‘Do You Have Jewish Roots’ book – in Portuguese
When Shavei Israel announced the publication in 2015 of its Spanish book, Do You Have Jewish Roots?, we expected a few hundred people to request a free download of the eBook version. But within 48 hours, so many people had clicked to receive their copy that the special website we set up had crashed.
Thousands of downloads later, in analyzing the data, we realized that a large percentage of people downloading the book are from Brazil. To accommodate those and the many thousands of other Portuguese speakers, we’re thrilled to have a Portuguese version as well. This time we were prepared for the avalanche of downloads as soon as it launched!
The 109-page book is the first-ever practical guide to discovering one’s Jewish heritage. Its nine chapters cover all of the major questions someone at the beginning of their Jewish discovery might have – from how to conduct an effective genealogical search to information on many of the “hidden” Jewish customs. Inspirational personal stories are sprinkled throughout the text and an appendix includes a section from Genie Milgrom who documented her own Jewish roots search in the book How I Found my 15 Grandmothers: A Step by Step Guide.
Do You Have Jewish Roots? was written by Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund and Shavei Israel’s educational director Rabbi Eliyahu Birnbaum, with help from Rabbi Nissan Ben-Avraham, Shavei Israel’s emissary to Spain, and Tzivia Kusminsky, who heads up our Bnei Anousim department. The books are aimed at Bnei Anousim communities in Spain, Portugal, and Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries in Central and South America. In addition to the free eBook version, printed copies are available for sale through our online store.
If you know someone who is interested in exploring their Jewish roots and speaks Spanish or Portuguese (English and Italian coming soon!) please send them to these links: [Spanish, Portuguese ] where they can download their own copy for free.