#112: Behind the Bima - Veronica Bocelli

from Boa Raton Florida rabbis Ephraim Goldberg Philip moscowitz and Josh Brody are taking you behind the beima the BRS rabbis schmoo about contemporary issues and talk to special guests who give a behind the scenes look at how they got to where they are and what keeps them going welcome to behind the beer good evening Wednesday night 9:00 p.m. I'm RAB Goldberg joined by my co-host my dear friend my colleague Rabbi Joshua Brody and we are here to take you behind the Beamer behind the Bea this is a very unusual behind the Bea for us we're very excited about our guest Veronica belli who is an actress businesswoman first the manager and then the wife of the famed tenor Maestro Andrea belli Andrea belli has to be one of the most famous singers alive today one of the most accomplished opera singers of all time a famous tenor just an outstanding outstanding human being and so you'll say behind the Bea Veronica belli Veronica is not Jewish what is the connection to behind the Bea two rabbis so we have some mutual friends and for years I've been hearing how incredibly special the Bellis are Veronica in particular her values her vision her loyalty to the Jewish Community to the Jewish people their support of Israel Holocaust Education and there is so much more so uh we're really really excited to be able to have this conversation RAB BR that hat Salah event United hatel our friend Ellie Beer on khuk had an event the Bellis received a humanitarian award Anda sang welld deserved welld deserved because of their Foundation the difference that they're making all over the world in so many ways and hearing them that night not only Andrea sing but Veronica's words of connection and support for the Jewish people and well beyond made it a really exciting opportunity to go behind the Bea and learn more about them so it's a great privilege it's great excitement that we bring you our conversation with Veron it's really a great honor to be able to welcome Veronica belli to be able to go behind the beo with you and to I'm so inspired I was at the United hatala event where you and your husband M belli received the humanitarian award for the incredible work that you do around the world and particularly your support of United hatah and particularly your support of the Jewish people and I really want to start with that and Veronica you're you're successful in your own right an actress a businesswoman manager married of course building the belli family what's your connection to the Jewish people how did you come to receive a humanitarian award at a Jewish event first of all let me thank you very much for having me here today as I share sometimes with you friends I'm so used to be behind the scene that to be now with you it makes me very nervous I mean I'd like to share this first of all because English is not my language so I do apologize in advance for whatever things I may say because I would love to have this exactly the same shade I will have in my language but I'll try to do my best you're doing great Point what is you I'm nothing about what you said before I'm just the mom who try to try to be you know to do my best uh to deliver the best for my family and in the community and we had the opportunity to meet some of the member of the your community through common friends as you know Yumi but and also because we work in especially in Miami in the Miami area with a lot of friends and so we spend time together especially when we're far away from our home so it help us to make us feel home again it's amazing and and you know the Jewish Community Jewish people around the world today are going through a difficult time there's a big rise of anti-Semitism there are people raising their voice in a very ugly way and there are people who have a lot of Fame who have a lot of attention a lot of influence and they're using it to to knock down to destroy rather than to build and you and your husband your foundation in your lives you've done the opposite you're using your influence and the fact that you have a large stage people know you to be able to build and to be able to lift and to be able to shed light where did that come from where did you learn that where did you learn that that's the responsibility in that way and and to do so I I want to I can't I can't say I speak for the whole Jewish people but to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts you know yum our mutual friend who introduced us talks about how connected you are to the Jewish Community to the Jewish people how connected you feel to the Jewish story which we'll talk about whether it's the Holocaust or Israel and so we want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts but where did you learn that who taught you to feel that connection and to use your voice to to spread light I think he's inside you you know we are all born that way and if this change means something happen so I would rather see somebody doesn't do this with you know like somebody you need some help too there's no way to destroy what you have around and also what when Andrea I mean has been asked in the past many times are you pro-abortion Andrea will never or Pro or games for example something like life you know it's a big big thing and Andrea always answer I'm pro life which doesn't means I will judge whatever else is whichever other decision is being taken so Andrea told the family and myself too to be Pro things never against it's an amazing position so when when did were you introduced to the Jewish Community you grew up in in Italy you're Italian are you connected to the Jewish community of Italy is Andrea connected to the Jewish community of Italy when did that connection first start first of all we learn at school so at school of course through the education that needs to help us not to do the same mistake huge mistake has been done in the past so that was my first approach and then of course you get cures and you get fascinated but a lot of aspects that especially regarding the family and the way you connect each other even from far away and then I got to meet few friends and no meet people and then we became friends and in Miami is the biggest Community biggest community that we have as friends first of all because we work with um uh you know Andreas promoter family is Jewish and they work with him and for him with him since uh over 25 years wow um and then again my neighbor Virginia most of her friends are Jewish so whenever she's there she knows that uh she's always welcome in your big family to me you are like a one large family it's a beautiful we we're supposed to be and we hopefully do feel that way and we hope others