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New Children's Book Uses Talmudic Tale of Angels To Teach the Importance of Shabbat Peace According to Talmudic legend, two angels follow every Jew home from synagogue on Shabbat to deliver a blessing. If they find a peaceful home, where Shabbat is honored, the angel of good delivers the blessing: "May next Shabbat be just like this one." But if the home is full of discord, the angel of evil is the one to deliver the blessing, dooming the family to another week of strife and discord. The Shabbat Angels, a brand-new children's book from the UAHC Press, teaches children and their families the importance of Shabbat shalom - a peaceful Shabbat, through the tale of the angels. Written by Maxine Segal Handelman, the book follows the angels' influence on one Jewish family - the family of Jewish everyman Chaim Yonkel. While their home is usually a peaceful one on Shabbat, one Friday evening finds Chaim Yonkel fighting with his wife, the children upset, the Shabbat meal uncooked, and the home a mess. They are cursed by the evil angel, and must work hard the entire week to ensure a peaceful Sabbath. The message, Handelman explains, is that God "wants to help us, but God will only treat us the way we treat God." The angels, she explains, "do not inflict good or evil on us; they only reinforce and elevate the behavior we have chosen. If we honor Shabbat with lit candles, a beautifully set table, and a clean house, then through the angels, God promises to assist us to continue the way we have chosen." Handelman's simple prose is illuminated by artist Joani Keller Rothenberg's vivid illustrations. Rothenberg's bright, intense pictures perfectly capture the discord in Chaim Yonkel's house during his family's discordant Shabbat - and her use of warm colors underscores their love and harmony when they finally achieve Shabbat shalom. The Shabbat Angels is appropriate for children in grades K through 3, and retails for $13.95. Both can be ordered from the URJ Press at www.urjpress.com, (888)489-8242, press@urj.org. The URJ PRESS is the book-publishing arm of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the synagogue arm of the Reform Movement in North America. Uniting more than 1.5 million Reform Jews in 900 congregations across the United States and Canada, UAHC programs and services include music and book publishing, adult education opportunities, outreach to unaffiliated and intermarried Jews, and the Religious Action Center in Washington, DC. ### 4/03
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