NEW RELEASE! The Search

September 17, 2013

L633If you’re looking for a hefty, juicy novel to give you lots of oneg Yom Tov this Sukkos—your search (pun intended!) is now over. Popular author Rachel Schorr is known for her captivating and well-written novels, and The Search, her latest masterpiece, is sure to exceed all the expectations you may have had for this terrific book.

In this riveting and suspenseful page-turner, you will meet a woman with a past she can’t forget; a man with a secret, sinister identity; and a young girl bearing the weight of loneliness, abandonment, and betrayal. You will read about a kallah who is forced to choose between sides, and loving grandparents who will stop at nothing to reclaim their long-lost grandchild…

 

Sounds enticing? You bet it is! So be sure to pick up this superb novel for yourself this Yom Tov, as well as some munchies to go along with it… Go ahead—you deserve some pampering, too, you know!

 

Happy reading, and a good Yom Tov to all!

 

Click here to purchase online.

 


NEW RELEASE! Escape to Freedom

September 17, 2013

L632With this year’s abundance of three-day Yamim Tovim, every respectable mother knows that, in addition to cooking up mountains of food, she must also prepare mountains of activities with which to entertain her kids. But it’s not just the little ones that need to be entertained. Tweens and teens, too, can usually be found on many a day of Yom Tov wandering from room to room, opening and closing the fridge and pantries, and in general moving restlessly about, searching for something to do to keep themselves busy. (Of course, if your tween/teen happens to be a social butterfly, who is always surrounded by a group of friends, you may not be as familiar with this phenomenon, though one might be surprised to discover that a social butterfly sometimes needs to be entertained by things other than friends, too!)

 

One great way to fill a teen’s craving for entertainment during a long Yom Tov afternoon (or any time, for that matter) is by giving her Escape to Freedom to read. This is a book that will keep her spellbound and glued to her seat from the first page until the last.

 

Written by popular author Chaya Sara Ben Shachar, whose writing has been known to appeal to both children and adults, Escape to Freedom weaves the tale of Shirin Gabbay, a young teenager living with her family in Iran under the constant fear of oppression from the Muslims who rule and live in the country. When Shirin’s father is arrested, the family is thrown into chaos, and an immediate decision is made to have everyone escape from the country one by one. The plan is for Shirin to be smuggled out of Iran and into America, where the rest of her family hopes to eventually join her, but not everything goes exactly according to the plan…

 

In this thrilling, fast-paced novel, teens of all ages—and adult readers, too—will find themselves holding their breath, with their hearts in their mouths, waiting to see if Shirin will be successful in her escape to freedom…or not.

 

Click here to purchase online.


NEW RELEASE! Nati & Tzviki – The Double Mystery

September 17, 2013

C344There’s a mystery in the Gefen neighborhood, and kids are invited to read all about it in Nati & Tzviki—The Double Mystery!

 

This exciting and suspenseful (educational, too!) mystery story was written especially with elementary-aged readers in mind. Your kids will be holding onto the edge of their seats as they read about Nati and Tzviki’s efforts to figure out who is vandalizing Mr. Krovitz’s Judaica store and causing him and his family so much damage and frustration. The plot thickens even more with Sasha, the Krovitzes’ son, in the picture. Why is Sasha behaving so coldly to Nati and Tzviki, when all the two boys want to do is extend their friendship to him?

 

For a book that will entertain and thrill even your hardest-to-entertain-and-thrill children, pick up a copy of Nati & Tzviki—The Double Mystery. When you witness your child’s engrossment and excitement in the story, you’ll know you made the right choice of a book this season!

 

Click here to purchase online.


Dance of the Puppet – Chapter 13

September 12, 2013

purple bookIsrael Book Shop presents Chapter 13 of a new online serial novel, Dance of the Puppet, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week. Click here for previous chapters. 

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

They were simply not compatible.

You didn’t just discover that now, the chair in the corner, with the rickety right leg, jeered at her. Since when did you think that you were? Remember your first trip to the supermarket, when he put products into the cart with hechsherim that you never even considered using in your parents’ home, not to mention the spend-thriftiness that stunned you? And the first Shabbos you spent at his parents’ house, when he was so unfazed by the fact that he’d left his hatbox at home, and went to davening on Friday night wearing just a suit—no hat? And the day he left his afternoon learning seder for good? And the day, a year later, when he left learning in the morning, as well?