sense Us in that way this is what I feel that's great and I I know that you've experienced Jewish holidays our our mutual friend yummy you've been there on the holiday of sukus when they sit outside in Kaneka with the candles and and chabas meals what's your favorite part about joining his family to share traditions to be exposed to Jewish holidays the sense of U uh Union the of course the the the sense of community and and the moment you pray together the way that each member of the family has his own way his own role his own importance the way you connect the ancient part of the family I was say I'm sorry that may be nice to say but I mean the the oldest people of the family with the youngest so it's a circle that never stops learn of learning of know how of experience and unfor this is something that um touched me very touched me very very much I've been raised in a family where all my grandmother and grandfather died in the house means nobody was you know we were able and we were lucky enough but also with the you know sacrifice my mom stopped work to look after his her parents and this really told me that whenever you have a chance to have the young generation of the family connected with the eldest one it's precious wow that that that is a beautiful uh observation and something that we share the respect for the for the older generation for the past generation R bro you want to jump in yeah I'm just uh wondering you know the Jews have a long history in Italy and I'm just wondering today have you seen a change in the relationship between the Jewish Community the non-jewish community are things being worked on to build relationships what's what that's I cannot really witness anything like that in my I don't want to say short time because unfortunately I'm old enough that I can witness some different but we have spent I've spent most of my time unfortunately or luckily outside the country so whatever I've seen in my own country there's never been actually a problem that I was able to see I've always seen a lot of respect so you mentioned one thing we have in common respect for the older generation and and to celebrate those holidays together we have that so much in common that's what I I said that that's what I admired about you and my family in particular not necessary not today unfortunately okay but your family your family and our big family we have that in common another thing we have in common is Faith so could you talk a little bit tell us a little about what the role is of faith in your life in Andrea's life is that one of the things that brought you together attracted you to one another Faith you know he's standing for certain principles what role does God have in in in your lives in in his and your career and success and growing your family do you talk to God a lot do you pray to God do you when Andrea is going on stage does he utter a prayer before he takes to that microphone hoping that voice is gonna come out what role does faith have Okay so let's say that faith is a value that unite us that's a strong yes and it also makes understand the importance of using the art for example as an instrument to breath the light to share positive positive values and also to open dialogues and be ready to listen which not necessarily today goes together speak for myself first right of all and Andrea praise very much is the one who prays the most in the family I had to admit um I had this discussion actually today with uh one of my friends is a priest and he asked me straight away said how much you pray now when I was like I canot lie to you I pray but never enough I said I feel that I could have done a lot more and I always try to trade prayer for what you do good and he said to me doesn't work I said no matter as much as you can do good action that's not a prayer so you need to do the action do good things and pray while you're doing it so so faith is important to you it it's part of the family it's part of the conversation God God plays a role it is and at the very beginning when I met Andrea 21 years ago 22 almost I believe me especially in the evening after dinner it could have gone for hour to just make sure I really knew everything I was supposed to know and I'm sorry in that you know in that sense I was a young student so I didn't know everything he wanted me to know and from time to time was checking on me exactly as good as school so what did I said about this and check checking if I really understood what he meant to say when it was you know what was my idea Andre you canot ask me ideas about something that has been there for Thousand Years so I'm sure has been said everything is somebody asking I want to know what you think about this if you understand what this Parabola Parable I don't know how you translate that like a story that tells a particular fact uh in the Bible and um and he say I want to know what what tells that story tells to your heart so I don't know if this is too personal a question of course you know Veronica you'll stop us if it is but Andrea lost his he lost his eyesight at 12 years old after a soccer accident did that rock his faith did he wonder where is God how could he lose his sight where was God when that happened did that become challenging to his faith okay so let's say I was not there so I can only tell you what he has been ask so I I've listened I've listen Andre answering this question for sure uh just to be more precise about that Andrea was born with beautiful blue eyes and everybody was stopping the mother say oh my she had he has an incredible beautiful eyes but that and he was crying crying because he had pain and nobody knew at that time was over 65 63 years ago and it was not exactly easy to understand right away what was going on so that beauty unfortunately was exactly the the worst thing that you may have it was a glaucoma so he was born knowing the mother knew since the very beginning that he was about to to Lo lose his sight so they took the decision to send him to a college sorry to a boarding school it's in Italian it's Cleo but it sounds different in the United States so it's a boarding school when you learn how to use a braille how to be independent and for a mother at that time an Italian mother at that time to be strong enough to say okay if if he's not with me if I don't protect him in the way I want but I let let him see what's life is just to fight by himself and learn how to defend himself that would be the best choice so she was an amazing woman and she did the right choice so when actually when a 12 years old he lost his sight it was something that he was sort of expecting even if the accident just accelerated what was