Workitu’s Passover

“The illustrations throughout this meaningful story perfectly complement the text and are full of emotional appeal that young ones will favor.” ~Portland Book Review

"In this touching, folk-like tale, Workitu, a young Ethiopian Jewish girl, discovers that her family’s Passover ritual of smashing their hand-made clay dishes, including her favorite cup, is a meaningful tradition of transforming the old into something new. Eden Spivak’s illustrations depict the warmth of rural village life.." ~Penny Schwartz, Jewish Press of Tampa Bay

"Which of us hasn’t smashed a bowl or two in changing over our chametz and non-chametz crockery for Passover? In Zahava Workitu Goshen’s childhood in Ethiopia, it was the practice to smash every chametz vessel in the home – and then grind down the clay, mix it with new and use it to shape fresh vessels for Pesach, which would be deemed free of chametz. This breaking and re-making is now the focus of a memorable picture book, co-written by Goshen and Maayan Ben Hagai, illustrated by Eden Spivak and translated by Jessica Bonn." ~Angela Kiverstein, The Jewish Chronicle

"This fantastic new book tells the tale of a young girl as she prepares for Passover in her small Jewish community in Ethiopia. This story centers on the themes of tradition and the importance of family, renewal, and of remaking the old into the new. Workitu is upset because it is the custom in her village to break all the clay dishware every year and make new dishes. She does not want to give up her favorite dishes that her mother made. It is only when she helps her aunt make new ones, that she learns the old dishes are ground to powder and mixed into the clay for the new dishes. Then she can appreciate that in remaking the dishes, they are handed down through the generations and all her family are honored. Readers will appreciate this diverse Jewish representation." ~story.book.lady (Instagram)