In memory of Emmanuelle Main

By Elio Passeto, NDS

Emmanuelle was an active presence within the community in Jerusalem for more than 3 decades. It is worth adding that her activity crossed the borders of the Christian community in Israel. She participated in the intellectual life of Israel, through her research and teaching at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and other academic centers in Israel, and also left her name in the serious and necessary debate about the theological progress of the Church in relation to Judaism and the Jewish people.

Emmanuelle's story is very special and fills me with admiration for what and how she did it. I met her in 1987 in Ratisbonne Center (Jerusalem). She preceded me to Israel by a year. Her arrival in Israel was mainly due to its agricultural aspect. She came from a farming background in France, where she worked in winemaking, but had an academic background in geography.

Her first connection here was at the center under the management of Rabbi Leon Ashkenazi (Manitou), one of the important contemporary spiritual leaders of French-speaking Judaism, who then welcomed young French Jews in order to help them integrate into Israeli society. For reasons of French affinity, she was accepted into this group for a short time. However, this contact with Jewish religious life aroused in her, as a Christian, an interest in Judaism.

In this small world of Israel and especially the smaller one of Jerusalem, she met with active people in the Kehila. Great personalities such as Bruno Hussar, Marcel Dubois, Joseph Stiassny, Yohanan Elihai, Pierre Lenhardt, Etienne Nodet and others. That's how she came to Ratisbonne to begin the introductory studies in Judaism and that is where we met in 1987. Ratisbonne gathered a huge group of Jewish scholars, many did the ulpan studying Hebrew language, others studied at the Hebrew University and Ratisbonne had an internal training program for initiation into Judaism. The curiosity and motivation among teachers and students in Ratisbonne was contagious. Emmanuelle was always seen as someone with a thirst for knowledge and did not let any idea or teaching that was disseminated pass without comment or controversy.

She discovered a new world, new horizons here. A reality that she herself had not thought about before when she arrived here. However, after becoming convinced of the importance of Jewish studies for Christians, she became fully involved in it, and her entire life from now on would be based on this new discovery. The studies in the Ratisbonne program included a year of study at the Hebrew University and many of us who stayed in Israel continued our studies there. Emmanuelle continued her studies and completed her Ph.D. in the history of the people of Israel while focusing her research on the Sadducees group. Her doctorate was completed in collaboration between the Hebrew University and the Sorbonne in Paris. This period of study opened several doors for her in the academic world in Israel and she was able to maintain a certain activity as an assistant professor at the Hebrew University for a certain time (unfortunately for a short time). At the same time, she worked in various academic circles through courses and conferences and wrote several important studies.

Nothing is complete in life. Emanuel intensely lived her Christian faith and her deep relationship with the Land of Israel and the Jewish people. However, she did not belong to any institution. She was a single woman without citizenship in Israel. These elements did not contribute to a stable life here. She fought hard to survive here. She never sought a good life or a life of luxury, but as the years passed, even the bare minimum was difficult for her to achieve. She obtained permanent visa status in Israel, which gave her the opportunity to work and secure health insurance, but since this visa required a permanent official job, over time she lost her job and could no longer get a job with professional stability. In recent years, survival in Israel has been very difficult for her. She actually lived on benefits and because of this difficulty, she returned to France when it was no longer possible to stay here. When she got back there she did not find herself at home, so as a paradox of her life, she could not stay in a place she loved and found herself in a place that was not part of her plans for the rest of her days.

Emmanuel was a great fighter for her principles, pursuing the truth of things. She was always available and was a woman with a kind heart, always ready to help and was wherever help was needed. She encountered great difficulties in her life, she was not shaken and left this world with the same attitude. She never separated from the Kehila even at times when she did not completely agree with its way of thinking. For her, the Kehila was her home and her family. For those who knew her, lived with her and in the places where she was active, her noticeable absence created an empty space. May God, in his infinite mercy, receive her in the kingdom where all is well.

May her memory be blessed (R.I.P.)