happening anyway but to go to the point the way Andrea I'm sure uh he will answer you he said he has the full command of his surrounding he knows exactly where he is he's know the fact that he has not always live in the in this condition probably help him because he knows exactly which are the colors maybe he miss some strange color that at that time you don't know you don't don't know what they are but most of the colors he knows he knows how a face of um his mother looks like the color of the skin he knows everything so if you if he enter a room most likely he will know not necessarily which caller are they but he knows if the sounds comes back he knows there a curtain around he know there's a table he know what the place look like more or less and if you and especially has an incredible talent in knowing where Beautiful Soul all around you can get them from far away wow I you know I saw that at the hatala event because I watched him navigate going on stage and offstage and it wasn't a person who you know couldn't take one step because they didn't know what was happening almost to the point that you wonder like he he had so little assistance a little bit in moving around like he really has a grip of what's happening around him okay I wish one day you'll be able to see him at the house that that's a big difference but not his house what what makes the difference is the silence around so in a place where there's a lot of noise as exactly that room was full of love but still full of noise that place makes him blind it's like for us to shut our eyes and our ear both of them because the noise is exactly as the absence of information whenever is in the silence it will do exactly as a bat as the animal you know the sounds that comes back from the noise he produce it will help to locate everything around him so I'm happily married with Batman that's so fascina so he can make his way around the house without any help at all he knows not only is house wherever as long as the sounds comes back I mean returns back and um yeah that's enough imagine that most of the people go shocked by the what he does like you know um riding the horse or do things that people consider crazily difficult but actually for for him that's the easiest one because he was born doing that you know he really loves the the animal he loves the horse he knows how to whisper to them and they they speak the same language I ride horse I don't necessarily speak his language and because he grew up seeing he can imagine the world you could describe someone or something and he can picture it because he wants although it must be so hard for him that he's never seen you he's never seen his children oh touching him touching them that's easy I mean if you touch somebody exactly as you do in the face and you know he knows everything he needs to knows I believe me it can spot the most beautiful woman in the room without having her speaking and and so did and did he ever speak about whether his faith was his faith challenged when he lost his eyesight is it hard to believe in God when you become blind uh no I think it was so ricated in him through the family so he always was uh born with this strong sense of Faith also because I think you lose the faith if you think that something has been taken away from you and then never consider that a problem that's his mother character is said whenever you don't have something just you make it for what you have you have all the rest of the senses make it work with you know with that things of course as a as a person is the kind of person that especially when he was younger he had to prove to everybody that he's not only was able to do exactly as everybody else was able to do but it's possibly a little bit better it's the kind of kids it was the kind of kids and is the kind of person who's not happy to lose a chest let to make an examp drop an example say whenever he does a things he wants to know he does it at his best otherwise he better does he better doesn't do it I love those people competitive driven those are the the people changing the world so so another question may not you that's not you that's why you compliment you bring out the best in each other so I don't know whether he's ever answered this publicly or or you feel comfortable answering it but after that hatala event and and you know your our heart and our souls were touched so deeply through his singing and through that through that performance but I was I couldn't help but Wonder to myself if he were given the choice now of his beautiful magnificent voice to trade his voice and trade his Fame and train his trade his success for the ability to see again would he prefer to see even if it meant giving all that up or would he prefer to have this voice and still see in the way that he does and not see in the way that we think of being able to see okay so I think to to answer this question we should ask him but if I can guess what he will answer most likely it will sound like something like this you know imagine Andrea considers the talents as a gift from God so it's everybody everyone's responsibility to know how to best identify and honor them I believe that the hypothesis as well as being paradoxical and therefore not very useful in a certain sense will certainly be rejected by him so it wouldn't do it it wouldn't change because also what people sometimes consider to be my husband's first problem as we said before it really is perceived by himself and by everybody who really knows him as the least that's amazing so he would this is a gift from God and he wouldn't trade it this is what God gave him the no eyesight the beautiful voice now work with that that's what you were given I don't think it would but you know we should ask him so we maybe we have a chance in the future to ask him directly but most likely that's what I know I mean imagine something whenever he pray I don't think he ever prayed for himself I know because I heard this conversation with a dear friend a nun and she said if you don't ask you won't get anything and said you ask if you have a problem but if you don't have a problem if there's something that doesn't bother you or there's something else that for somebody else who bothers you more who makes you feel more in pain than what that things that everybody else consider as the worst things in the world but that's not so important for you as a lot of other things that maybe belong to it's a pain that belongs to somebody else why I should ask for that if there's a least that that one is always at the end if there isn't the Leist well there's a Jewish teaching rabbis in the tamad that if a person is missing or needs or wants