Bentzy continued sleeping as his mother put him in his bed and angrily swiped at the newspaper from Tuesday that was covering the phone. Colorful squares and rectangles and pictures with green, grassy lawns tried to attract her attention, but she didn’t deign to give them a look. She didn’t want a trip to the Czech Republic; she didn’t want to go to remote places full of non-Jewish faces; she didn’t want to take Bentzy out of Eretz Yisrael for no reason, even if his grandmother and young aunts would love to have him there. The grandmother and aunts were really not part of the story at all. In fact, the whole issue of whether to take a vacation in a Czech hotel or in a bungalow up north in Israel was just a grain, one of many, that had accumulated in her throat over time, making it hard for her to breathe. The issue here wasn’t what to do during the time that school would be closed or before she found another job. The issue was Elchanan and herself.

“Compatibility is not everything,” Morah Elka Stern had told her a short time after she’d gotten engaged to Elchanan. His parents were foreign, and their families were so different in every way. “I can show you couples that are amazingly similar and don’t get along all that well. It depends on good middos. There are those who are polar opposites, and things go very smoothly for them.”

No, she and Elchanan weren’t polar opposites, and yes, they both had good middos— but things were not going smoothly at all.

*** Keep Reading…


RAV SHTEINMAN ON SEPTEMBER 11TH, YOM KIPPUR

September 10, 2013

L630Excerpts from the new book “Leading with Love: Guidance for Our Generation from Maran Harav Aharon Yehudah Leib Shteinman shlit”a”

 

Living with Faith

 …Take for example, the enormous tragedy which occurred in the United States. [The attack on the Twin Towers] was such an eye-opener in that a major world power, feared by all the other countries, could be stricken by such a sudden tragedy! The initial reaction should have been to acknowledge, “We see the hand of Hashem.” But listen to what people are saying. They are constantly explaining away what happened with all sorts of causes.

Certainly, there was an immediate cause. But we must realize that the “cause” is just Hashem’s way of running the world through natural means, for He does not want to run the world in a noticeably miraculous fashion. (It should be noted that here we did see things bordering on the miraculous.) The fact is that one needs much siyata d’Shmaya to recognize that all is from Hashem. Because Hashem effects good [in the world] through the innocent and bad through the guilty, He chose to send the tragedy through those [terrorists]. However, everything is from Hashem! People tend to confuse matters and to think that so-and-so or such-and-such was the cause. Therefore [to overcome this tendency], we must strengthen ourselves greatly in our emunah. We must realize that everything is hashgachah. Nothing at all can occur that is not governed by Hashem’s special Divine providence.

Fear of Yom Hadin

We are now just a few days before Yom Kippur. Throughout all the eras and all the generations, the Jewish Nation has always been very serious and solemn during the period of the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah (the Ten Days of Repentance) out of fear of the approaching Day of Judgment. In truth, the “Books of Life and Death” are open, and our fate is dependent primarily on Yom Kippur. Although the judgment of the tzaddikim and the resha’im was already inscribed and sealed on Rosh Hashanah, who can consider himself a tzaddik? At best, we are beinonim (average). Indeed, if only we would be beinonim! Therefore, our day of judgment is Yom Kippur.  Keep Reading…


NEW RELEASE! Leading with Love

September 9, 2013

L630Hagaon Harav Aharon Yehudah Leib Shteinman shlit”a, the great leader of the yeshiva world in Israel, is no stranger to our readers. He is at the forefront of trying to solve the inevitable political crises that come up in the struggle between the Torah-true chareidi world and the secular Israeli establishment. The current draft proposal and fiscal cuts have thrust this Torah giant into the media limelight, much to his dissatisfaction.

But who is this nonagenarian Rosh Yeshivah, and what does he teach to his students and followers? What guidance does he have to offer based on a lifetime of Torah and Avodah in Eretz Yisrael and in Europe, having associated with such greats as the Brisker Rav, Rav Aharon Kotler, Rav Shach, the Ponevezher Rav and many others?

Until now, Rav Shteinman’s advice has been a closed book to many of us. However, just in time for the Yamim Noraim and Sukkos, all of us – men, women, and teenagers – can bask in the light of this great sage’s advice, wisdom, and loving guidance. In Leading with Love, Rav Shteinman’s shmuessen (discourses) and letters are translated into plain, readable English. His love and concern for every Jew shines through on each page. This is a book that belongs in every Torah Jew’s home.

This book can be a great gift to others for Yom Tov, or provide much needed personal chizuk over this long holiday season. Either way, we’re sure you’ll love reading Leading with Love!

