Learning and Teaching Torah through Literature

Between the holidays and the web site hacking, I am just getting to this now, and unfortunately, these two books are not available on Amazon Prime, but perhaps you can find them in your local bookstore, or read them later in the year. And there is always next year…

Let My World Survive by Rabbi Yosef Deutsch is a new release, a novel-like retelling of the story of Noach based on traditional sources. I haven’t read it yet, but if it’s anything like Rabbi Deutsch’ previous books then it’s a great read.

Noach and the Flood by Rabbi Mordechai Chalamish is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel which retells the story of Noach, with midrashic sources, for the younger set. My seven year old son loves this book.

Hope you enjoy these!

P.S. If anyone did not receive the bonus Yom Kippur story due to technical difficulties please be in touch with me. I can resend.

Hello!

Hope everyone enjoyed the fall holidays. My apologies for the recent technical difficulties. When I opened this website the day after Simchas Torah, I found out that its entire contents had been wiped out. How and by whom? I have no idea, and neither did the tech support. Thank G-d, the database was intact. It took me several days to restore the site, but now it is back up and running! And I’ve learned from experience and installed BackupGuard to back it up occasionally. If you encounter any technical issues please let me know, as I’d like to make sure that everything is working.

Now that that the holidays are over, the school year is picking up speed. In my house, we are always looking for good books with Jewish values. I’ll be posting about the books we’ve enjoyed recently, and I would love to hear about the ones you and your families/students enjoy. And if you are looking for a Jewish book on a specific subject please comment below, or email me at yehudis@torahthroughliterature.com. We’ll do our best to help you out.

If you are not yet a subscriber, please subscribe below to receive a link to a Yom Kippur story, Changing Course — historical fiction, set in Jerusalem towards the end of the Second Temple period, that provides a glimpse into the Yom Kippur Temple service, as well as some insights into personal growth.

Have an easy and meaningful Yom Kippur! May you be sealed for everything good!

The updated web list includes the recent releases and some other books which are not listed in the e-book.

If you don’t have internet access and would like a spreadsheet version please email me, and I’d be happy to forward it to you.

If you know of a relevant book that is not on the list please let me know!

I saw it in my email inbox this morning and ordered immediately: Tishrei Tales: Uplifting Stories from Rosh Hashanah through Simchas Torah by Genendel Krohn. Of course, I haven’t read the book yet, but my children and I love all of her books. For more about Genendel Krohn and her work, see this prior post.

Hope everyone is having a productive and introspective month of Elul as we all transition from summer into the school year.

A friend told me about this new book, Beis Hamikdash "The Holy Temple". I haven’t seen it yet, but it looks interesting. A 5-star review on Amazon says the following:

“This is a beautifully illustrated children’s book that tells the history of the Beis Hamikdash and the story of Tisha b’Av. It also familiarizes children with the service performed in the Beis Hamikdash and the vessels. All in all a beautiful book!”

Also, update on Leah Gebber’s Chains: Both my 15 year old daughter and I read it, and we both loved it. It is very well written and truly brings the events surrounding the destruction of the Second Temple to life. Too heavy for younger children, but highly recommended for teens and adults.

A personal memoir that reads like a thriller, Go My Son: A Young Jewish Refugee's Story of Survival by Chaim Shapiro is the story of a Polish yeshiva student’s faith and commitment to his religion throughout his travels and travails in the Soviet Union during the Holocaust. I found it inspiring and insightful, and so did my teenage daughter. I wouldn’t recommend the book for younger children, not only because of the war atrocities described, but also because the intricacies of survival under the Communist regime would go over their heads. Great read for this time of the year. It is out of print, but available used on Amazon.

Until now, we’ve discussed using literature to teach Torah at home, whether as homeschoolers or as parents or grandparents. This post is about using Jewish literature in traditional classrooms. Rebbetzin Sarah Feldbrand is the former principal of Bnos Chava High School, where she introduced a ninth grade curriculum based on the following four novels: her own The Decree, Rabbi Meir Uri Gottesman’s The Morning Star and The Harp, and And Rachel Was His Wife, written anonymously. The curriculum covers the period from the Babylonian exile to the destruction of the Second Temple.

In addition to the reading, Rebbetzin Feldbrand asks her students questions and gives them assignements based on the books. Here are some examples:

For The Decree:

1. Create two letters. In one have the writer explain why he is choosing to stay in Babylon. In the other have the writer explain why he is opting to go back to the Land of Israel.
2. What do you think you would have chosen to do if you had lived in Shushan?
3. How was life the same in Shushan as it is now? How was it different?

For The Morning Star:

1. Cite several examples of the dangers that lurked in Jerusalem and explain what the dangers were?
2. Why was Yitzchak initially asked so many questions about his lifestyle?
3. Would you enjoy living during the time of this book? Explain why or why not.

For And Rachel Was His Wife:

1. What did you learn about the Romans from reading this book?
2. Describe the activities of day to day life in Rabbi Akiva’s time. What did women do? What did men do?
3. How did their lives resemble ours? How were they different?

Please e-mail me if you’re interested in the full list of questions and assignments.

Another new book relevant to this time of the year — I Promise You by Yael Mermelstein, the author’s grandmother’s story of surviving the Holocaust while retaining her faith. I haven’t read the book yet, but all the other books I’ve read by this author have been well-written and powerful. According to the author, “This book is written from the perspective of a teenager, in present tense. It’s meant for older kids, teenagers and adults to read and it is unlike any other Holocaust book you’ve read.” Hope you find it inspiring!

Just out! Chains, a novel by Leah Gebber, was serialized in Mishpacha Magazine. I only read a few chapters, since we don’t get Mishpacha on a regular basis, but I’ve been waiting impatiently for it to be published as a book, so this is very exciting news. The novel is set right after the destruction of the Second Temple. The main characters are captured by the Romans and taken into slavery. I can’t tell you more, as I haven’t read enough, but it looks like a great read. My guess is that it wouldn’t be appropriate for younger children, due to violence, but I can’t say more until I read the whole book.