Outside the Bubble – Chapter 40

January 30, 2023
outside-the-bubble

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 40 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Hinda had spent more than half the morning finishing the kitchen plans for Leah Weitzen. Simi spent that entire time closed in her room. Her husband must have gone to learn in one of the shuls in the area; Hinda hadn’t seen him come or go.

At noon, Hinda collected her papers from the kitchen table, leaving Leah a voicemail message that she’d finished, baruch Hashem, and then she went to the door of Simi’s room. She listened for a moment, and when she heard the baby wailing and Simi cooing to him, she knocked gently. There was silence inside; only the baby was still whimpering.

Finally, Simi answered, “Yes?” She didn’t say, “Come in,” so Hinda remained outside.

“How are you doing, Simi?”

“Fine, baruch Hashem,” the other woman replied through the door.

“I wanted to know if there’s anything special you’d like me to make for you,” Hinda said pleasantly.

“No thanks, don’t put yourself out.”

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Outside the Bubble – Chapter 39

January 23, 2023
outside-the-bubble

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 39 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Hinda didn’t know if “Chaya Cohen” was a real name or not. The young woman talked and talked, hardly giving Hinda a chance to respond. Hinda scrubbed the soup pot, every so often inserting an “Uh-huh” or “Really…” But suddenly, Chaya’s rush of words stopped.

Then, after a long moment of quiet, Chaya added, “A support group doesn’t work for me, because I’m not the type who can sit and talk about these things in front of a few women. But I do feel that I need to do something with myself, because I don’t want to reach the point where I’ll need to say, ‘It’s either me or them.’”

“You won’t need to, b’ezras Hashem,” Hinda replied. She was unable to understand why Rebbetzin Werner had given her phone number to this woman. Their lives were so different, no matter which angle you looked at it from. Which part of her life experience could help Chaya? Her challenges, it seemed, were of another nature entirely.

“Do you think so?” Chaya’s voice was laced with a sense of despair.

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Outside the Bubble – Chapter 38

January 16, 2023
outside-the-bubble

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 38 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Simi’s manners were impeccable, to be sure. She offered her courteous thanks, like one thanks a waitress in a restaurant, adding a compliment about how tasty the food was, yet she collected her own dishes from the table. Even when Hinda objected, she insisted on doing so, but when it came to wiping down the tablecloth, she relented, smiled, and went with her husband to their room.

“The food really was excellent,” Dov said, as he wiped down the tablecloth himself. “Did you even eat, Hinda?”

“A little bit,” she replied. “I don’t have much of an appetite.”

“That’s not good,” he protested. “You need strength. Hosting these new mothers one after the other…it’s not so easy.” He squinted for a moment, and Hinda imagined that he was recalling the other times that his previous home had hosted his daughters after birth, and the other person who had been hovering and catering to them.

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Shipwrecked

January 10, 2023

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There are those kids who will sit and listen to Rabbi Juravel CDs for hours on end. For them, this pastime is me’ein Olam Haba; they like nothing better.

Then there are other kids (some of whom I know quite well…) who have no patience to listen to a long CD. They have too many other things to do, people to see, places to go…

For some reason, though, when it comes to an action-packed book, especially a comic book, these kids are in all the way. Maybe because it (usually) takes less time to read a book than to listen to a CD. Or maybe it’s because the book has illustrations.

Whatever it is, I can tell you from personal experience that The 39 Melachos with Rabbi Juravel comic books are extremely popular among my kids, even those kids who have no interest in listening to the same story related on a CD!

And the best part is…when my kids are engrossed in Shipwrecked (or Shugashvili’s Secret or Falsely Accused—the other two books in The 39 Melachos with Rabbi Juravel comic book series), I know that they are imbibing wholesome lessons, Torah hashkafos, and solid hilchos Shabbos. What could be better than that?!

For those who are unaware, The 39 Melachos with Rabbi Juravel comic books are exciting mystery stories, written in comic form, with various hilchos Shabbos woven into each storyline, and then highlighted and explained better in a sidebar and at the end of the book. It’s really a win-win: Readers get to read a thrilling and suspenseful story, replete with spine-tingling drama, and they get educated about the 39 melachos at the same time!

Shipwrecked is the latest book in this series, and just by flipping through the pages, you can tell what a quality book this is. The illustrations are outstanding, and the content—as mentioned above—really can’t be beat. Whether or not your kids are into Rabbi Juravel’s CDs, if they like comic books—they’re going to love this book!

Click here to purchase online.


Outside the Bubble – Chapter 37

January 9, 2023
outside-the-bubble

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 37 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Yosef stayed in the supply room until three o’clock. When someone from the staff entered—and it happened a few times—he pretended to be looking for something in the drawers, making every effort to appear calm.

When he emerged, glancing furtively in all directions, Ra’ayah, one of the nurses, greeted him with an angry rebuke that Dr. Tennenbaum had been looking for him, and what was this all about, and how could he display such a lack of responsibility? He apologized politely, but she did not seem pacified by his apologies, and they certainly were not going to help the doctor whose shift had already ended. Oh, well. Dr. Tennenbaum was a nice guy who usually complimented him a lot; they got along really well. Now he probably wouldn’t want to be as complimentary.

But what could he do? There are emergency situations in life.

He boarded the bus and headed for home.

Ima did not come to the door when he knocked; Dov was the one who opened it for him after a few long moments. “Ah, Yosef!” He looked surprised. He stood for another moment in the doorway, and then moved aside. “How are you?” he asked. Then, turning to inside the house, he called out, “Hinda, Yosef is here!”

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Outside the Bubble – Chapter 36

January 2, 2023
outside-the-bubble

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 36 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

“Yosef? Yosef Schorr?” Dr. Tennenbaum scanned the area with his eyes, but the young man did not seem to be in the whole Emergency Room department. Dr. Tennenbaum shook his head and went back inside, to the nurses’ station. “Has anyone seen Yosef Schorr around?”

“I saw him fifteen minutes ago,” said one nurse. “He went to bring Mr. Zeivald back from radiology.”

“Zeivald is here already,” the orthopedist muttered, a bit impatiently. “And I told Schorr that I need his help!”

“It happens that someone goes out for a moment,” the nurse replied. “He’ll probably be back in a couple of minutes.”

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