Customer Reviews

The Day the Rabbi Disappeared: Jewish Holiday Tales of Magic

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This book is a wonerful way to introduce a younger children to the mystical ways of Judaism. The folktales grab you into the short one to three page stories. After that you read the religious teaching and interpretions of each one, and this leaves a classroom open to discussions. This book can be used in any religious setting, whether it be in a classroom or at home with your family. It makes you want to learn more. The Mystical side of Judaism is often left to the Scholars of the the time. However, what surprised me was how many of them were women. Take time in the classroom, or at home with your family, enjoy understand, and discuss this with all who are interested.

Winner of the National Jewish Book Award among many other prizes and recognitions, The Day The Rabbi Disappeared: Jewish Holiday Tales Of Magic is an inviting retelling by Howard Schwartz of magical tales from Jewish holiday folklore. Gentle, inviting, and reverent reading for all ages, warmly illustrated in black-and-white by Monique Passicot, The Day The Rabbi Disappeared is enthusiastically recommended for young readers of all ages and faiths.

The parallels betwen mysticism and Judaism are fascinating, but not in this book. These snippets are too vague for younger readers and too didactic for older ones. As difficult as it must be to make this subject matter dull, Schwartz achieves just that.