something you should pray for someone else who has the same need ahead of you you think of someone who's also missing or needs or needs to have a a recovery from an illness or needs a livelihood if you pray for the other person then you'll be answered first but our priority should be to think about other people not ourselves R bro yeah I'm just wondering how old was he when he recognized that he was the best in the world you know it's incredible to to to achieve any level of f but when you you when you're when you're when you hit the top it's it's incredible and what does he want to do with that you know he's not a comedian that gets on the stage tries to tries to make people laugh he's a singer but but but it's it's such a unique type of singing like what does he want when he gets in front of that audience what's he hoping to achieve I will I will answer with something that makes you laugh for sure one day years ago we come back from a very long treat like a four weeks around the world we have thousand of thousand not thousand but a lot of baggage to open a lot of boxes so I'm 4: a.m. with the Jed leg I say okay I just do my job you know I open the package everything and I he you're a voice from far from another room very loud It Go like but God calling me he never calls my name like thought the entire name so must be something serious so I run crazy to the room I enter and very quietly goes can you believe there was one of my songs in the radio that's crazy I almost killed myself the G on the other side of the room is that what you have to say of course Andrea said of course I mean you you're a singer you said nobody to me he's always so strange to hear my voice in the radio so the Andre is I don't think you really get that and I don't think he really get because he doesn't consider himself that way whenever he received an award though this is what he he share the most all the time you receive an A world and he has it in his end as soon as he turn from everybody he speaks to me and he goes like you know that now from now on we need to do everything possible to deserve what I think we deserve I said now it's the moment when you start to do even more it's not the achievement it's a new starting point because from the moment you received you know a thanks you know that you could have done so much more uh I'm I'm sure you remember or you may remember the end of shinder list the film The Thing who touched me the most is the moment when he realized that with some of the object that he he didn't trade at that time with somebody's life could have make the difference a big difference but of course that's the moment when you you know when he when he realize that he's in pain because you think he hasn't done enough and of course he has done a lot I remember once I spoke with Father Rick frette which is the man the priest who who we fell in love when you know when we arrived in Nati the first time for this the Charisma I had for the S he is an American priest but now I became a doctor long story we cannot go through that but just allow me to share that he's an amaz man of God and I said father when you have a list of people you know like a long queue of people front of the hospital and you know a certain point you have to shut the door and somebody is inside and you will be able to help them somebody is outside how can you look at that face and say I'm sorry I have no space for you how who's the person who's going to do that how can he goes to bed and not hear the screaming of the mother who's caring and bringing a baby because he needs to be helped and he said to me I'm sorry and he said to me if you start to look outside you won't be even able to help the people inside so you have to look at what you're able to achieve not to what you won't be able to do W it's a lot of wisdom a lot of wisdom in that you very easy to transform the wisdom in reality but is course you have to try well you're helping people inside and outside Veronica you mentioned Shindler list and what that meant to you um I know you've been to aitz and and you believe in Holocaust Education you referenced it earlier in Italy in your childhood or the importance of us now educating the world about what happened what did that visit to mean to you it's hard to say in the sense that it's so obvious it's supposed to be the Holocaust is history there's nothing else we can add it's hard to accept what we have seen and touch still now after so many years it's clear in front of us and I think it's one of the black page in life in the life of a you know somebody loves to call himself like a human and the meaning of our visit is memory because only through the memory certain things will not have to repeat themselves I've been as a student to theow to many other places but they all have the same color the same smell the same sensation deep inside your stomach that tells you that if you believe in the good you have to believe in the bed and there was so much bed there that hopefully is Con concentrating in a place and it won't be able to share again it has to be there it has to be a memory of what happened what humans in general not as particular States I'm not speaking about German Italian I'm not speaking about one country I'm just saying human being we're all human being so everybody can do the same mistake hopefully not maybe yes so that's why we need to learn and the absolutely as we we shared before I learned this at school then through the family then through the TV then through the Curiosity of God to know exactly what was going on what bring human so deep so in dark was there a particular moment as you tour aitz was there a moment was there a particular place that really stuck with you that really touched you deeply that you've thought about since uh yes I'm not sure is uh worth it to repeat it because you never know who's listening you so of course there's place that I won't forget and it's some a place that you know for sure a lot of other people will will connect the same but um yes it's too hard but I will say that the idea that you bring out with you coming out from that place is that all the shoes together all the glasses together all the baggage together that seems like a big you know all whenever you throw away things you're throwing away life each of them tells you a story each of them was a person each of them may be your mom your dad your sister your brothers no matter if they're Jewish or political or just people because of a different color is simply not not representation of God onard you know I think about sometimes you think about the the shoes or the suitcases it's the loss of a life six million is a a number it's