From the Italian translation of the original Hebrew, by Umberto Fortis, 2000

Leone Modena’s early life:

“My excellent grandfather, of Blessed Memory, lived in Bologna;  Rabbi Mordechai, who was very learned, and was granted rabbinic authority in his city. And the documentation of this investiture is today in my own hands. Many years ago he had begun a work similar to Beit Yosef, that was written by the excellent (Josef) Caro, of Blessed Memory, and he wrote many Talmudic explanations, ritual decisions and compositions, the major part of which are in the hands of Rabbi Aharon da Modena, already mentioned. He was also a great doctor and expert and he had the title of Doctor of Medicine, and when the Emperor Carlo V was in Bologna he made him a Cavalier dello Speron d’Oro; in fact the Emperor did so for all the Doctors of Medicine while he was there,  whether it be a Christian doctor or Jewish. He was honored more than his fellow citizens, and his name became known across Italy… He ascended to heaven at the age of 50 years, in the year 5290 of the creation (1529-30). The mule on which he was riding kicked him, and the doctors of the city, in their envy, bribed the specialist doctor who was caring for him with money, and this doctor put a poison in the bandages, and so killed him.”

“In the year 5335 (1574-75), we left Ferrara and went to stay at Cologna, a town in the Veneto, where we were to do loan banking. My father put much care and work in to the making of a ritual bath (Mikveh) for the immersion of the women in his house, bringing water to it, and at the end of the year 5336 (1576) he had it functioning. One day I was studying in the Mishna, chapter “mi-she-metho”  (“those who are dead”), with Rabbi Gershon Cohen, who today is the head of a Talmudic school in Poland, but then was a boy like me; the teacher had left and we went together towards the ritual bath, to play as boys are wont to do; I fell in the ritual bath, which then was full to the rim. The other boy fled, yelling; the people in the house heard and came running with my father and mother, and they searched for me here and there because they did not know where I had fallen. Meanwhile an hour passed and I held strong with one hand to a wall that surrounded the ritual bath, until the people of the house found me; a servant jumped in the water, pulled me out and took me into a room, throwing me on the bed like one dead from fear.”

Modena’s Tribute to his Father:

“After a short time justice disappeared, because after my father, of Blessed Memory, was returned to strength, in health and vigor, in the month of Kislev 5352 (1591), he took to bed ill, lacking any strength, and could not resist for more than five days of continuous fever, which burned like fire; after having confessed before the Lord in the presence of ten people, he blessed me with his hands and said to me: ‘I have nothing to tell you regarding the business of this world, but remember always the fear of the Lord your God and respect for the creatures; may the Lord bless and keep you.’ In the evening at the beginning of Friday, at the tenth hour, 20 Kislev, 6 December 5352 (1591), he rose to the Lord and was freed from the suffering of this angry world that had supported his life for seventy-two years, and especially in 15 of those, with humility and goodness, accepting the suffering with love and patience like all the just fearers of God and who stay far from evil. As to his appearance, he was of medium height, with a fat and strong body, healthy for the most part; his face was brown, his beard short; he was wise in the matters of this world and in the Torah, thanks to the studying he did since his youth, eager to fulfill the particulars of the Mitzvot and the customs regarding the running of a household. He loved his neighbors, stayed closed to his relatives, loved his wife and honored her more than himself, was neither prodigal nor greedy, but rather kept count of his money and in moments of need would not close his hand and was generous in giving; he did not love gaming and was an honest person in all his commerce…. we buried him there in Montagnana; and the end of a year we placed a stone on his tomb, on which was written: “Distinguished person, just and straight, noted by all, full of wisdom, sun of his generation, his light has set, the old Yitzhak, originally from Modena”. About a month after his death he appeared to me in a dream and seemed to me to know that he was dead; and since during his life he had spoken with me at various times about the soul, of what would be its reward and what its pain after death, and among other things had told me that a Sephardi, at the moment of dying, had said “Now I will know what the soul is”, that is that it cannot be known until after death, I questioned him and said; “Tell me then, honorable scholar of the Torah, what has become of your soul and how do you find that world?”; he answered me “There I eat and drink well.” I said to him: “How is this possible, given that our masters of Blessed Memory said that in the world to come we neither eat nor drink, etc.?” Then he answered me: “If a fool appears wise to you, then we have reached the end of this teaching”: “But the just remain, etc. And enjoy, etc.”, as it is said; “And they saw God and ate and drank.”

Modena begins Public Preaching in Venice:

“Shabbat Nachamu of 5353 (Aug. 1593) was the first time I delivered a sermon in the Scuola Grande, with a great crowd of people to honor the King of Kings of Kings, Blessed be He. There were sages, old ones, important people and attendees in such number that the synagogue could not contain them. The sermon is printed in my book of sermons, entitled Midbar Jehuda. The Lord made me find favor amongst all my listeners, such that in Iyar 5354 (April 1594), when the notable Kalonimos Belgrado, of Blessed Memory, formed a Talmud school and place of study in his garden, I was the first to deliver a sermon. And I have continued for 25 years until today, thanks to God, acquiring fame in all corners of the land for my preaching, as is known; and here, for more than twenty years, with continued regularity, I have taught biblical and rabbinical texts morning and evening on festival days, and preached on the Sabbath in three or four places; the people of this Holy community have not tired, and their ears have not been sated of hearing my sermons, which each day seem new to them. Friars and priests and many nobles and notables also come to hear me; and thanks to God (and the honor is to God and to Judaism and not to me) they exalt and praise and celebrate me. If my father, of Blessed Memory, could have heard me he would have been happy with his fate on the earth…”

