One of my English teachers in high school would say that she could only give an A plus to an essay that either made her laugh or cry. I would definitely give the highest grade to Stargazing, a book that will have readers crying yet smiling at the same time. And I’m pretty sure Mrs. Polster would agree with me about this book, too!

Rochel Grunewald is a rising star in the writing field, and in Stargazing, her debuting novel, her talent and skills are quite apparent. Stargazing takes us into the lives of a “blended family”—or, at least, a family with members who are valiantly trying to blend themselves…and others who are trying just as hard to undo all that effort.

While Michal does her best to rise above her pain and make things work, Tali and Nina, her new step-sisters, seem determined to make her, and the rest of the family, miserable, destroying any chance of them ever becoming a real family. And throughout it all, we follow the thoughts and feelings of little Laylie, Michal’s younger sister, who can’t understand why her family can’t just be happy together.

Things come to a head when Tali makes a radical decision that sends everyone reeling in shock. That’s when Laylie decides that it’s up to her to do something about this…

Follow the intricate family and social dynamics in this compelling novel. This is a book whose story and message with linger with you long after you’ve finished reading it!

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My mother has the biggest heart of anyone I know. Sending meals to neighbors who are feeling under the weather, making sheva brachos for anyone she might remotely know, visiting homebound elderly people—these are all part of her normal daily routine.

And then there are her shidduchim, of course.

Having been blessed with a knack for making shidduchim, my mother decided that she would like to specialize in the area of the “underdogs”—those singles who often have a harder time finding their bashert, whether because they are ba’alei teshuvah and not “well-connected,” or because they’ve been previously married, or have a medical condition, or any other kind of potential impediment. And baruch Hashem, bli ayin hara, she has seen much success in her matchmaking endeavors. In marrying these singles off, that is. Not in making financial gains from it.

Time and again, my siblings and I have watched my mother invest hours upon hours into a shidduch—which, with Hashem’s help, sometimes culminates in a happy engagement…and then get a $7.99 bottle of wine as remuneration.

Not that my mother complains about that—not at all! For her, the greatest gift she could receive is the knowledge that two lonely souls have found their mate and are embarking on building their own bayis ne’eman together.

But it does make me wonder: why don’t people know that there is a real inyan  to pay a shadchan for his or her work? It’s not simply a nicety—it’s actual halachah! Yet there are so many out there who are truly clueless about this.

Thankfully, there is now a sefer out on the market that can help remedy this disturbing phenomenon. Shadchanus in Halachah, by noted author Rabbi Shlomie Dickman and shadchan Rabbi Tzadok Katz, clearly explains the exact parameters of the halachos of paying a shadchan for his or her work. It addresses all the common questions and scenarios: How much money should be given? When must shadchanus be paid—when the shidduch is finalized or at the wedding? When there are multiple shadchanim involved in a shidduch, how is the shadchanus divided?

In addition to outlining the halachos and minhagim of giving shadchanus, this book also presents a series of fifteen fascinating, real-life she’eilos and teshuvos on the topic. An important work to read, Shadchanus in Halachah will educate and entertain as it makes an enigmatic topic in halachah clear to all.

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It never fails to amaze me. When a kid puts on his shoes, statistically speaking, he should have a 50% chance of putting them on the right feet, no? Of course there’s an equal chance that he’ll get it wrong, but at least half of the times he should be getting it right, right? (Ooh, that’s a good tongue twister!) So why is it that when my little ones try to dress themselves, their shoes nearly always end up on the wrong feet?

Go figure.

Left and right is a hard concept for kids to understand. Hard or easy, though, it’s something we parents try to explain to our children (even if only to make sure they look presentable when they dress themselves!). In that case, wouldn’t it be nice if we could somehow slip in some ruchniyus while teaching and repeating to our kids, “The left hand makes an L…”?

You certainly can! When it comes to mitzvos, so many of them are done with either the left hand or the right hand (or both). Right, Left, Right, a delightful children’s book that recently hit the market, can tell your little ones all about that!

Each brightly illustrated, laminated page in this book features a mitzvah, and tells which hand the mitzvah is done with. Shaking lulav and esrog, blowing shofar, laying tefillin, and more…your kids will be drawn like a magnet to this entertaining yet educational book!

And who knows? This book may be just the thing to teach them to put their shoes on the right feet—at long last! :)

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New year resolutions. That’s high on everyone’s list of priorities these days. As Yom Kippur approaches and we feverishly search for more mitzvos to do, more merits to accrue, more ways to show Hashem we’ll be better this year, we make kabbalos—pledges to grow in certain areas of our lives. For some, the kabbalah will be not to speak lashon hara for a specific two-hour slot daily; for others it may be to bentch from a bentcher; still others may choose to learn something extra each day.

If you’ve chosen that third option, you may be faced with another dilemma: what exactly should you learn? Of course the choices are endless, but here’s a new and excellent idea you might want to consider: What’s the Halachah? by Rav Zev Smith and Rabbi Dovid Kaiser.

Rav Zev Smith is well-known as a popular maggid shiur and speaker on halachic issues. He has thousands of recorded shiurim in circulation on a wide range of interesting and relevant, day-to-day topics. Now, for the first time, some of the best of these shiurim have been adapted into written format, in a way that’s easy to learn.

Covering topics relevant to each month of the year, What’s the Halachah? explores dozens of intriguing questions in halachah, such as: May an ebay seller set his auction to conclude on Shabbos? Should a person worry against ayin hara? May one listen to krias haTorah or Megillas Esther being read over the telephone?

As Torah Jews, we know that halachah dictates our every action in life. Let’s resolve to grow in our halachic observance this year. By using What’s the Halachah? as a guide, we can take real steps toward understanding the vastness and the beauty of the world of halachah!