hard to even wrap our head around six million it's a huge number but every one individual is an Irreplaceable person but we didn't only lose six million people who knows if we lost the cure to cancer maybe we lost the cure to some disease who knows what what breakthrough what technology what gift to the world who knows what voice what what what artist we lost like the world is a darker place because each person could bring so much light so much light to it um you know we talked a lot about Andrea we'll we'll get back to if it's okay but let's talk about you um in an interview you talked about that Mom is your job number one being a mom being a mother and we live in a world that emphasizes today with women career and and you are a business manager you have your own career beforehand and yet you define yourself now job number one is to be is to be a mother what does what does that mean what does being a mother mean what do you think is what are the lessons what's the most important part of being a parent of being a mother I wish there was exactly as for the prayer I wish there was um a book where you can go read and knows the right things to do sometimes we feel like whatever you do is always wrong you know and judged by somebody else so I think instincts whenever the instinct is something that guides you in a good way you know just close your eyes ask for the Holy Spirit ask for somebody who's above you to give you the strength and that's what is was to me it's the most important things to do so whenever people go you know sometimes they go like trying to say a nice oh my God you are this you're this an amazing woman I'm just the person of doing I like do things I hope to do the best I can and I know for sure than doing to many things I cannot be perfect I'm far to be perfect and also there's a list of priorities what's my priority I don't know sometimes I have to you know judge myself try to judge me from a outside and see if I'm doing good I don't know if my grades will be amazing let's say that I try to do my best and every night every night I go to bed and I think tomorrow I have to do differently tomorrow I want to do this tomorrow I want to do this and I really try to make it to make it because I'm sure there's all always a lot of huge margin of U Improvement I will say so whenever I see Mom and go people sometimes go like oh you're only a mom she doesn't work no whoever is a mom does an important the most important the biggest job ever whenever I'm not there because I'm working it means somebody else is raising my child if I'm lucky enough maybe it's my mom otherwise it's somebody else so means I cannot do everything at the same times so the answer to the question before to the the sentence you said is like again I try to do my best but I can't I I'm not perfect at all as everybody and I try to look at the mothers who only do the mothers with the biggest admiration ever what um I I know the foundation is a big part of your life today in addition to being a mother also being a mother to to the world to try to make the world a better place nurture the same mother instinct so could you talk to us a little bit about the foundation its Mission what does it mean to you and and even you and Andrea what is the philosophy of of giving of philanthropy you know a person who's blessed to have resources but there's so many needs like you described before there's all the people on the inside what about all the people waiting on the outside so how does one decide where do you focus the foundation what do you give to what do you try to change you can't you can't solve all the problems in the world so what's the philosophy of the foundation of giving of trying to make change okay so let's say that the world probably we can divide it in two big categories the one who has something to eat the one who has food the one who hasn't any food at all why I'm I'm pointing on these it's just an example to say that we were born on the lucky side of the world when we don't even think how lucky we are because we have food we wait food most of the time in our society so being Seated on that side of the table you cannot stand and be happy if you don't know you shared whatever was in your position to share and this is the way of being raised and this is the way Andrea wants to raise his child well are there are there particular projects that you're that you're working on or that you would like to work on yes the the imagine that the IVF was conceived by a background of volunteers and philanthropic experiences that Andrea both and myself had in the past even where we were not together so both of us BR together where we had in our heart and and is a a person who like to say yes so all the times that a lot of our foundation at the time we didn't have our own Foundation we're asking for help Andrea was ready to say yes and the voice of the people need people who has an ask voice then in a certain moment we had to decide so we said we had to take something which is a mission that it's dear to our heart and trying to make the difference in one Community First and then try to enlarge in a larger scale and to try to see if we can make a difference in a different way you know like to have an deep biggest impact in the community so we we understood that our heart was more into education and Empower people in community through possibilities which tells a lot and you know can to make the long story short and go is it with numbers uh which luckily in the United States you you love to share very different from our Italian uh way of you know of communicating these kind of things and I do love yours better we have raised over the few um past years 45 million EUR Euros that we allocated many different activities in a first of all where we build a nin school and with 4,000 students and we offer them the opportunity to receive a proper education health care that goes through being dressed to to have food then we also build a drinking water poer line that serve over 400,000 people and then unfortunately when in Italy we've been eaten by the earthquake rebuild two of the school that were were exactly where I was from in Mar and the Academia of of Music we've been able through the help also of the United States all our donors from all over that gathers together and help we were able to be faster than our state the our government so because private sometime can go faster than everybody else because whatever we learn from you whenever there's a whe there's a way so Andrea told us is that you have to be fast you have to do it exactly in the way you want your daughter to be in it so the philosophy of the school no matter where they are can be