Description

The remarkable true story of how one Peruvian carpenter led hundreds of Christians to Judaism sparking a pilgrimage from the Andes to Israel and inspiring a wave of emerging Latin American Jewish communities

If Gabriel Garca Mrquez had written the Old Testament it might read like Graciela Mochkofskys staggering true account of a humble Peruvian carpenters spiritual odyssey from a shack in the Andes via the Amazon to the Promised Land of Israel with a community of devoted followers Judith Thurman awardwinning author of Isak Dinesen

Segundo Villanueva was born in 1927 in a tiny farming village perched in the Andes when he was seventeen his father was murdered and Segundo was left with little more than a Bible as his inheritance This Bible launched Segundo on a lifelong obsession to find the true message of God contained in its pages He found himself looking for answers outside the Catholic Church whose hierarchy and colonial roots embodied the gaping social and racial inequities of Peruvian society

Over years of religious study Segundo explored various Protestant sects and founded his own religious community in the Amazon jungle before discovering a version of Judaism he pieced together independently from his readings of the Old Testament His makeshift synagogue began to draw in crowds of fervent believers seeking a faith that truly served their needs Then in a series of extraordinary events politically motivated Israeli rabbis converted the community to Orthodox Judaism and resettled them on the West Bank Segundos incredible journey made him an unlikely pioneer for a new kind of Jewish faith one that is now attracting masses of impoverished people across Latin America

Through detailed reporting and a deep understanding of religious and cultural history Graciela Mochkofsky documents this unprecedented and momentous chapter in the history of modern religion This is a moving and fascinating story of faith and the search for dignity and meaning