Wishing that all of my readers and Klal Yisroel had a Kosher and Sameach Pesach. The highlight of the Festival of Freedom was the Seder night, with family and friends getting together to recite the Haggadah. The focus of the Seder is to encourage children to ask questions. Many children look forward to the night in order to “steal” the afikomin and negotiate gifts in exchange for returning that important broken matzah.
Many parents might try and persuade their children to surrender the afikomin with an inspiring book. Chazak Distribution has just released two new books for kids of all ages – the second volume of “A Lesson a Night” and “Sparks of Greatness.” Both books were written by Tzai R. Pensky and illustrated in cartoon format by Haddasah Lengler. The books were edited by Yaakov Herskovich and the project was directed by Yonasan Schwartz.
The 72-page “A Lesson a Night 2” contains 11 stories previously published in other Jewish newsppers. Many of these stories are classic that were formulated in a manner that children would appreciate.
How did Rav Yeruchim Levovitz (1873-1936) react when he discovered that he had lost one of his gloves? Or how did the great Chief Rabbi of Yemen (Rav Yihye Yitzhak Halevi) solve the problem of the extra coins in the bag that a Jew had returned to a prominent Muslim resident who accused of not returning all of the coins?
There are also other inspiring stories for children of all ages that recall stories of Reb Dovid of Lelov (“The Most Precious Sukkah”), Rav Aharon of Karlin (“Horse Talk”), Rav Yechezkel Landau (“The Crooked Wagon Driver,”) Reb Meir Shapiro (“The Allowance,” Reb Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (“The Early Delivery), Rav Avraham Genachovsky (“The Grumpy Passenger,”) Rav Aharon Schechter (“A Personal Thanks,”) Reb Zusha of Hanipol (“The Wedding Dress,”) Rav Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor (“Excellent News,”) and the Ridvaz (“The Warmest Winter.”)
At the end of each story is a poignant Lesson Learned that will be appreciated by both parents, teachers and even grandparents.
The second illustrted book of 35 stories of our Gedolim – “Sparks of Greatness,” that will make children enjoy learning about important middos, character traits from some of Klal Yisroel’s most famous Torah leaders and teachers such as the Chazon Ish (“The Sweetness of Torah”), the Klausenberger Rebbe (“A Full Meal in Auschwitz,”) the Kotzker Rebbe (“True Olam Hazeh,”) Rav Chaim Soloveitchik (“Dual Intentions,”) the Alter of Kelm (“The Special Seder,”) the Bobover Rebbe (“The Rebbe’s Daily Snack,”) the Beis Halevi (“Torah Wisdom,”) Rav Akiva Eiger (“The Power of Tefilla,”) Rav Snueur Kotler (“Learning in the Hallway,”) Rav Chaim Yisroel Belsky (“The Skipped Limb,”) and Rav Dovid Feinstein (“Time to Daven.”)
Both “A Lesson a Night – volume 2” and “Sparks of Greatness” take important hashkafa topics and convert them into a format that children can comprehend, that is the result of a lot of serious editorial efforts made by both the writer and illustrtor. These books are now in Jewish bookstores or can be purchased on various online venues..
