By Daniel Keren
(“Snapshot of Greatness: Illustrated Stories of Our Gedolim” written and illustrated by Tzai R Pensky, 2021, Chazak Entertainment Dist., 43 pages)
The Jewish nation has been called “The People of the Book,” and Jewish books have been the important vehicle since Mattan Torah at Har Sinai by which we educate ourselves and most importantly our children of our precious heritage and our important mission as the Am Segulah, G-d’s Chosen people to be a “light unto the nations” (Isaiah 42:6) of the world.
In recent years, Jewish publishers have come up with improved books that have caught the interest and imaginations of youngsters as a way to highlight important middos or ethical concepts. One of my favorites is a 2021 juvenile book titled “Snapshots of Greatness: Illustrated Stories of Our Gedolim that is a collection of 40 stories in cartoon format that originally appeared in the children’s section of the Yated N’eman weekly newspaper.
Stories Culled from the Biographies of Great Gedolim
This recent book written and illustrated by Tzai R Pensky was edited by Yaakov Herskovich collects 40 Torah cartoons based from stories culled from the biographies of great Gedolim, Torah leaders. Some of the selected cartoon stories include “The Fire & the Bed” (Rav Chaim Soloveitchik,) “A Lonely Shabbos” (Rav Yaakov Yosef Herman,) “The Reward for Keeping Shemittah” (Rav Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman,) “Behind the Counter” (the Chazon Ish), “A Shiur to Remember” (Rav Shlomo Heiman,) “The Dirty Hallway” (Rav Ben-Tzion Abba-Shaul,) “A Most Effective Macha’ah” (Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld,) “The Messy House” (Rav Yechezkel Levenstein,) and “The Crying Baby” (Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach.)
“Snapshots of Greatness” is a wonderful way for parents and grandparents to connect with their offspring in both a positive and joyful manner. You can use these delightful stories as a springboard for additional discussions on the specific middos, character traits highlighted in those particular Torah cartoons.
“My Name is EMES”
Another recent example of excellent juvenile literature from the same publishing house is 45-page Torah cartoon book – “My Name is EMES” written by Rabbi Fischel Schachter and illustrated by Tzai R. Pensky. The important message of this second book has the protagonist Gimpel and his friends in an action packaged adventure spanning continents and centuries discovering that “Honesty is indeed the best policy.”
Both “Snapshots of Greatness” and “My Name is EMES” can be found in Jewish bookstores or by calling the publisher at (347) 831-4561 or emailing [email protected] On a different topic, there have been countless videos made since October 7th of the Israeli military action in Gaza. On a positive and humorous note is a 4:27 video by the Daily Mail in England that you can view by googling – “Brave IDF war dog Mikey has miracle recovery after being hit by Hamas grenade.”
The Daily Mail interviewed Prof Shai Efrati of the Shamir Medical College located in Be’er Ya’akov near Tel Aviv who was asked to give treatment to an injured dog. At first he told the caller that his unit which doesn’t have a veterinary department was quite busy handling injured IDF soldiers. The caller then explained that the dog – Mikey, a 9-year-old Alsatian is a member of the IDF Orketz dog unit and was a search and rescue dog injured by a Hamas thrown grenade that severely injured the canine’s eyes, legs and brain.
Professor Efrati than quickly reversed his opposition, explaining that “we want to give the best of our treatment to our soldiers and Mikey is one of our soldiers.”
Based on 20 years of treatment to similar injuries to humans, the Shamir Medical College utilized hyperbaric oxygen therapy on Mikey. Originally there was little hope for the dog who was just weeks from being retired from IDF service, but Mikey has made incredible progress and has surprised everyone at the college’s clinic. May the same be true for all of the thousands of soldiers and civilians who have been injured by both Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists.