This Algerian Jewish folktale stresses the importance of keeping the Sabbath. A young impoverished widow lives with her five children, struggling all week to make a nice Shabbat each Friday night. News comes that her late husband's uncle has died and left the family a fortune. But someone will have to cross the desert to get it. A Bedouin chief agrees to take her eldest son, and to stop for Shabbat on the way.

When the chieftain reneges on his promise to stop for Shabbat, the boy refuses to break the Sabbath and stays alone in the desert, to light his candles and bless his meager wine and bread. As the sun sets, a lion appears to protect him.

...This book brings the mystery and joy of Shabbat home to children, who delight in hearing the tale repeatedly. Alyssa A. Lappen

This book is a fun way for children to learn about standing up for what they believe. Would be good for children of all faiths to read.

My kids love this book, and want to hear it over and over again!

And I love it because it teaches the importance of maintaining one's convictions.

I recommend it very highly!!!

This is a fun book. The ten stories that are included in the book are amusing and easy to read in a way that is very attractive to children. The stories of Chelm have not failed to get a laugh (sometimes a little giggle and sometimes something more) each time that we have read them. However, the book goes one step beyond the stories themselves. Every story is followed by 3-4 questions that you can ask your children after reading the story. The questions can be helpful in prodding your child to think about some of the deeper meanings behind the story as well as to measure their understanding of what makes the people of Chelm foolish yet, ultimately, wise in their simple ways. This book is a keeper.

a great book about jewish stories and excelent to share with your children. a great way to incoorperate ones faith into a story you can share with your child

Howard Schwartz's Elijah's Violin will appeal to both those who love fairy tales and those who love Jewish folklore. The stories have elements of more familiar fairy tales - birds that speak, mute princesses, magic mirrors, love, fear, good, and evil. However, Jewish elements make the stories distinctive. King Solomon appears in several of the tales, as does Asmodeus, King of the Demons in Jewish folklore. Schwartz's retellings are deft and lyrical and Heller's art complements the stories beautifully. If you're looking to be transported to a palace made of water or wish to go on a journey with a pirate princess, look no farther than Elijah's Violin.

I have read Elijah's Violin numerous times and think it is a wonderful ride through fairy tales and fantasy. Children will love this book, I have been reading it since the age of 7, and am still enjoying it to this day. I suppose I have a slight bias since the author is my father, but I still think it's a great book!

This book is incredible. I love it! It achieves that rare, delicate balance between science and poetry.

This book is a wonerful way to introduce a younger children to the mystical ways of Judaism. The folktales grab you into the short one to three page stories. After that you read the religious teaching and interpretions of each one, and this leaves a classroom open to discussions. This book can be used in any religious setting, whether it be in a classroom or at home with your family. It makes you want to learn more. The Mystical side of Judaism is often left to the Scholars of the the time. However, what surprised me was how many of them were women. Take time in the classroom, or at home with your family, enjoy understand, and discuss this with all who are interested.

This book is a secret gem full of delightful and wise tales - the first one is worth the price alone! I really recommend it - it's one of my favorites - and it's a lovely gift to the right person...

The Talmud tells of four great sages who entered paradise,Rabbi Akiva, Ben Zoma, Ben Azzai and Elisha ben Abuyah. Of the four, one died, one went insane, and one "cut the shoots". Only of Rabbi Akiva is it said that "he ascended in peace and descended in peace." The Talmud gives very little further explanation of this legendary visit to paradise. Howard Schwartz has researched this legend and created a mythical travelogue of the journey. His novella takes into account Talmudic and other scholarly literature regarding this legend and interweaves other common themes of Jewish mysticism. I enjoyed the story immensely, especially the way it brought together numerous pieces of Jewish lore and legend, some of which were already familiar to me, but among which I had never seen a connection. The story is accompanied by an introduction and detailed "Thematic Commentary".

Not only are the stories exceptionally well-chosen. but there is a very perceptive introductory essay title "Kafka and the Modern Parables." I use his essay in a storytelling apprenticeship program, and encourage my students to orally learn some of these stories for the telling. I encourage you to do the same. The stories are powerful, the essay is insightful, and Schwartz judgment in selecting 100 parables is superb.

Dr. Robert Béla Wilhelm Director, School of Sacred Storytelling

This book has many Jewish tales/ They all enthralled me, without fail/ The pictures are a true delight/ They paint a special splendid sight!

I have asked Howard Schwartz to write a new edition of this incredibly truthful, and therefore unusual and important book. He hasn't responded to my request---I wish he would update this book to the present. It would be a mind-blower book for the year 2000. Anti-corporate activists MUST read this book to understand what they are up against even though published in 1990.

This book is the ONLY book that uncovers how and why management schools such as the Harvard Business School and others fail to prepare managers to deal with their employees and the public in any other way than abusively! Scwartz teaches organization behavior and knows his subject!

Michael Maccoby has written in the Harvard Business Review (Jan/Feb 2000) that management narcissism is on the increase. Schwartz's book describes what this will mean---especially if, for example, NASA proceeds with Cassini (nuclear powered) type probes. NASA administrators, like all federal administrators, share narcissistic character styles that make their judgements dangerous, because these narcissistic folks are so divorced from reality they would risk their own families to maintain image.

Take the 1986 shuttle disaster. The top administrator said that the chances of failure were 1 in 100,000. The engineers and statisticians said 1 in 20. Why such a lie by the administrator? Because Reagan wanted the Challenger to fly....and among narcissists, who can say no when it's so easy and seemingly necessary to lie to keep one's image!

Narcissistic Process describes exactly how increasing narcissism among management elites will cause destruction of the planet---and exactly why we, the public, won't stop them (because we emulate these sick folks and are totally unconscious of our need to project our power!)