MIRACLES: Stories for Jewish Children and Their Families

Meet Mark, a boy preparing for his bar mitzvah, who gets into serious trouble but doesn't know how to set things straight. Rebecca, who is offered her first chance to carry a Torah and lead her congregation in singing and dancing, is afraid. Edward, who prefers bagels and pizza to matzah, thinks Passover is a drag until something very unusual happens. Emily, who just wants her mother to take her to the mall on Saturday, doesn't see why she should have to go to synagogue. Simon, whose bad day lands him in the hospital, learns that not all bad days are the same. Sarah, who must start over at a new school in a different city, makes an enemy her first day and wonders how she will ever find friends. Marty, who can't help himself or his injured father, is suddenly asked to help a stranger he couldn't care less about. And a duck named Isaiah, who helps a boy named Mikey grow into an adult. These are just a few of the wonderful, fascinating characters who populate these intriguing, inspiring, and always moving stories.

Here is a rare collection of contemporary original stories for Jewish children from kindergarten through bar/bat mitzvah age. These stories entertain and engage child and parent alike while they dramatize Jewish values, customs, and practices and provide practical models for living a modern Jewish life.

The 15 illustrated stories touch on all major Jewish holidays: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Simchat Torah, Chanukah, and Passover as well as minor, even obscure holidays, such as Tisha B' Av. The stories address such Jewish practices as keeping kosher, observing the Sabbath, and performing good deeds (mitzvot). The book also includes stories about secular holidays, such as Thanksgiving and Halloween.

Easily approachable, these stories are written in a lively, light style that makes even usually dry subjects like commandments or Torah spring to life for both children and adults. Many of these stories were written for and first read to the children attending Shabbat services at Temple Reyim (Newton, MA) and Camp Ramah Family Camp. Some have been published in the newsletters of various synagogues and Jewish youth groups around the country. Now they have been collected in one illustrated volume that you will turn to again and again, year after year.