Each year just before the High Holidays, the Rabbi of Nemirov disappears. The people are convinced that he goes to heaven to consult with God, but a skeptical (if pious and learned) Litvak refuses to believe in such a miracle. To prove his point, the Litvak secretly follows the Rabbi, who changes into the outfit of a peasant, leaves his house with an ax and some rope, enters the forest and chops some firewood, bringing it neatly tied to the shack of a sick old woman. The Rabbi kindly lights a fire and helps the woman recover enough to dance and sing. The Litvak learns an important lesson: The Rabbi’s altruism places him on a higher level than regular folk. Kimmel has retained the base of the classic Isaac Leib Peretz tale, altering it slightly to have the old woman leave her sick bed to celebrate the joy of life through song and dance and incorporating a Ukrainian folksong that has become a Rosh Hashanah hymn. Weber’s delicate, simple watercolor, crayon and ink drawings add a guileless charm to the Old World shtetl scenes. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2020-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2009
With his village beleaguered by an outbreak of cholera, Pinsk’s learned Rabbi Yamferd decides, as legend dictates, to initiate a miracle by officiating at a “black wedding” of two orphans in a cemetery. Yiske and his Klezmer band are summoned to perform, but soon realize the chosen orphaned bride, Sheyndl-Rivke, has yet to be matched with the right orphaned groom. Amid the wedding preparations—dressmaking, cooking and baking—band leader Yiske sets out to interview three prospects: First the miller, Fyvush Fish, whose answers are too vain; next, Sruli Tsigel the carpenter seems too materialistic; finally the poor-but-honest water-carrier, Shmuel, provides responses that are full of heartfelt warmth. Shtetl life is rendered in pastel drawings that add a childlike comic relief to this tale based on an “unusual Jewish custom” meant to distract townsfolk from their troubles. A sense of worthy values is stressed while offering a flavor of the marriage rituals in a nontraditional setting. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8225-7376-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
Heartwarming for Jewish collections and religious-school settings.
Award-winner Kimmel retells a Jewish fable of greed and generosity.
At Joseph’s weekly Sabbath table, all are welcomed—rich or poor, young or old. Joseph’s neighbor, Judah, also sets a bountiful table each week, but he prefers to invite only important people to his Sabbath meal; he gives his charity to the beggars in the street. Judah chastises Joseph for his excessive hospitality and correctly predicts that he will soon lose all his wealth. A foreboding dream warns Judah that he, too, might lose his fortune and that Joseph will one day count Judah’s money for himself. Judah, shaken, sells his property, buys a large ruby and leaves Tiberias by sea—and loses the jewel, the last of his wealth, in a strong storm. Returning to Tiberias, he approaches the always kind and benevolent Joseph for help. Joseph’s luck has once again changed with a fish he received at market: Cutting it open revealed the ruby Judah lost. As in Marilyn Hirsh’s Joseph Who Loved the Sabbath, illustrated by Devis Grebu (1986), Kimmel reconciles the differing attitudes through a conclusion about the importance of celebrating the Sabbath “with an open door and an open heart.” Blended shades of blues, purples and greens done in watercolor, pen and pastel illuminate the old Israeli scenes integral to the narration.
Heartwarming for Jewish collections and religious-school settings. (Picture book/religion. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7613-5908-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011
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