5 Books to Read for Jewish Children this Summer

Summer holidays are here and when the little ones are not running around the parks or the house, enjoying a play date or spending some quality time far away of the parents in a summer camp, books are a perfect companion to fill the long hours of the summer days.

For curious children and smart parents, I made a short selection of recommended books for children, offered by Kar-Ben Publishing House.

With beautiful colourful illustrations, this book offers a 'creative legend' about the father of world's great religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It starts with the story of a little boy who lived in the city of Ur, surrounded by idols, which were not offering him a satisfactory answer to his questions. He starts his own journey of finding something greater than the idols, his search ending with the discovery of something the One how created all. A book recommended to kids at the age of big questions. 

Through the story of a family moving to a new house, this story explains the meaning of the mezuzah. Recommended to children from 3 to 7, it is more than a didactic introduction, but goes far beyond bringing life to a lot of funny characters. It is a story about friendship and sharing common memories, like the mezuzah is supposed to remind, among others.

As a first book for children until 3 years old, Before We Eat. A Thank you Prayer is a perfect introduction to the bracha after food. It teaches that saying 'thank you' for the gifts and blessings we have is not a compulsory act, but an act of gratitude. Easy written with big colourful illustration, it makes it an easy pleasant yet meaningful read for toddlers.

This book is just adorable. Populated with funny and friendly and guests-welcoming characters, it tells a hilarious story of a Seder evening which seems to have a generously open list of guests. Every important moment of the Pesach meal is outlined by the apparition of more and more sheep-guests. Many are bringing in presents, others are just bumping through the door happy to find a place to celebrate the evening, a delight for the children, and a big organisational challege for the parents - where can all of them be seated, after all? A funny children read for the long Pesach Seders or just for the bedtime stories time, thinking about that time of the year. 

Inspired by true stories of Jewish immigrants in America from the 19th century, this beautifully illustrated story has a sparkle of magic. Feivel, a wood-carver, left his family in Europe while landing to New York to make a fortune and start a new life. Luckily, during a weekend trip to Coney Island, he finds a job opening to work for a carousel company. The figures he created and which brought him enough money to pay the passage to America to his beloved one, are inspired by his sons, wife and daughters. It is a story which resonates with immigrant families in general, and creates empathy for similar contemporary stories. 

Disclaimer: Books offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Book Review: The Septembers of Shiraz, by Dalia Sofer

Set in the aftermath of the Iranian revolution, the debut roman of Dalia Sofer, The Septembers of Shiraz is a story well-told of rise and fall of a merchant family. Isaac Amin, a precious stones trader is taken away from his office by the Revolutionary Guards and hold for six months without trial under the accusation of being a 'Zionist' spy. 

Although the accusations are not proved, Amin a non-religious Jew is going through the hell of humiliation, while his family is witnessing little by little the disappearance of their old world as well as the escape of relatives out to the free world. In Brooklyn, the oldest son of the family, Parviz, faced with poverty, starts to work for a Chabad hut-maker and get acknowledged with a world where the material goods are less important compared to the goods of the spirit. 

There is something fantastic about how the balance between spiritual and material world is delicately achieved in this book, the inspiration for a motion picture released last year, starring Adrien Brody and Salma Hayek. It seems that the entire existence of the Amin family was set around material possessions: jewelleries, esmerald-coloured cars, expensive silks and tea services. This pampered world was a cocoon to hide from the outside world, but they were so well hidden that they haven't noticed the changes taking place and the risks encountered once the Shah was away. The regime change left them completely over-exposed and made them into easy target for the new politics of revenge. Sometimes, this new situation can be a trigger to the memory bringing back questions of identity. For Parviz, the fervor of the new Chassidim is foreign to him, but their good deeds and celebration of identity, despite the everyday hardships is intriguing and opens its mind to a different (Jewish) reality.

Besides the historical interest for the Iranian Jews - I have more books to review on this topic in the next months - the book is worth reading for its literary qualities. The author has a special art of creating ambiances and describing both environments and emotions. Although I've read the book in a German translation, those features of the book remained highly outlined.

Rating: 4 stars  

Book Review: The Book of Separation

When the Jewish divorce is pronounced, the Biblical term for the get document given to the woman is sefer kritut, in translation, the book of termination or the book of separation. In her memoir, Tova Mirvis retraces her journey from the moment when her separation process started - not only from her husband, but from her Orthodox life - until she climbs her own mountain and tries to set up her free life, the original version of herself. 'After years if trying to silence the voice inside her that she did not agree, did not fit in, did not believe, she strikes out on her own, to discover what she does believe and who she really is'. 

I've previously read and reviewed another book by Tova Mirvis and liked both the approach and the writing. Her memoir to be released in a couple of months, flows beautifully, streaming through the various tensed and even anxious life moments, while trying to put herself and the scattered fragments of her life together. 

After 17 years of marriage and three children, the lines between herself and the community, the path of the tradition and her own path are blurred and where other could easily find comfort and peace she is tormented by questions. Her incessant questioning marks her progressive taking off, starting from getting away from the community pressure - 'we were taught, we were told, we were watched' -, following her voice as a writer, ending up her own struggles with observance and reconciling her old and new ways with her new situation as a divorced woman partly in charge with the education of her children, with a father remaining Orthodox. 

Sometimes, making choices is much easier although painful and difficult, than being accepted for what your choices made of you. 

I loved everything about this book, but especially the honesty and the genuine way she opens her heart. Is that kind of book that I would not have anything against reading twice.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

What is Shalom Zachar?

The traditions and customs associated with the birth of a boy seem to be more numerous and marking his very first moments of life. As usual, there are differences in the Askenazi and Sephardi/Mizrahi tradition, which might create sometimes some specific cultural identifications. 

Take, for instance, shalom zachar - or shulem zucher for the Yiddish speaking folks. It is a gathering supposed to take place the first Friday after the birth of a boy to welcome the new soul into the world. The reunion, which has the status of a teuda mitzva, takes place after the usual dinner, even if the mother and baby are not present, and there is no ceremony or dvar Torah assigned but wise speeches are encourages, but expect a lot of lechaims and mazel tovs. In case it is not possible to meet the first Shabbes after the birth, it can be delayed. 

The mysterious explanation of this custom is that after the baby learnt Torah with an angel during his time in the womb, this gathering is an opportunity to mourn the lost memory of the precious learning. It is said that shortly before birth, the angel slaps the baby boy and he forgets everything he learned for 9 months. Therefore, the ceremony can be considered as a 'mourning', and some serve also a food usually served by shiva - the arbes, for instance, cooked chickpeas with spices, salt or pepper - and any round food aimed to remember the round circle of life.

By the Oriental Jews, the most important event before the brit takes place the night before the event, when the men gather for a sleepless night of reading Tehilim and reciting Shema - 'the Brit Yitzchak'. According to their tradition, the night before the brit mila is 'spiritually dangerous' and therefore prayers should eliminate the dangers. Some Hasidim also do have the same tradition, called in Yiddish 'vach nacht'.

In the last years, a similar ceremony to shalom zachar was introduced, the simchat bat, aimed at celebrating the birth of a girl.