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In
1492 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain expelled the Jews
from their country. Many fled east, becoming Sephardic Jews, while
others sought solace in Spain's Iberian neighbor, Portugal. The
Spanish monarchs demanded their Portuguese colleague follow their
example --- they even offered their daughter's hand in marriage
as an incentive. At the last moment, in 1497, King Manuel of Portugal
decided instead to close the borders to his Jewish subjects and
to inflict upon them a forced conversion to Christianity. Now known
as New Christians, to distinguish them from Old Christians, many
former Jews risked their lives to practice their religion in secret.
Nine years later, while suffering from the effects of drought and
plague, the Old Christian citizens of Lisbon, Portugal's capital
city, rampaged against their New Christian neighbors and rounded
them up for a bonfire to appease God's anger, thrusting the city
into chaos and turmoil. Against this backdrop, young Berekiah Zarco
(New Christian name: Pedro) seeks the murderer of his Uncle Abraham,
a master of the Jewish form of mysticism called Kabbalah.
Sent outside the city on an errand for his Uncle Abraham, Berekiah
returns to Lisbon one Sunday in April of 1506 to find the city in
an uproar. All passersby are interrogated about their religious
affiliation; houses in the Jewish quarter are broken into and ransacked;
New Christians, young and old alike, are killed, mutilated, and
dragged to the bonfire. Returning from the peaceful countryside,
Berekiah hurries home to discover the fate of his family --- his
uncle, aunt, mother, and two younger siblings. Only his uncle is
at home, hidden in the secret cellar that serves as prayer room
and workspace for producing forbidden illustrated Jewish manuscripts.
Abraham is not alone, however; next to his dead and naked body lies
the unclothed body of an unknown young woman. The cellar, whose
existence is known to only a few people, is locked from the inside
(forcing Berekiah to break in), and the small windows are too little
to allow the passage of even a young child.
Distraught over the loss of his beloved uncle and religious instructor,
Berekiah soaks in the details of the crime scene, but the riot outside
has not stopped even in the face of this tragedy. As his family
members and friends slowly return (or their deaths are reported),
Berekiah braves the turmoil of the city to discover the identity
of his uncle's killer. Knowing that the cellar's existence has been
kept a secret to all but his uncle's secret circle of prayer group,
Berekiah suspects a Jew, a close friend, has betrayed them.
Although it is primarily a mystery --- and a well-conceived, tightly
woven one at that --- THE LAST KABBALIST OF LISBON is also a book
about faith. How can anyone retain a belief in God in the face of
such mutilation? As the apprentice to a Kabbalist master, Berekiah
learns the most sacred lessons of the Torah, the holy book. A religious
youth given to religious visions, he welcomes the chance to serve
God, but his uncle's death and the simultaneous bloodshed outside
the cellar walls test his faith beyond what he had dreamed possible.
The carnage gives birth to a new world, a secular one devoid of
faith, in which Berekiah must find his way without the aid and wisdom
of his Kabbalah master.
Kabbalah has recently won many new converts, particularly in the
United States, where masters have instructed even members of the
Hollywood elite. An American living in Portugal, Richard Zimler
has provided an introduction to the history of Kabbalah and written
an engaging mystery. When this book first came out in Portugal,
it became the number-one bestseller. Even those without a tie to
either Portugal or Kabbalah teachings should take a look at this
captivating first novel.
--- Reviewed by Katrin Sjursen
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