The Journey of a Spiritual Seeker: A Rabbi's Impact on a French Convert's Path

The French seeker, with features reminiscent of a monk, yearned wholeheartedly to convert and be counted among the Jewish people. But the rabbi turned down his request. Although Palliere maintained correspondence with the rabbi and even met with him face to face, the rabbi mentored and guided him while not permitting him to join the Jewish people. "You are destined for another role," the rabbi told him, "an important, most elevated role for the sake of Judaism." This rabbinical deferral, coupled with the role Palliere undertook, transformed his life's story into one of the most fascinating spiritual adventures of the 20th century.

The seed of this adventure was a most random event.

In his hometown of Lyon, Palliere found himself accidentally entering a synagogue. Though the prayer didn't particularly impress him, the young man, with a sensitive soul and critical eye, noticed something else. The congregants, draped in the white of their prayer shawls, did not resemble at all the Jewish community as portrayed in his Catholic religious studies. There was none of that fundamental Christian belief which suggested that with the advent of the man from Nazareth, the age of the Jew had passed, leaving only a fossilized remnant. Despite everything, he felt within that focused prayer that the people of Israel live...

Later on, he stumbled upon an old Christian book in French, focused on Jewish religious practices, highlighting their beauty and moral goodness. While Palliere continued his rigorous preparation for the priesthood, his Catholic faith gradually eroded through a long, hidden mental process. A Jewish friend told him about the rabbi of Livorno, Rabbi Elijah Benamozegh.

On his first visit to the Italian city, Palliere did not meet the rabbi. He returned to Lyon, engaging in daily life with the desire to convert ever-present in his heart. Then, unexpectedly, he received a letter from Benamozegh, apologizing for the missed meeting and expressing his willingness to help as much as he could. Palliere detailed his religious doubts in a return letter, explaining the erosion of his faith in the Catholic Church as it was, and his feeling that only Judaism, as he had come to know it, could resolve his spiritual crisis. The response was not long in coming; a long and detailed letter from Benamozegh who appreciated Palliere's search for truth, emphasizing that if conversion was the only way to bring peace to his soul, he, as a Jewish rabbi, would be the first to bless him on this significant step. "But know this," Benamozegh continued, "and read these words carefully. Reflect deeply and read them again, for they encompass the essence of the religious problem: To find favor in Hashem's eyes, to belong to the true religion, and what can I tell you? To become our brother as you desire, there is no need to convert. The religion entrusted to the Jews is intended for all of humanity. They are bound by it and saved through it. This is the religion of the children of Noah."

Aime Palliere read but did not understand. On the threshold of Judaism, the official representative solemnly informed him that the act of conversion was not the only means to join the true religion. Thus began a dialogue of letters between the young French Catholic and the elderly Italian rabbi. A series of letters where the rabbi patiently and thoroughly articulated the Jewish view on humanity's destiny, and the Jewish people's role in it.

However, Palliere's doubts vanished only when he met with his correspondence mentor face to face. In a personal conversation between the two, a decisive moment occurred. Years later, Palliere would quote the rabbi's words, at the end of this hours-long conversation: "I wish to begin with you this religious movement, which will bring Christianity to its ultimate development. Furthermore, I am deeply convinced that on this new path you choose, you can benefit Judaism more than by your conversion, contributing more outside than within. And when I say outside, it's just a manner of speaking, for in truth, the secular gentile who observes the precepts of Noah becomes a God-fearing gentile, as this concept is understood in Judaism."

Since then, his life was dedicated to spreading this idea. He published articles (initially anonymously) where he identified the weak points of the Christian crisis and indicated possible renewal through ancient Jewish ideas. The content resonated widely, not only among various Jewish readers but also many Christians, including important clergy. Catholics, Protestants, and even Jews, to their surprise, discovered in his articles and books (which reached a vast audience) the universality wrapped within Jewish ideas. His messages left a significant impact on readers, leading some Christians to establish a lively and active connection with him.

Aime Palliere traveled extensively across Europe and North Africa, with his visit to the United States achieving significant success. He appeared at assemblies from coast to coast. The phenomenon of "the Jewish gentile" carrying the message of the Torah of Israel grabbed public attention, filling the halls where he spoke, including Carnegie Hall in New York. In France, he played a notable role in Jewish public life, leading various organizations, and championing the settlement of the Land of Israel (which he dreamed of but did not visit). But his main dedication was to reviving Jewish tradition among the youth, urging them to adhere to this particular heritage and observe all commandments so that the universal ideas of the Torah could illuminate the entire world. As he stood on the synagogue podium on Rue Copernic in Paris, from where he would preach to Jews to resume observing Shabbat (though he, of course, traveled and wrote on this day of rest), he always recalled his first synagogue visit in Lyon. When he delivered words of inspiration before the "Neilah" prayer on Yom Kippur, observing the Jewish "priestly nation" facilitating a son of Noah, a ger toshav, in addressing Hashem, he felt immense gratitude for the Creator's grace that accompanied him from that first impromptu "Neilah" prayer until now. A grace that he savored until his death in the Hebrew month of Shevat, 1950.

The full story of Aime Palliere can be found in his autobiography, "The Hidden Temple." Additionally, interesting material on the status of a ben Noah in the Torah is available in Rabbi A. Benamozegh's book, "Israel and Humanity" (Rabbi Moshe Grylak).