“I’m going to bake matzos this year….We’ll see how it goes,” said Behr Manischewitz. One bright spring morning in 1888, a young immigrant father named Behr makes this offhand announcement to his modest wife, Nesha. Within record time, the ambitious young Talmudic scholar has a burgeoning bakery and is on his way to success.
But the years go by and the growing family is ever more complicated, colorful — and sometimes explosive. In this extraordinary journey, Professor Jonathan Sarna takes us back to the European roots of a remarkable family who crossed the ocean from Lithuania with little baggage but their religious faith and a young man’s ambitions.
This lecture was delivered at the 4th annual National Jewish Retreat. For more information and to register for the next retreat, visit: Jretreat.com.
How Matzah Became Square: The Manischewitz Story - Handout
