’s community service under a general amnesty leaving him largely free to campaign in elections and play a political role a second definitive conviction in a criminal trial would violate the terms of the amnesty That could mean Berlusconi would have to serve time under house arrest He denies any wrongdoing and says he is being hounded by left-wing magistrates for political reasons Ruby herself has always denied having sex with Berlusconi and defended him yesterday in an interview published in Il Giornale a newspaper owned by the 77-year-old media tycoon’s family please register for free or log in to your account.