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“The Heavenly City… those books are incredible! You have to read them…”

As a kid, I’d heard this sentiment expressed by many adults, and as a dedicated bookworm, I made it my business to track down these “incredible” books so I could read them for myself. Young as I was, though, I didn’t appreciate what I was reading. The era spoken of in these books in such glowing tones kind of went over my immature head as I chugged through the stories, searching for the action, the adventure, the excitement.

Now, as an adult, I finally see what all those people were enthusing over when they described The Heavenly City books. The time period the books describe—Eretz Yisrael during the early 1900s, when the Old Yishuv had just been established, and Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld was rav—is so beautiful, and written about so well, you can’t help but be moved by it.

Popular author and educator Rebbetzin Sarah Feldbrand was also taken by all she had read about the holiness of this era, and it was this fascination that eventually led her to writing Courtyard of Dreams, a historical novel for teens set in Yerushalayim during the days of the Old Yishuv.

And what a detailed depiction of life at that time this book gives us! Although the main characters are fictitious, numerous famous historical figures, such as Rav Shmuel Salant, Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, the Lelover Rebbe, and Dr. Moshe Wallach, are woven into the plot, complete with many of the true stories told about them. Readers will be enthralled both by the exciting storyline of the book and by the real challenges and triumphs of this special time period. And as this book was written with teens in mind, it can really be appreciated by the younger generation—although trust us, this is a book adults will be drawn to, as well!

For an inspirational and particularly enjoyable read, you’ll want to pick up a copy of Courtyard of Dreams today!

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Are you overwhelmed? Stressed out? Feeling that you have so much to do but no time to do it all? We have the solution for you!

The Balabusta’s Daily Organizer: the ideal planner and calendar for the busy Jewish housewife.

For nearly ten years now, frum women of every type and stripe have come to know and love this amazing organizer, which, though slim and handy, somehow has everything in it. It includes a weekly calendar, complete with Jewish and secular dates and all the Yamim Tovim and (l’havdil) legal holidays, menu planning lists, to-do lists, grocery lists, candle-lighting times in many Jewish communities, tips, and so much more. Little wonder that so many of you have been waiting on pins and needles for this 2017-2018 edition to be released!

Available now in two convenient sizes—desktop and pocket—so no matter how you prefer your organizer to be, whether hidden away in your pocketbook or in full view on your desk, you’ve got it.

As you know, there is a time and a place for everything. You just need The Balabusta’s Daily Organizer to help you schedule all your daily activities into your busy life—and then you’ll have found what the time and place is for each thing!

Click here to purchase desktop edition online.

Click here to purchase pocket edition online.

When I was a kid in elementary school, I had a classmate named Pessy who was convinced there was nothing special about her. She couldn’t sing, dance, or act to save her life; she was all left thumbs when it came to artwork; and her grades were pretty average. The thing was, Pessy had a heart of gold. People loved her, and I think a lot had to do with the fact that she was so unpretentious. She was a magnet for little kids—with their highly tuned sensors, they obviously picked up on her “gutskeit” and were drawn to her.

Reading I’m So Special…and So Are You! made me think of Pessy. In this book, Yitz, like Pessy, thinks there is nothing special about him, though he wishes with all his heart that there would be. As different events play out in the story, and we see how very special Yitz really is, Yitz too begins to realize that being great has nothing to do with the talents Hashem gives a person. Rather, it’s the choices a person makes, his actions and his words, that make a person either a hero or the opposite.

This is a lesson we all try so hard to inculcate in our children. With low self-esteem so rampant in our society, and parents doing everything in their power to enhance their children’s perception of themselves, here is a beautiful story that really conveys to kids what we want them to know: that they’re special just by being their wonderful selves!

A super book to give to those super little people in your life!

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The email I received left me open-mouthed. It was from an acquaintance of mine who is familiar with our new children’s book, Manny in a Pickle.

Did you hear in the news about the man in Wendy’s who threw his salad at the waitress and said he wished he had a knife or gun to finish her off –because his salad didn’t have enough cucumbers???  (He was charged with several crimes.)  I think the world at large could use a dose of Manny too!! 

How right she is, I mused. Look what happens when we don’t teach our kids to accept disappointments and “no’s” when they’re young—they can become overgrown kids who are still unable to go through life’s ups and downs like mentchen.

This is exactly the message brought out in Manny in a Pickle. But don’t expect to be hit over the head with the lesson in this book—the book is way too much fun for that! Instead, readers will absorb the crucial lesson simply by enjoying the whimsical story and extraordinarily creative illustrations.

This is a book we guarantee you’ll be reading to your kids again…and again…and again—it’s really that good! And of course you’ll have the added benefit of your kids deciding firmly, after hearing this story, that they do not want to grow up to be another Manny!

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“It’s not fair!”

Is this a common refrain among your children? Do you find yourself grimacing when, once again, one child gives you a whole earful about how many more chores she has than her sister, and why did you ask her to set the table and not someone else, etc., etc., etc.?

Don’t worry—you’re in good company! The “It’s not fair!” complaint has got to be one of the most popular ones among kids, and that’s exactly what the story All Aboard to Fairville, written up in beloved author Rachel Stein’s newest anthology for young readers, addresses.

In this fun book specifically intended for 2^nd to 4^th graders, kids will meet lots of friends with issues and complaints just like their own—and they’ll see how these characters work to solve those issues and stop those kvetches, too! Written in large font, and with plenty of terrific illustrations, the book is perfect for kids who have just learned to read and now want to enjoy the skill, too.

So go ahead—introduce your kids to Shifra, Avigayil, Eli, Noach, and all the others in All Aboard to Fairville and Other Stories, and let their reading pleasure begin!

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