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.


Dance of the Puppet – Chapter 11

August 29, 2013

purple bookIsrael Book Shop presents Chapter 11 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. 

By four thirty, Malka had managed to completely forget about the disturbing phone conversation. At two o’clock, after lunch, the girls were supposed to board buses for one of the nearby mountains, where a scavenger-hunt-style maze activity was planned for them. But then Yael’s phone rang, and all the plans went haywire.

“A child from a local moshav stepped on an old mine on the mountain we’re supposed to be going to,” Yael said with a somber expression. “He was seriously wounded, and the whole area’s been closed to hikers.”

Hashem yishmor! I hope he has a refuah sheleimah!” exclaimed Ruti, one of the tenth grade madrichos, but in the same breath she added, “But when we went there the day before yesterday to put down the hints and the markers, there were no old mines!”

“Tell that to the police,” Yael replied dourly. “In any case, it’s closed, and there’s nothing we can do about it.” Keep Reading…


NEW RELEASE! Goodbye, Thumb-Sucking!

August 29, 2013

C348“How many times do I have to tell you to take that thumb out of your mouth??!!”

Does this sound familiar? Do you have a little one who still sucks his or her thumb, even though he/she is already a big boy or big girl? Are you at your wits’ end about how to stop this bad habit that is driving you—and lots of other family members—up the wall? If so, then you will be thrilled about our latest treasure of a children’s book, Goodbye, Thumb-Sucking!

Written by noted children’s author Simi Licht, of the Super Social Skills series fame, this book introduces your child to Tziporah, a chronic thumb-sucker who cannot seem to give up her bad habit, no matter what her family tries to do about it. When the special nail cream Tatty buys for her, the white sock Mommy tries putting on her thumb, and even Zaidy’s very tempting offer, don’t seem to help Tziporah stop sucking her thumb, there is only one thing left that can do the trick…

With its charming rhyming stanzas and adorable illustrations that you can’t help but love, Goodbye, Thumb-Sucking is a book you and your child will enjoy reading together again and again!  

Click here to purchase online.


NEW RELEASE! Balabusta’s Daily Organizer 2013-2014

August 29, 2013

L626Are 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 5 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 sixth edition to be released!

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 online.


NEW RELEASE! Bright Beginnings Workbook

August 29, 2013

C345Do you want to give your child the priceless Hebrew language skills that are so important to his/her success in school? (Just think of how much better Israeli children do in Chumash and Navi, because they speak Ivrit.) Do you have a child who is floundering in Limudei Kodesh (Judaic Studies), because he/she just can’t seem to get his/her hands around the Hebrew language?

Perhaps you are an adult wishing to improve your understanding of Chumash and the Hebrew language, or you are a teacher who would love to upgrade the quality of instruction in Limudei Kodesh by introducing cutting-edge curricular materials that will attract and retain your students’ attention.

If any of the above applies to you, then you will soon be dancing the kazatzke about the Bright Beginnings Chumash Workbooks!

The Bright Beginnings Chumash Workbooks, developed over a sixteen-year period in Yeshiva Darchei Noam of Monsey, NY, are powerful tools that will help you learn how to translate any pasuk in Chumash on your own. The workbooks are designed for classroom use at the grade level when children are first introduced to Chumash; but they can also be utilized at home, if you are a parent looking to enrich the Hebrew skills of your children; and even for adults who want to become more fluent in Chumash and Lashon Kodesh.

With its color-coded system for teaching how to decipher the root word (shoresh) and the various prefixes/suffixes, as well as how to translate each one of them; the carefully designed worksheets that support the synchronized manner in which each lesson is taught; the stimulating shoresh flashcards; and the fun “Shoresh-land” game (included in Volume 2), these workbooks provide a real skill-building program that will throw open wide the doors to learning Chumash and Lashon Kodesh!

Click here to purchase online.


NEW RELEASE! From East to West

August 29, 2013

L627I have a couple of friends who tell me, “I’ll read any story book—but just not a novel. Why should I waste my time and emotions on a bunch of fictional characters, when I could be reading a true story, about real people, instead?”

