Luis Aguilar and his family first studied Jewish texts in this cramped room of their Trujillo home. Luis, an engineer, became interested in Judaism after the Six Day War in 1967, when he read Theodore Herzl’s The Jewish State. "We had never met a rabbi or a Jew," Luis recalled, "but we became very emotional reading this book." Once the Aguilars were exposed to Jewish practice, they waited for a decade to convert so, in Luis’ words, they "could go to Israel and live as Jews." During their decade in limbo, Luis’ family suffered severe economic hardship because of the family’s steadfast Jewish observance. As he explained, "Aside from the fact that there is little work in Peru, when an employee puts conditions on the employer, he is thrown to the street." In Luis’ case, his "conditions" were that refused to work on Shabbat or major Jewish holidays. Finally, in November 2001, Luis Aguilar and his family were formally converted to Judaism. They fulfilled their dream of making Aliyah in May 2002. Today, Luis and his family do not have to choose between religious observance and gainful employment.

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