Jonathan Sarna’s introduction to this history of the Manischewitz kosher food empire tells the story that readers are probably interested in: how Dov Behr (he took the famed surname upon entering America) tinkered until he found a method that would allow the mass production of matzo, slowly expanding a line of products that were eventually sold around the world. In fact, albeit brief, it tells that story better than Alpern, Behr’s great-granddaughter, who treats it somewhat like a soap opera.
The phrase in the subtitle “American Jewish Icon,” rather than “Jewish American Icon” is telling, for this is as much a story about assimilation as it is about business. The book, which is meant to be a “power behind the throne” story, is a straightforward analysis of how the Manischewitz company reached its level of prominence in the Jewish and business universes.