Now, I happen to not agree with this way of thinking. I think it’s a very good and healthy thing to lose yourself, every once in a while, in a fictional world comprised of fictional people.

But be that as it may, I do hear my friends’ point about the importance of reading true stories, as opposed to only fiction. And it is for this reason that we at Israel Bookshop are committed to bringing you the best in literature of both the fiction and non-fiction types.

A phenomenal non-fiction book that has just recently hit the shelves is From East to West. This well-written, stirring book chronicles the amazing story of a Yemenite family from a hundred years ago, who traveled from Sana’a in Yemen, across deserts and seas and through other unbearable conditions, all the way to Switzerland. Their original intention was to move there temporarily, for medicinal purposes, but Hashgachah deemed otherwise, and years later, Yichye, Saada, and their daughters still find themselves living in Western Europe, far, far away from all that had ever been familiar to them, including their home, family…and little boy Yosef Chaim.

As her parents struggle to find their place as strangers in a strange land, where the customs and culture are so very different from their own, Esther, Yichye and Saada’s oldest daughter, finds herself torn between her heritage and the enticements of the modern world…

From East to West is a true, riveting story that will resonate deep within you. You will find yourselves growing attached to Yichye, Saada, Yosef Chaim, Salach, and the others, and will wait with bated breath to find out how their suspenseful tale ends…

This is a story that will linger on in your heart and mind long after you’ve turned the final page of the book.

Click here to purchase online.


The Unique Princess

August 27, 2013

L555If there’s one thing constant in the very unstable world in which we live, it’s the fact that we need Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s mercy at every second of our lives. What with the horrific hurricanes and terrifying news reports going on in our lives, who doesn’t feel the need to accrue extra merits? To chap arayin on another mitzvah…to overcome the yetzer hara in yet another battle…whatever it takes to tip the scales in Shamayim in our favor and have Hashem deal with us with rachmanus!

We women don’t have to look far to find an area to work on that is laden with potential zechusim. Tznius, we are told by our gedolim, is synonymous with brachos and yeshuos. The more we work to improve our tznius, the greater our Heavenly protection and reward will be.

How does a woman work on her tznius? you ask. Well, we can tell you about one beautiful way of doing so. The Unique Princess, by acclaimed educators and authors Rabbi Yirmiyohu and Tehilla Abramov (that’s right, of The Secret of Jewish Femininity fame), is a magnificent contribution to the world of tznius. This recently released book, though slim in size, is absolutely packed with inspiration, halachah, and hashkafah— all on the topic of tznius. Nothing is condescending or “lecture-ish” about this book (we’ve sat through enough long speeches on tznius ourselves to know how well that method goes over!); to the contrary, the information contained in it is uplifting, eye-opening, and change-inducing!

We invite you to come and claim the royal heritage that is rightfully yours! You are a unique princess—and now you can even have a manual explain to you what this means!

Click here to purchase online.


Great Elul Reading! From the Mashgiach’s Heart

August 27, 2013

L562Growth. It’s something we should all be striving for. No matter what age or what level we’re at, as frum Jews we know that there’s no such thing as having achieved it all.

That’s why From the Mashgiach’s Heart is such an important addition to any Jewish family’s bookshelf or library. Here is a book that practically takes you by the hand and propels you forward in your path to spiritual growth.  The book is a collection of over thirty shmuessen given by Rav Moshe Aharon Stern zt”l, renowned mashgiach of Kamenitz Yeshivah in Yerushalayim. These shmeussen were delivered to a wide variety of audiences, including kollel yungeleit, ba’alei batim, yeshivah bachurim, seminary girls, and housewives.

Those who have heard Rav Moshe Aharon Stern’s shmeussen before will immediately recognize his “voice” in these pages. It comes through with all of the Mashgiach’s passion and fervor, emanating straight from his great heart…and thus finding immediate entry into your own heart, as well.

Click here to purchase online.