The Matzah Ball

I will admit this here. I am a sucker for a good Hallmark movie. I pretty  much restrict myself to the weeks before Christmas. But when I watch these little gems, I get fully drawn in.

Jean Meltzer's holiday novel, The Matzah Ball, is the perfect plot for a Hallmark movie that I'd enthusiastically watch. This year's favorite Hallmark holiday movie was Eight Gifts of Hanukkah. I mean... who doesn't like to see "themselves" represented in a holiday movie?

(A little aside here. On what would have been Betty White's 100th birthday last week, I watched her Hallmark movie, The Lost Valentine. What a wonderful movie. It will be on again on Valentine's Day. If Hallmark movies are your thing, I highly recommend this one. Now back to the book...)

The Matzah Ball is the story of Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt and her summer camp archenemy, Jacob Greenberg. They were at camp together just one summer, but that summer was memorable for both of them.

Rachel is a writer living in New York. Despite having chronic fatigue syndrome, she has made a rather full life for herself by writing from home. She's the daughter of a big Long Island rabbi. But Rachel has a secret. She loves Christmas. She secretly watches Hallmark Christmas movies under the blanket when she's staying at her parents' house. It's such a big secret that she won't really tell her parents that she writes Christmas romance novels under a pseudonym. She's had 4 holiday movies made from her novels. Her home office is also a big secret. It's a room perpetually decorated for Christmas, complete with a train that goes around the room once per hour. To Rachel, a visit to Santa is better than a trip to a therapist.

Jacob is a big event planner headquartered in Paris. Jacob comes to New York to pull off his biggest Jewish event ever, The Matzah Ball. It's supposed to be an upscale event. No little grocery store bags of Hanukkah gelt (chocolates) here! To add some prestige to the event, he asks Rabbi Goldblatt, Rachel's dad, to light the big 10-foot menorah. Dr. Rubenstein, Rachel's mom, invites Jacob to Shabbat dinner. She lets Rachel know that Jacob will be there and suggests that it would be lovely if Rachel came as well.

Earlier that day, Rachel's publisher informs Rachel that she won't be getting a new contract. Unless... unless she writes a Hanukkah romance novel. Rachel throws up her hands. Hanukkah is just Hanukkah. Christmas is where the magic is. How can she possibly write a Hanukkah romance novel? Once she learns about Jacob's big event, The Matzah Ball, she is determined to snag a ticket to the sold-out event. For research and inspiration.

You can guess what comes next. But it might be more difficult to predict the specifics. Or how Rachel and Jacob make it from Point A to Point B. I knew how the story was going to end, but that didn't diminish the pleasure I took reading the novel. I only wish I'd heard about it earlier so I could have read it in November or December rather than at the end of January!