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In the Month of Kislev: A Story for Hanukkah
A wealthy merchant, Feivel learns about the meaning of Hanukkah only after he condemns a small brood of hungry children for begging.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 26, 2012
I was greatly touched by this story and I really love it. I admit when I got to the end, my cynical self said this probably wouldn’t happen, but of course with some people it would. I love the depiction of the poor but loving shtetl family, especially the imaginations of the three daughters, and the moral of the story, of how important it is to be generous, with help & charity, and with friendship too.
The illustrations are wonderful, eliciting pure joy from me.
At the back of the book there is one page of text that educates about Hanukkah, and it does so in an interesting way, even for younger children.
According to the author, this story was told to her by her father, who learned it from a man whose father had lived in a shtetl; I love stories passed down orally, and appreciate when they are put to paper as this one was.
This is a perfect book for family reading during Hanukkah, and is a good story for learning about Hanukkah, for when a group or family wants to discuss selfishness and generosity, and empathy, and also it’s just a good family and sisters story.
4 ½ stars, ½ star off from this curmudgeon who thinks it might be overly optimistic
The illustrations are wonderful, eliciting pure joy from me.
At the back of the book there is one page of text that educates about Hanukkah, and it does so in an interesting way, even for younger children.
According to the author, this story was told to her by her father, who learned it from a man whose father had lived in a shtetl; I love stories passed down orally, and appreciate when they are put to paper as this one was.
This is a perfect book for family reading during Hanukkah, and is a good story for learning about Hanukkah, for when a group or family wants to discuss selfishness and generosity, and empathy, and also it’s just a good family and sisters story.
4 ½ stars, ½ star off from this curmudgeon who thinks it might be overly optimistic
November 16, 2018
The family of Mendel the peddler find themselves in terrible need one Hanukkah season, with no money to buy food - not even the makings for a single latke! - and little fuel to keep their tiny hut warm. Returning home from the synagogue on the first night of the holiday, his three young daughters - Leah, Gittel and Devorah - stop beneath the kitchen window of the wealthy merchant Feivel, and briefly enjoy the scent of good food. Comforted by this, they begin to make the same stop each night, going to bed with smiles on their faces. Their parents think at first that it is a Hanukkah miracle, but when the greedy Feivel discovers what is going on, they find themselves brought before Rabbi Yonah. Will they be made to pay for the scent of Feivel's food? And if so, what is the appropriate price...?
The story of the scent of food being paid for with the sound of money is one that can be found in many folk traditions around the world. From the Japanese stories of Ōoka Tadasuke, a samurai and judge who once adjudicated "The Case of the Stolen Smell" (see the collection Ooka the Wise: Tales of Old Japan for one retelling), to the Turkish tales concerning the Nasreddin Hodja, a famous trickster and wise man who once had to value "The Smell of Soup" (see Nearly Nonsense: Hoja Tales from Turkey for a telling of the tale), there are many examples to be found. For a story collected in the United States, see Sharon Creeden's Fair Is Fair: World Folktales of Justice . This Jewish variant, told to Nina Jaffe by her father, makes for a lovely Hanukkah story, but also has relevance throughout the year. I liked the fact that the Rabbi's judgment is not the conclusion here, but that Feivel is allowed to learn his lesson, and is shown to have reformed. This adds a nice touch, I think, making the lesson one about sharing, but also forgiveness, as Mendel and his family join the Feivel family for their next Hanukkah celebration.
All in all, In the Month of Kislev: A Story for Hanukkah is a wonderful folkloric retelling, and an appealing holiday story. The narrative is involving, and the artwork - wood-cuttings that are then painted - is lovely. Highly recommended to all young folklore enthusiasts, as well as to anyone looking for good Hanukkah stories for children.
The story of the scent of food being paid for with the sound of money is one that can be found in many folk traditions around the world. From the Japanese stories of Ōoka Tadasuke, a samurai and judge who once adjudicated "The Case of the Stolen Smell" (see the collection Ooka the Wise: Tales of Old Japan for one retelling), to the Turkish tales concerning the Nasreddin Hodja, a famous trickster and wise man who once had to value "The Smell of Soup" (see Nearly Nonsense: Hoja Tales from Turkey for a telling of the tale), there are many examples to be found. For a story collected in the United States, see Sharon Creeden's Fair Is Fair: World Folktales of Justice . This Jewish variant, told to Nina Jaffe by her father, makes for a lovely Hanukkah story, but also has relevance throughout the year. I liked the fact that the Rabbi's judgment is not the conclusion here, but that Feivel is allowed to learn his lesson, and is shown to have reformed. This adds a nice touch, I think, making the lesson one about sharing, but also forgiveness, as Mendel and his family join the Feivel family for their next Hanukkah celebration.
