Synopses & Reviews
Abuelitas Secret Matzahs tells the fascinating and little-known story of the Crypto Jews, while illustrating the universal importance of faith for people of all religious denominations. Jacobo loves to visit his abuelita, his grandmother, especially at Easter time. But Abuelita has a big secret. During Semana Santa, Holy Week, his grandmother never makes bread, only tortillas made without yeast. She never eats pork, and she lights two candles on Friday nights. But whenever Jacobo asks her questions, she answers, "Ah, mijito, my child, it is the way of our family." One day, Abuelita is finally ready to share her secret. "Sit with me on the porch. It is time to tell you the secret of our family . . ."
Synopsis
Abuelita's Secret Matzahs tells the fascinating but little-known story of the Cyrptojews, Jews forced to convert to Christianity during the Spanish Inquisition who secretly maintained their Jewish faith and customs throughout the ages - often revealing the secret to only one person per generation. Jacobo loves to visit his grandmother, Abuelita, who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in an adobe house hidden by juniper and pinon trees. When Jacobo befriends David, a Jewish child, he starts to notice that David's family observes many of the same traditions as Jacobo's grandmother: they avoid pork, they light two candles on Friday nights, and they eat unleavened bread during Passover. When Jacobo asks Abuelita about this discovery, she offers him the chance to be the keeper of traditions for his generation - and Jacobo realizes that he will one day have to make a choice between the Christian beliefs he has been raised with and the Judaism of his ancestors.