The Day the Rabbi Disappeared: Jewish Holiday Tales of Magic

Schwartz, Dr. Howard

ISBN 10: 0827607571 / ISBN 13: 9780827607576

Published by JEWISH PUBLICATON SOCIETY (edition First Edition first Printing), 2003

About this Item

It's a preowned item in good condition and includes all the pages. It may have some general signs of wear and tear, such as markings, highlighting, slight damage to the cover, minimal wear to the binding, etc., but they will not affect the overall reading experience.

Seller Inventory # 0827607571-11-1

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Day the Rabbi Disappeared: Jewish Holiday Tales of Magic
• Publisher: JEWISH PUBLICATON SOCIETY (edition First Edition first Printing)
• Publication Date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0827607571
• ISBN 13: 9780827607576
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: First Edition first Printing.
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

Noted folklorist Howard Schwartz retells 12 Jewish tales from around the world. Each tale combines elements of magic with a link to a Jewish holiday, giving new perspectives on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, Purim, and Passover—plus Shabbat, the weekly Sabbath. These memorable stories of holiday miracles and miraculous escapes have been passed down orally for thousands of years. Now the best of them—from “A Flock of Angels” to “The Enchanted Menorah” and “The Magic Winecup”—have been collected, and enriched by Monique Passicot’s luminous illustrations.

From Publishers Weekly

Noted storyteller Schwartz (Next Year in Jerusalem) outdoes himself in this expertly presented and well-conceived collection. Each of the dozen tales takes place during a different Jewish holiday, from Rosh Hashanah and Lag ba-Omer to the major festivals (Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot) and the Sabbath, and each reveals different facets of Jewish history and culture. To an already rich mixture, Schwartz brings extra luster with an element virtually guaranteed to hook young readers: magic. In an Afghan tale for Yom Kippur, a man stumbles upon a cottage filled with blazing oil candles, each representing a person's soul and its presence in the world. Some have plenty of oil, some are nearly emptyDthe man's own candle seems about to burn out and, since the keeper of the candles is not looking, what if he takes some oil from another candle? The supplementary material included with each story proves nearly as gripping. For that Yom Kippur story, for example, Schwartz follows up with a concise description of the holiday and succinct discussions of the story's specific biblical roots, the possible identity of the keeper of the candles, the theme of divine tests (e.g., the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden) and the Jewish idea of justice. Debut illustrator Passicot contributes dreamlike compositions in black and white. The play between light and dark in her subtle shading beautifully expresses the tales' mystical dimensions. Ages 8-up.
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