Elul 5780

This year’s list reflects the turbulent times in which we live.:

• Dreams Never Dreamed by Kalman Samuels (Toby Peres, 2020) - Never settle for less than the exact fulfillment of your dream
• For the Shabbat Table by the late Rabbi Chaim Wilschanski (Gefen Publishing, 2001) - only the tip of the iceberg
• I Am a Cat by Galia Bernstein (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2017) - We are all different and all the same
• How Women Rise: Breaking the 12 Habits That Hold You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion, or Job by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith (Hachette Books, 2018) - Know your faults so you can work with them (or get rid of them)

I was already excited about Dreams Never Dreamed and the story of Shalva. But looking back, and after watching many videos, I was amazed at the humility and awesomeness of Malka Samuels, whose ideas and dreams came true. She saw a need and worked hard. And once she knew what she needed and what she wanted, she was determined to make it happen. And not just to check it off the list. For example, when designing the new center, she insisted on a particular color of tile. She ended up going to Italy, designing custom tiles, and then redyeing it when it was not exactly the right shade. The result is a beautiful, warm, welcoming place for all who enter.

We bought For the Shabbat Table many years ago and read from it each week during Shabbat lunch. Part of the reason we enjoyed it so much was that in almost every election, Rabbi Wilschanski would demonstrate a point "with the following anecdote." The rabbi "left this world on the eve of Passover" this year, and I feel a very personal loss. When we read the book, all I knew was that Rabbi Wilschanski was leading a congregation in London and then retired to Israel. Reading his obituary, I understand that his book is just a small piece of an amazing total package. A native of Germany, he had to flee from the Nazis. He went to the Gateshead Yeshiva with a small Torah scroll in his suitcase. He got married and studied at the Gateshead Kollel, then taught in London. He and his wife had five children, and he served as rabbi at Hampstead Garden shteibel for over 45 years, where he was a dynamic and popular speaker with a huge impact on the community. He also played the violin. After his retirement he would talk to Jewish students who had attended non-Jewish schools. He and his wife moved to Jerusalem when he was 83, and he remained active in his studies. He got to see the fifth generation of his family.

But more than that, when I told my family he has passed away, everyone remembered the stories from twelve years ago that included "the following anecdote." May he use his warm personality and dynamic speaking skills to be a meilitz yosher (strong advocate) for all of us.

These uncertain times have brought to the forefront of what used to be hidden hatred and violence. Many librarians and groups have offered books to help young readers cope with the situation and learn more about different groups and cultures (see AJL's "Love Your Neighbor" lists). I Am a Cat is a little gem that uses all kinds of felines to make its point. Simon is a small domesticated cat, but when he greets his cousins, ​​the big cats are amused. The lion tells Simon that he is not a cat because he has no mane or tuft on the tip of his tail, and no one will be afraid of him. The cheetah tells Simon that he is not a cat because he is not sleek or graceful and cannot run fast. Other cats tell Simon that he is mistaken because Simon does not live in the mountains and jump, he is not black and he does not live in the jungle, and he is not big and strong and orange.

But Simon remarks that while all of these cats have things that make them special and different, they also have a lot in common. They all have "small, perky ears, and a flat nose," whiskers and tails, sharp claws and  teeth, and eyes that can see in the dark. The big cats consider his argument, and they agree that Simon is a cat. "They [all] spent the rest of the day pouncing and prowling, prancing and playing, like cats of all sizes do."

As a cat lover, I adore this book. As a librarian I see it works on so many levels. It's about cats, it's about differences, it's about similarities, it's about making your point in simplicity and courtesy. The illustrations are colorful and cute, and it can work with any of the sub-themes of books dealing with diversity and respecting others.

How Women Rise is a career counseling book for women who have reached a certain level and realize that something is holding them back from advancing further in their company or in their field. But it reads like a book about middos. It helps you identify things you do or say (or do not do and do not say) that can be perceived as weaknesses or faults. For example, many women work diligently and do not talk about their accomplishments because they think they will sound boastful and egotistical if they "toot their own horn." While on the one hand, working hard is a good trait, if people don't know what you're doing or how hard you're working, they will not value your contributions. They are ways to let people know your achievements, such as weekly or monthly updates, quick meetings with the boss, or memos that can let people know how indispensable you truly are.

The Real Cats of Israel have been luxuriating in the heat:

May 5781 be a year of health, happiness and good reading!!

A Million Dreams Never Dreamed

There are times, and they become more frequent as the years go by, that I look at the world with quite a cynical eye and lament that I am becoming old and bitter.

Then, I read a book like Dreams Never Dreamed (Toby Press, 2020), and know that no one can read this book and remain a cynic. Its subtitle is "A Mother's Promise that Transformed Her Son's Breakthrough into a Beacon of Hope," and it is written by the father, Kalman Samuels.

I first became familiar with Shalva, the Israeli Association for the Care and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities because of the Shalva Band. A music therapist formed a band made up of "persons with disabilities," and the group almost made it to the finals of Eurovision.



And while Shalva Band sang about "A Million Dreams," Shalva itself started with a promise and a dream. Kalman and Malki Samuel's son Yossi was a healthy baby until he received a faulty DPT vaccine. His situation deteriorated until he was both deaf and blind. The Samuels moved from Israel to New York to find Yossi the resources he needed, and then back to Israel. Malki Samuels made a pact with God: "If You ever decide to help my Yossi, I will dedicate my life to helping so many other mothers of children with disabilities whom I know are crying with me for their children."

Yossi was later known as "the Heller Keller of Israel," as he learned to sign, read braille, and recognize the make and model of a car by its door handle. It was now time to make good on the pact, and Malki wanted to "create a center that will provide parents and families with what we never had -- a program that will care for their challenged children after school each day, giving the child therapy and a good time, and giving the family a chance to live a normal life."

Shalva started in an apartment in the Samuels' neighborhood, and eventually needed a bigger facility. Kalman Samuels did the the fundraising for the organization, travelling to meet donors and promote Shalva. Soon the demand for Shalva's services was so great, that it was time for a new facility.

With dedication to purpose and infinite patience and fortitude (the bureaucracy in Israel is mind boggling, and there were multiple lawsuits and injunctions against the proposed building), a gorgeous, huge facility was built with attention to every detail. It houses facilities for all kinds of therapies, a pool, a respite floor so children can stay over and parents can have a break, a library, a cafe that is open to the public, an employment workshop, and an emergency shelter for those with disabilities. The building is filled with color and art.

As and for Yossi? He met President George W. Bush, visited the Volvo factory in Sweden, and rode an elephant in Thailand. "He is blind, deaf, and cannot walk, but he never loses his zest for life, never ceases to dream new dreams and to make them happen."

As is often the case, fact is as unbelievable as fiction, and the book chronicles the story of an amazing family with incredible determination.  The Samuels have seven children, and they are all involved in Shalva (youngest child Sara plays guitar in the Shalva band). You will find yourself routing for Yossi and for Shalva throughout the book, and you will marvel at how so many dreams were realized.

As for the Real Cats of Israel, who knows what they are dreaming?

Happy Reading!