“At the end of Tevet 5382 (January 1622)the study of the tract Ketuvoth was completed in the Scuola Grande, and eighteen sermons were given; in the last evening, which was 2 Shevat, I preached to a packed crowd on their feet, such as had never been before. Amongst the listeners were many Christians and important people. There were songs and music. Zevulun (one of Modena’s sons, Ed.) sang a hymn

“On Shabbat Tazria and Mezora 5389 (28 April 1629) I preached in the synagogue of the Talmud Torah of the Sephardim, may their Rock defend them and keep them in life, and there could be found the brother of the King of France, may his glory be lifted up, and with him French Nobles and five Christian preachers amongst the main preachers who had preached during that Lent. The Lord put in my mouth, with erudite tongue, words that left all very satisfied, including the many other Christians that were found there. The whole community made great praise and homage of me such as had never been before. I have persevered in this profession for 37 years, and even from afar people wrote of this new thing in all the places in Italy; before and after then different Nobles and personages came to hear my preaching, especially Duke Candal and Duke Rohan and others; for all praise is to the Lord, who has granted to his slave grace for the sanctification of His name in public in the eyes of the Gentiles, and I do not do this due to pride and haughtiness.”

Modena’s account of the Plague 1630-1631:

“From then the plague began to spread in the world and the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Israel in all Italy, by means of war, famine and disease; and on the holy community of Mantua befell misfortunes such as have not been since the destruction of our Temple up until our days; and the holy community of Modena was almost destroyed and erased from the blow of the plague. The Plague finally reached here, Venezia, after the beginning of the days of penitence, in Ghetto Vecchio with signor Moshe Sarfatti of Blessed Memory and in the days of Sukkoth with signor Jacov Cohen, called Scocco; and it spread a good deal, such that up to today, the first of Adar Sheni 5391 (5 march 1631), about 170 people have died. This brought much confusion in the community and many, especially among the Sephardi, went away from the city towards the Levant and to the city of Verona. Great riches, seven hundred fifty colli have been sent to hospital and almost all are ruined, spoiled and have been lost. For almost a year the Jews have been prohibited from buying, selling or engaging in any commerce, and there are no earnings; moreover the government has taken more than 120000 ducats from the Jews. The famine of each thing is such that never was before, such that the Israelites of this community are impoverished and miserable, the rich have descended to the middle class, and those in the middle class have become poor, and the poor have nothing more than those who have pity on them, because the money has run out….”

“From the first of Adar Sheni until 11 Sivan (5 March to 12 June 1631), as the sickness of the plague grew ever stronger in all the sestieri of the city, the Lord made a difference between their residences and those of Israel, and there was neither sickness nor death in the two Ghetti. All the gentiles wondered and marveled at this extraordinary thing; only we Jews did not recognize His miracle, and the people of this community continued to do that which displeases the Lord, with quarrels and contention and calumny and theft, cursing and lies and false oaths; in the end the ire of the Lord blazed against His people; they began to be struck on the aforementioned 11 Sivan, and He did not return to heal them. Many died in the two Ghetti, but amongst the Israelites the dead were not ever as numerous as in the rest of the city. It was not so, however, in the communities of Verona and of Padua, because the hand of the Lord struck them and not even a third of them remain, no one remained immune and in fact there is no house in which there was not a death; have pity on them, He who has pity on His creatures…”

“The pestilence was hard in the city and among the Jews, as has been said, up through all of Cheshvan 5392 (Oct, Nov 1631); then the Lord decided to have pity with His great goodness and the angel of death went away; in the city there were great celebrations of joy, and everyone thanked his God. In the holy community we established a day of fasting on the eve of the first of Kislev, and during the prayers for the beginning of the month (26 nov 1631) we recited the Nishmat kol Chai (the soul of each living being) with all manner of sweet singing; and in each synagogue offerings were collected with which were made an object of silver in memory of our salvation; blessed is He who redeems and saves, blessed is He and blessed is His Name.”

Modena on the different jobs he has done, 1646:

“I would like to put here, to be remembered, all the efforts with which I have tried to earn my sustenance: 1) teaching Jewish schoolchildren; 2) teaching Gentile schoolchildren; 3) teaching Scripture; 4)preaching; 5) preaching for others; 6) leading prayers in public; 7) secretary of a society; 8) Rabbi; 9) ritual decisions; 10) judging; 11) Yeshiva; 12) grant the title of Chaver or rabbi; 13) compose letters to be sent to other cities; 14) music; 15) poems for weddings and tombstones; 16) sonnets in the Christian language (Italian); 17) compose comedies; 18) teach them; 19) prepare financial documents; 20) translate; 21) print my works; 22) edit drafts for printing; 23) teach sorcery and amulets; 24) sell books about sorcery; 25) matchmaker (agent) of buying and selling; 26) matchmaker for marriage.”