All in all, In the Month of Kislev: A Story for Hanukkah is a wonderful folkloric retelling, and an appealing holiday story. The narrative is involving, and the artwork - wood-cuttings that are then painted - is lovely. Highly recommended to all young folklore enthusiasts, as well as to anyone looking for good Hanukkah stories for children.
December 19, 2022
“Kislev” is a wonderful Hanukkah story about goodwill and kindness as it centers on the daughters of struggling Polish parents who are accused of stealing food from a wealthy and uncharitable man. The striking wooden illustrations are also impressive. A (100%/Outstanding)
December 11, 2008
This is a wonderful tale, that not only tells a moralistic parable but also is a great introduction for kids to the customs and traditions during Hanukkah. It has simple illustrations, but tells a story that emphasizes the importance of kindness and charity. It also has a short historical lesson on the history of Hanukkah on the last page. Our girls really liked this story and so did I.
May 27, 2009
This is not just a great Hanukkah story, it's a great story in general. If only all leaders were as wise as the Rabbi in this story.
December 31, 2024
Happy Hanukkah everyone! I would like to call your attention to a subtle but excellent children’s book for Hanukkah.
The Story (Spoilers!)
In the Month of Kislev is a retelling of a Jewish folktale (see e.g. The Pastrami Smell in A Treasury of Jewish Bedtime Stories by Shmuel Blitz for a different version) adapted specially for Hanukkah. In a small town in Poland there are two families, each with three daughters. One is the family of the rich but extremely miserly lumber merchant Feivel. The other is the family of the extremely poor peddler Mendel.
One Hanukkah Mendel doesn’t even have money to make latkehs for his daughters. But each night of Hanukkah, on the way home from synagogue, Mendel’s daughters pass by Feivel’s kitchen window and smell his delicious latkehs. Miraculously, the smell alone satisfies them and they go to bed happy.
On the eighth night, Feivel catches them and immediately hauls Mendel to the Town Rabbi. The entire town hears and fathers around the Rabbi’s house. Feivel demands that Mendel pay a fine for the smell, but Mendel doesn’t have the money. The Rabbi takes up a collection from the Townspeople and shakes the bag of money. The Rabbi tells Feivel the sound of this money is payment enough and gives the money to Mendel. Feivel is ashamed and becomes a charitable person. The story ends by telling us the two families get together each year for Hanukkah.
Beyond Justice v. Charity
This folktale plays on a familiar ethical tension between justice and charity (think Merchant of Venice), in which the wealthy unreasonably insist on what might be their actual rights against the poor. One traditional resolution proposed in the Talmud Bavli and enshrined in halacha (Sanhedrin 6a-b) is for the court to propose a compromise before the matter is litigated. This reflects a sense that if strict justice is demanded it must be delivered so sometimes it is better to simply avoid the question.
The folktale In the Month of Kislev is based on poses a different resolution in which strict justice is envisioned as Rabbinic wisdom delivers an absurd remedy to an equally absurd claim (the sound of money for the smell of food). But In the Month of Kislev takes this resolution one step further. In the Month of Kislev highlights that even offering an absurd remedy to an absurd claim relies on the ability of the accused to provide some money to be shaken to produce the sound which compensates the miser. When the accused can’t even produce this, the “justice” of the folktale breaks down.
In the Month of Kislev’s ingenious resolution is to call our attention to the fact that if a situation exists in which one family is so rich and another is so poor, and what’s more the rich family feels entitled enough that they could expect to get what they want from the Town Rabbi, then the community (think Sodom) must be implicated. That is, the legal dispute may be between private parties (as is the nature of legal disputes), but the underlying conflict is necessarily public in nature. In the Month of Kislev ingeniously brings the community into the fray as spectators to this social dysfunction, gawkers as to what will happen. It is therefore only fitting that the Rabbi should take up his collection from the public who tacitly admit their guilt by “paying” the poor man’s fine and ultimately having their contributions go to the poor man. In the Month of Kislev thereby highlights how even the cleverest justice is ultimately dependent on a backdrop of charity.
That would have been enough of a resolution, I think, for even the most demanding reader. But In the Month of Kislev takes the resolution a step further by positing that the rich and the poor spend Hanukkah together. Ultimately, for charity to work, it cannot simply be transactional and it cannot be just the alien economic support of an impersonal crowd for a needy person. Rather, similar to Maimonides’ comments that the gift baskets (mishloach manot) given to friends at Purim are secretly also gifts for the poor, for this to work one must actually have friendship across social classes.
In short, this charming and beautifully illustrated book will not only brighten but deepen any Hanukkah!
The Story (Spoilers!)