the fourth world in Haiti can be next to my house in on the mar the school is technologically advanced beautiful a lot more beautiful than when my daughter the one my daughter goes to I love the way that you put that that Andrea not only has This Magnificent tenor voice to sing but he's using his voice to be a voice of the people who don't have and that's such a beautiful image of the person who has this this once in a generation voice for for music and for Opera can use that voice to be a now the reason I find that so beautiful is because those who are watching or listening and and me myself we don't have that voice my wife tells me all the time I don't have that voice we don't have that voice right so we don't have the voice to be a maestro to be a tenor to be an opera singer we're no Andrea belli to be that voice but we can use our voice like him like you to help people who don't have and that almost anybody can do as long as you have a little more than the next person you have that voice you may not have his singing voice but you have that other voice and what a powerful message that is true I'm glad I was able to test it properly and you make it sound a lot better than what I did with really thank you I'm sure it's even better in Italian talk to us about Israel Veronica I know you've been to Israel I I understand that Andrea has said that if he had to leave his home in Tuscany he would live in Israel that's how much he loves Israel yeah true what do you love about Israel what's your favorite place in Israel what do you love about Israel talk to us about Israel you know it's strange because Andrea really has been there many times uh all the time especially one times he has recorded um a beautiful Opera there so memory connected to a incredible moment of his life when he was able to achieve um a moment of his career and it was surround de in these beautiful places beautiful for many reason I think Andrea especially loves Israel because he feels that there's a unique bond in particular with Jerusalem of course with where each of us can find his roots each time we visit this magical place we feel amazed and overwhelmed by The Sensation that every human being there every great religion can find this her Essence everyone is together in one place and no matter the way it's being described sometimes uh I really feel it's a place of dialogue and you can see the people dialogue in different Religion different languages but they're all there so many years and Andrea I think can feel you know can smell the power of so many incredible powerful Soul together it is a holy place and it definitely it's it's a place that unites in Hebrew Jerusalem in the Bible is described as a a city that unites that brings people together that unfortunately like you said many portray the differences and the separation but it's really a place that that unites and under Israel for the last uh since since the Jews have returned to have have sovereignty over Israel it welcomes all the world religions to safely and comfortably be able to come and unite and practice and feel the Holiness of of Jerusalem you like Israeli food you enjoy the Israeli food Israeli music culture unfortunately you can only see me here but if you see all the rest you will for sure that witness that I love every kind of food in the world what's better Italian food or Israeli food you know that that's a if I had to answer properly no of course I was born in my country my country is famous for food so of course yes the real thing so I do love as the the my favorite in the award but I love to experience I don't love particularly to experience Andrea does Andrea really can eat whatever comes in front of him I'm not that way I'm a little bit more peaky but let's say whenever I find something I love I really love it you've been you've been so generous with your time just a couple more questions does the you know Rabbi Brody and I were public speakers we appear in the public a tiny fraction of a fraction of course of the great Maestro does the Maestro get nervous before he forms before he goes on stage at this point of his career does he still get nervous well yes I mean he's very very nervous not all the times he has changed over the past few years but very recently because something happened so I remember and I learned these lessons years and years ago I was very young probably was like 20 years old and Mato was still in the Kinder Garden so for Christmas they wanted happy Parents to be there and sing of course when you sing and one of the parents is Andrea belli guess who was the leading Sor so Andrea entered the room and it was a lawn rehearsing with kids probably they were like from three to five years old his his hands were cold like freezing I said Andrea you really are nervous to sing in front of three to five years old kids I mean you're and he said to me you don't understand I mean the adults knows who I am and they will have the prejudge in a good sense this time but prejudge them toward me so they will applaud whatever I do they will just like me because they know who I am these kids they don't I will only get their attention if I really sing with my heart and to catch their soul to catch the attention to really I have to give my best I said I have to put so much more energy here than what I will do in the middle of the in a big theater that's an amazing story that's a great story what kind of music do Andrea and Veronica belli listen to when nobody's around it's not Opera when it's not Andrea what kind of music do you like listening to no you won't be too much surprised to know that I'm a old soul so I was raised with my father Ling Opera so I loveed Opera since I was a k and my father likes to tell the story then everybody else was singing the cartoons you know like a soundtrack you say that and music and I was singing Andrea Shen which is Opera of course only singing the tenor part because my father liked to sing as a tenor so I was pretending to be a tenor too then this was why when I met Andrea this is what brought us together it challenged me say okay you said you love Opera do you know these and you started to sing I got I was the winner I won the competition that's right so yeah clearly you won does does it ever is it ever challenging because of of the fame when you walk around Miami you walk around Tuscany you walk around Italy you walk around Israel and people recognize you is it hard do you wish that they when they come and ask if they could take a picture do do you wish they'd leave you alone is that part of the cost of success and of the life that you have give the give the people listening guidance if you're somewhere on vacation