| Family First Feature |

One for the Books

By Esther Shaindy Leshkowitz | August 26, 2020

We asked 13 educators and experts: If you could add one book to our schools’ curriculums, which one would it be?

Mrs. Chaya (Ivy) Kalazan

Lecturer and teacher in numerous institutions

If You Were G-d by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

When we teach Torah and Yahadus, we freely use terms we assume students understand, words like “immortality” or “soul.” But what do words like immortality and soul really mean? When people think of a soul, they think of something amorphous that has no connection to daily life.

There are concrete ways to define these words we use so loosely, to understand what we experience in our soul during our daily lives and what a soul is when it’s outside the body.

We teach our children: You’re here to follow the Torah, do mitzvos, be observant. When a young person is in school, it can be enough to explain that the reason is to do the Will of Hashem. But once a student leaves the framework of school, and many paths are before him, the questions why? and for what purpose? become more pressing, and staying a dedicated yerei Shamayim may become more challenging.

If we can teach an understanding of Hashem’s goal for us, the purpose of Hashem’s creation, we can give our students the will to live up to His mission in creating the world.

If You Were G-d answers the question of why am I here? Rabbi Kaplan discusses philosophical questions in an accessible and creative way with imagery, allusions, and metaphor to make it real. I love his presentation. He mastered physics, and was on the scientific list of Who’s Who as most promising young physicist in America. He discusses hashkafah with a broad, scientific understanding of the universe, and teens have much to gain from his approach.

Rabbi Armo Kuessous

Menahel Yeshivat Shaare Torah, high school general studies principal Yeshiva Torah Temimah, head counselor Camp Romimu

Reb Yaakov: The Life and Times of HaGaon Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky by Yonason Rosenblum

Reb Yaakov was a gadol in America, extremely smart, yet still so understanding of people. He took the gifts he was given and transformed it to chochmas haTorah, to pursue gadlus b’Torah. Young people have to appreciate the importance of wisdom and intelligence, and channel it properly to become a true ben Torah.

And it’s not only about knowledge. A person has to utilize his relationship with role models and develop sensitivities to become a quality person. Teenagers know that they’re supposed to refine their character as they develop during adolescence, but the goal is for the individual to become a mushlam. A book like this has much to teach. The book tells of Reb Yaakov’s path all through the years, especially his exemplary middos and pristine character.

A mechanech today has to acknowledge the potential of a mesivta boy or a high school girl. If an educator could understand the depth of their hearts and minds, he can use a book like this to show them that the sky is the limit.

Excerpted from Mishpacha Magazine. To view full version, SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE or LOG IN.

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Comments (2)

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Sarah Rivkah Kohn
5 years ago
Reply

Thank you for the terrific article, “One for the Books.” I must second the sefer recommended by Rabbi Tenenbaum, Pirkei Avos: Generation to Generation, by Rabbi Muller.
Having used it for the second time this summer, I am blown away by how pragmatic it is without being simple.
As I was putting it away after the summer, I caught myself. Rabbi Moshe Haikins of Chevrah Lomdei Mishnah had shared with me a few years back that when the rebbetzin of the Steipler passed away, he instructed his daughters to learn Pirkei Avos in her memory (Derech Sichah, pg. 85, 485, quoting Rav Chaim Kanievsky). As I am in the year of aveilus for my father, it hit me that this would be a great sefer to continue throughout the year as a zechus for his neshamah.
As Rabbi Tenenbaum pointed out, the stories and insights are very sharable and make for great family learning. In fact, some of the families who recently lost a parent or grandparent to COVID asked me if I had any ideas of a sefer they could learn as a family. This was my recommendation, as it is suitable for multigenerational families.
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Judy Landman
5 years ago
Reply

I loved, loved, loved reading the book picks by rebbeim, mechanchim, and public speakers. It was so interesting to read the choices and the whys behind them. Being a reader and writer myself, as well as a preschool morah, I would like to add some of my own recommendations. For the historia teacher and young and older teens, I highly recommend Forever My Jerusalem. It is a beautifully written narrative of what it was like to live in Eretz Yisrael as it became a state. It also paints a picture of the physical daily living before modern inventions (getting water from a cistern, etc.).
For any teacher, counselor, or even high school students, to get the scope of the long-term e-ffects of bullying, I advise reading the newly published A Veiled Truth. A contemporary novel, with lots of humor about running a wedding hall, it addresses the torment of childhood bullying from an adult perspective. For middle schoolers, my daughter and I loved the biography about Rebbetzin Kanievsky for children. We learned so much and the pictures made the lessons so much more relatable.
Finally, my favorite genre is children’s picture books! Over the years, as a mother and then a morah, I have discovered quite a number of books that my own kids call “mommy’s books” which I unabashedly share with my Shabbos company (pre-corona of course). They are simplistic yet have great messages for young and old. My list is long and I am happy to share it with others, but here are some worth checking out: Henny is a book about a chicken born with arms instead of wings, which deals with being di¬fferent and the success in discovering that. The Girl and the Bicycle is a picture book without words; its’s a sweet story about perseverance and kindness. And finally, The Happiness Box, about a boy who discovers where true happiness comes from.
Happy reading to all! And please make this a regular column!