THE BOOK FAIR

Review:

Author’s Note:

The Author spent seven months in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1990, researching Sephardic poetry.  While residing in the house of his friend, a descendent of Jews who fled the Inquisition from Spain and Portugal, the author discovered manuscripts hidden in a cylindrical, elaborately decorated chest, once used by Sephardic Jews to house Torah Scrolls.  The manuscripts offer of a detailed depiction of life for Jews in Lisbon, Portugal, under King Manuel I.  The writings, penned by Berekiah Zarco, span twenty-three years and were scripted using Hebrew letters in the Jewish-Portuguese language.  The manuscripts are also illuminated with different bird species in bright colors.

 

The Inquisition, which began in Spain in 1478, instituted by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, spread to Portugal.   In 1496, King Manuel I of Portugal, having been promised the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella in marriage, decreed all Jews exiled from Portugal.  However, unwilling to lose the educated and skilled population of Jews, he reneged and decreed instead, that all Jews in Portugal must convert to Christianity.  After the state forced conversions, the Jews were known as New Christians, and were allowed twenty years to eradicate Judaism from their lives.  New Christians were under constant scrutiny from the Church, as well as from their neighbors.  The period of a twenty year leniency was not honored. Richard Zimler based “The Last Kabbalist”, on the Lisbon Massacre, of 1506.

 

The Manuscript:

Berekiah Zarco began writing his story in the Jewish calendar year of 5267 the year of 1507 CE.  Zarco describes the reign of terror in Lisbon during the Lisbon Pogrom of 1506, which claimed the lives of 2000 Jews, many burned at the stake.  Berekiah’s new, Christian name is Pedro, which he rarely uses and only outside of the Jewish Quarter.

In Alfama, the Jewish Quarter of Lisbon, Jews mostly stay inside their homes or stores, for fear of their safety as the Christians blame them for the drought and the plague that have devastated the city.  Any show of Jewish custom, such as bathing on Friday, in preparation for the Sabbath, would be cause for a Christian to denounce a New Christian, as heretic.  Since their forced conversion to Christianity, the New Christians must hide their upcoming Passover Holiday, which commemorates the Israelites escape from Egypt.  To escape detection, New Christian families honor the holiday using different days and hushed celebrations.

Berekiah Zarco ‘s uncle, Abraham Zarco, a Torah scholar and a Kabbalist, (one emerged in the mystical realms of Judaism), teaches Torah study in his home.  Abraham Zarco is also an illuminator of Jewish works.  On the eve of Passover, Berekiah discovers his uncle, murdered.  He also learns his brother is missing.  Berekiah sets out to track the murderer and find his brother which leads him through a web of investigative work.

 

 

Berekiah closes his story with the chilling plea to the Jews of Europe to leave for other lands stating that Christians will never leave Jews to worship freely nor grant Jews peace.  The Inquisition and the riots of Lisbon, Berekiah emphatically states, are only a portent for the Jews of Europe of what is to come, with the ominous warning that the Christians will come for the Jews.

 

“The Last Kabbalist”, leads one on an amazing journey in Jewish history, religion and mysticism.  Richard Zimler, has received multiple literary awards, is a best-selling American author and lives in Portugal.  “The Last Kabbalist”, offers a chilling portrait in the evils of humanity and as well, the acknowledgment of the continued struggle for Jews to remain Jewish in the Diaspora.