should everyone say oh that's Andrea belli that's Veronica belli but okay from a distance they'll tell people they saw them or is it okay they want to go over they want to say hello they want to say thank you we love your music we love your your career we love the foundation the good that you're doing give all of us a little guide post what we're supposed to do oh right hard I the best advice never take advice way you want to act because you have to be you have to see what was going on so it's our to have a guideline I would say that Andreas um Andreas fan Andre admire are very respectful it may happen sometimes that they cross the line but you need to know and you need to realize that that's why you're famous the person you are you were andreelli because of them so because of their affection so there's no way you will see Andrea declin to do a picture or a signature even when he's super tired and if by any chance he tried to say oh I'm too tired then this is me I won't allow them to do that because I know how hard it is to wait somebody for hours in the cold and there's no way you want to leave him somebody upset because of that wow of course it's it's hard because sometimes you're sometimes in the public we cannot even finish the sentence because speaking with my kids you have to know go fast before somebody else interrupt you so that's not easy but we find our way to be alone and to bone with the family so it's in the middle of the sea in the house you know you have your time that to use in a proper way you know that when you're out you belong to the people who made you famous the people who loves you and also for an artist it's so important listen the stories that brings the people to you it gives you the inspiration to go ahead otherwise you get used to everything you get used to the affection you get used to be V is who cares I mean at the end of the day the day it doesn't makes any difference that what ever people you know think you know you're famous whatever doesn't change anything it's just a matter of listening the stories behind what BRS the people to you that's amazing sometimes and then I close otherwise I'm longer than what you thought keep going sometimes I don't even watch the show I don't walk the watch the stage because of course I know my husband pretty well so what I love to see is Face the People if you see their faces from what they're doing I know what Andrea is doing a stage if it's too serious you'll see this the people is like this because they React to what they say if he struggling the people go like because they do the same empathically they work whenever you smile you can see the smiling on every face not even one will not smile reacting to what he does in the big screen on the side of the stage and that's magic That's The Power of a smile and that's what needs to remind us that spreading a smile more will spread you know happiness around and I sometimes take the people and I bring them backstage to telling stories people who just wake up listening Andrea's music from a coma from a hard period people who has been accompanying long you know illness or very very sad moment or just people got married because of that this this is an incredible conversation there's so much more to ask I wonder whether of course the Maestro Andrea has never received a bad review in his life but if there were a bad review someone wrote or said does that still get under his skin your skin are you able to shut out criticism and only focus on the good there's so many more questions but you've been incredibly generous with your time and more than that with your heart and with your soul when I heard you speak at United hatala you know as as beautiful and as Soul stirring as andreo singing was were your words that came from your heart and entered the hearts of all 1,200 people in that room and uh you know yummy and and Ellie Beer have been speaking about the Bellis for years and the privilege of being able to go behind the Bea have this conversation hear you and and learn from your words and the difference that you're making there's so much from all of us to learn from it and we thank you thank you for standing up for the Jewish people thank you for standing with Israel thank you for using your platform to do good in this world thank you for everything that you're doing no thank you for having me and just let me close thanking you both but also to allow me to say that been my privilege and honor to be able to listen Andrea conversation not only once but a few times with the rabbi lisar in Miami and the rabbi you know that we have here in Florence which is an amazing man and with his wife and listen the two of them speaking is always something incredible you know of course Andrea listen more than what he speaks in that moment because you need to gather the more uh you know sensation information possible because you know here Rabbi Elis speaking is like a wisdom leaving I saw a clip of Andrea singing in in the schulen Bal Harbor in Rabbi lipsker synagogue how did that come to be that he sang a little bit in that synagogue yeah you can you can't stop singing whenever he feel that he has to do it so he asked the permission to the rabbi say may I just test the voice here and you remember whenever you need my my voice I'll be happy to be on your side so that was the and we were there asking for an advice for our soul for an Italian man who's in Miami and we pray together uh and I'm sure we God will leisten to us I know that you've been standing up for that friend and fighting for justice for that friend and we're here to help and add our prayers for that friend as well and our synagogue if the Maestro would like to test his voice and Boer aone is of course available for him as well thank you for this time and really thank you for all that you do thank you both thank you very much that was some interview that lived up to all the promise of the people that know them well and talk about how special they are you know she was worried that her English wasn't fluent but it was fluent enough to get across so many so many ideas of of love and of support and wisdom and responsibility as a mother and faith and so much more Rabbi Brody what was uh what touched you the most from that conversation she's a real person yeah I love the part where she spoke about how you know her husband understands and they both understand how they are the you know there because of their fans they're because of the people and uh they owe it to them to to to be there when they're asking for a photo or an autograph it's very very and even when he gets tired she reminds him you want to be private you want to be alone go out