Click here to purchase.

Here is an excerpt from Leading with Love:

The World Is on Fire!

 Menachem Av 5761

 We all know the Gemara which states: One should always view the world as half innocent and half guilty (Kiddushin 40b). If we do one mitzvah, we can tilt the scale to the side of good. Even if we do not cause the good to outweigh the bad, we will have created more merits for the world. That causes an influx of good in the world, which can save people from death and all sorts of harsh decrees.

Especially nowadays, we see so much pain and tragedy on a daily basis. There are terrorist attacks, car accidents, as well as children, young adults and older people taking ill with all kinds of sicknesses. All age groups are afflicted. We can say quite literally that “the world is on fire!” Keep Reading…


Dance of the Puppet – Chapter 12

September 8, 2013

purple bookIsrael Book Shop presents Chapter 12 of a new online serial novel, Dance of the Puppet, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week. Click here for previous chapters. 

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

The next morning, Adina Kotzker’s head was aching badly. The trip back and forth up north the day before hadn’t done her any good, and although everything had turned out for the best, it was hard for her to muster a smile. Of course, she had smiled in spite of everything, because the coordinators and the madrichos and the students were not to blame that she was drained, but she’d hardly been able to sleep all night.

Her husband suggested that she postpone the board meeting, but she refused. These quiet days were the ideal time for such meetings. She liked the total quiet, without students or teachers in the background. True, she hadn’t planned that even Chana, her veteran secretary, wouldn’t be there, but Chana didn’t have all that much to do at the meeting anyway. Her job was basically to serve the refreshments and answer the phones in the office, which the young Mrs. Levinsky could do just as well.

By 8:50, Mrs. Kotzker was unlocking the door to the office. She nodded hello to the custodian who passed on his way to his little room at the end of the corridor. The members of the board were scheduled to arrive at 9:30, and she wanted to make sure that everything was in order before they came. Malka had prepared the reports before leaving for the Overnight, and all she had to do was pull out the two relevant binders and straighten the tablecloth.

She sat down at her desk, massaging her right temple, and wondered what that noise was on the second floor. She didn’t have too long to wonder, because two seminary girls burst into the empty office at that moment. Seeing that there was no one there, they hurried to the door of the principal’s office, which was open. Keep Reading…


NEW RELEASE! The Encyclopedia of the Taryag Mitzvoth – English: Moadim

September 2, 2013

F302-ETaryag is proud to present its latest masterpiece: an encyclopedia on the mitzvos related to the Moadim, in English! This thick, handsome volume will astound you with the amount of information it contains, both in breadth and in depth. You’ll find in it all about the mitzvah of teshuvah, shofar, the issurim of Yom Kippur, netilas lulav, sukkah, the obligation of simchah during the Shalosh Regalim, the mitzvah of zechiras and mechiyas Amalek—and all the other mitzvos d’Oraysa pertaining to the Yamim Tovim around the year.

Be sure to include this volume in your Taryag Encyclopedia collection! It also makes the perfect bar mitzvah present, or gift for anyone who would appreciate learning more about the Taryag mitzvos—the legacy of each and every one of us.

Click here to purchase online.

 


RECENT RELEASE! Marriage 911

September 2, 2013

L622A marriage that’s on the rocks is no joking matter. There are couples willing to pay a fortune for therapy and marriage counseling, in an effort to salvage a tottering state of shalom bayis.

As experienced and well-known psychotherapists and marriage counselors, husband-and-wife-team Rabbi Simcha Feuerman LCSW-R and Mrs. Chaya Feuerman LCSW-R are often called upon to deal with rocky relationships, and they have been instrumental in turning around many downward-spiraling marriages. Now they bring their experience and expertise to the public readership in this treasure of a book, Marriage 911.

In Marriage 911, the Feuermans offer a 3-step, Torah-based, and psychologically informed method to reviving troubled relationships. Among the numerous pearls of advice that they dispense in the book, they discuss how to let go of resentment and revenge—and the importance of doing so; how to talk to your spouse about your resentment; becoming a more forgiving person and spouse by doing “attitude surgery”; and the essentiality of a couple having fun together (yes, you read that right!).

With glowing haskamos from Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, Dr. David Pelcovitz, Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz of Project YES, and Rabbi Yerachmiel Milstein of Project Chazon, Marriage 911 is a first choice for couples holding on to their last thread. This is a book that will provide you with new hope for the future, by showing you how to do an overhaul of your troubled marriage.

Click here to purchase online.