in the middle of the ocean or stay in home but when we're in public she said you're only famous because of those people you owe it to them which is an amazing attitude and approach and I think he has that reputation of of being really good to fans and I also love that he still gets nervous I love the the description of getting nervous performing with the three-y olds and four year olds two-y olds that's amazing real person and also the part where you know where where he faced that challenge where where where he lost his eyesight and you you kind of wondered you know when you lose something so important so special like that do you think that helped enhance his voice that he says listen I can't use this this sense anymore I got to use something else and I just got I got to make and he and and he he went all the way he became the best she talked about yeah she talked about having the other sentence senses heightened and and a real awareness but also you talk about powerful when I I asked a couple times was his faith rocked or shattered when he became blind and she said look I can't answer for him but I think he would answer that um you know God gives you talents and skills and then God also gives you challenges and it all comes together as one package and you wouldn't trade it or change it this is his package his package is to be both blinds and have an outrageously exceptional voice and that comes together in one package and he wouldn't trade it or change it what an amazing any like kazin out there that look look at him as you know he's one of the best I'm sure there there there's a little bit of cross yeah between a kazin's voice and the voice that he at the hatala event everyone maybe will post it here in the comments at the United hatala event yumy made a surprise he brought out schulam lemmer and schulam lemmer did a duet with Andrea belli and and schulam was posting about that for days afterwards we've had schul leem on behind the Bea before he in his own right is incredibly humble given his talent and he talked about this like being with one of his Heroes singing together he couldn't believe it he couldn't believe they're they're singing this duet together so it was something very very special we talked about praying she said that he prays more than she does but there's a lot of prayer in the news right now because of something that happened just a couple days ago in also when she said I went to the the priest and he asked me if I pray and he was like no not not enough or something right right right I do I do a lot of good but it doesn't take the place of prayer right yeah so prayer is in the news a little bit because a couple days ago football game a player had a cardiac player took a hit and then had a cardiac arrest and CPR had to be revived on the field and the image is of all these players kneeling down and just instinctively and intuitively going to prayer I wonder if before the game I wonder if the locker room after a big win you took a poll how many of you believe in God how many pray regularly I want it could be 100% believe in God % play regularly I'm not disparaging or judging or or using some stereotype I don't know the answer but I wonder I wonder but it it's you know the old adage there's no atheists in a foxhole and it's kind of a very public reminder that in crisis when challenges hit there's nothing El we are designed we're built instinctively turn to prayer turn to the one above turn to God turn to the king of kings and ask him to intercede and that's the image of what you saw them all do instinctively and it's all do it wasn't just one team it was both of them came together it's every one got together and said there's nothing else we can do right now the game's over we got to pray right what a contrast By the way I don't know I reserve the right to write about this you speak about this another time but you know a a few years ago there was this big controversy of players kneeling during the national anthem some were kneeling some were standing it was a big controversy and it created a big division but here you had a crisis that everybody was kneeling and praying there was no standing no some Sting no I'm standing it out no I don't believe in God no don't force me to pretend I believe you know it was it was if you even watch the video if you go back you'll see that there were a few people that actually ran I don't know how it all came about that there was going to be you know they're all going to kneel and pray but then you see like after say let's say 95% of them are there then there's a whole bunch that are running right to to join them at that point you know you wish we would run to prayer that you know like we're late okay we missed it you pray again later yeah and there there's actually a second there's a second um reminder which is that when we think that there's nothing we can do right why do people run to pray why do these Elite athletes are running to join a prayer circle okay the guy's praying they got it covered like why are you running to pray the answer is everyone instinctively also desperately wants to feel they want to do something what can I do and the answer is that even when there's nothing you you know there are medics there there was nothing for you to do medically but there's something that we could always all do and that's pray pray so we have loved ones we have people we're certainly alling for there are many others who need prayers and we can't NE necessarily intervene in a way that we can take away the challenge but there always is something every one of us can do and that's pray that was also one of Veronica's amazing lines tonight right this this tenor has this Maestro Andrea belli has a once in a generation voice for good for singing but he also is using his voice to represent and speak for people who need and in prayer so we could all use our voice in that way that's amazing it's amazing when you speak to special people you know just it just uplifts you and just yeah it's unusual unusual conversation but uh that's behind the Bea you never know what you're going to get one week you go behind the Bea with Yeshiva South fla then behind the beima with Veronica belli where else do you get that yeah and then the next week we're gonna hear another amazing voice next week we got a special Jewish voice that we're going to hear not an opera singer very different type of voice but heartsi from the heart and we we got incredible lineup of people it's always exciting never a dull moment rabie Brody great to see you I barely see you in Boke anymore so I don't know where you are this week but it's always great to see you and uh until next time stay happy