In the Month of Kislev is a retelling of a Jewish folktale (see e.g. The Pastrami Smell in A Treasury of Jewish Bedtime Stories by Shmuel Blitz for a different version) adapted specially for Hanukkah. In a small town in Poland there are two families, each with three daughters. One is the family of the rich but extremely miserly lumber merchant Feivel. The other is the family of the extremely poor peddler Mendel.
One Hanukkah Mendel doesn’t even have money to make latkehs for his daughters. But each night of Hanukkah, on the way home from synagogue, Mendel’s daughters pass by Feivel’s kitchen window and smell his delicious latkehs. Miraculously, the smell alone satisfies them and they go to bed happy.
On the eighth night, Feivel catches them and immediately hauls Mendel to the Town Rabbi. The entire town hears and fathers around the Rabbi’s house. Feivel demands that Mendel pay a fine for the smell, but Mendel doesn’t have the money. The Rabbi takes up a collection from the Townspeople and shakes the bag of money. The Rabbi tells Feivel the sound of this money is payment enough and gives the money to Mendel. Feivel is ashamed and becomes a charitable person. The story ends by telling us the two families get together each year for Hanukkah.
Beyond Justice v. Charity
This folktale plays on a familiar ethical tension between justice and charity (think Merchant of Venice), in which the wealthy unreasonably insist on what might be their actual rights against the poor. One traditional resolution proposed in the Talmud Bavli and enshrined in halacha (Sanhedrin 6a-b) is for the court to propose a compromise before the matter is litigated. This reflects a sense that if strict justice is demanded it must be delivered so sometimes it is better to simply avoid the question.
The folktale In the Month of Kislev is based on poses a different resolution in which strict justice is envisioned as Rabbinic wisdom delivers an absurd remedy to an equally absurd claim (the sound of money for the smell of food). But In the Month of Kislev takes this resolution one step further. In the Month of Kislev highlights that even offering an absurd remedy to an absurd claim relies on the ability of the accused to provide some money to be shaken to produce the sound which compensates the miser. When the accused can’t even produce this, the “justice” of the folktale breaks down.
In the Month of Kislev’s ingenious resolution is to call our attention to the fact that if a situation exists in which one family is so rich and another is so poor, and what’s more the rich family feels entitled enough that they could expect to get what they want from the Town Rabbi, then the community (think Sodom) must be implicated. That is, the legal dispute may be between private parties (as is the nature of legal disputes), but the underlying conflict is necessarily public in nature. In the Month of Kislev ingeniously brings the community into the fray as spectators to this social dysfunction, gawkers as to what will happen. It is therefore only fitting that the Rabbi should take up his collection from the public who tacitly admit their guilt by “paying” the poor man’s fine and ultimately having their contributions go to the poor man. In the Month of Kislev thereby highlights how even the cleverest justice is ultimately dependent on a backdrop of charity.
That would have been enough of a resolution, I think, for even the most demanding reader. But In the Month of Kislev takes the resolution a step further by positing that the rich and the poor spend Hanukkah together. Ultimately, for charity to work, it cannot simply be transactional and it cannot be just the alien economic support of an impersonal crowd for a needy person. Rather, similar to Maimonides’ comments that the gift baskets (mishloach manot) given to friends at Purim are secretly also gifts for the poor, for this to work one must actually have friendship across social classes.
In short, this charming and beautifully illustrated book will not only brighten but deepen any Hanukkah!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2020
Beautifully illustrated folktale about Hanukkah. A poor family is going without during the Hanukkah holiday, so much so that the children enjoy just standing below the window of a wealthy family and smelling their latkes cooking. When the wealthy family catches wind of the scent thieves, they seek restitution. But a wise rabbi finds a way to satisfy this greed and teach a lasting lesson at the same time.
We really enjoyed this story. My son was especially fascinated by the beautiful menorahs seen in the illustrations. I think the story was a little over the heads of my preschool aged children, but we’d revisit it again in the future for a deeper takeaway.
We really enjoyed this story. My son was especially fascinated by the beautiful menorahs seen in the illustrations. I think the story was a little over the heads of my preschool aged children, but we’d revisit it again in the future for a deeper takeaway.
April 20, 2018
Love the lesson in this book. I also think it does a good job of depicting Polish/Jewish characters without making them stereotypical.
August 28, 2019
A Hanukkah tale of poverty, greed, and a fair solution.
December 15, 2021
I loved the rabbi's decision and the ending!
May 6, 2019
The ideas in this story work well with the overall theme and lesson learned by the characters toward the end. Students could relate to the children in the story and apply the lesson of generosity into their own lives.
Ideas
Word choice
LEXILE: AD760L
ATOS: N/A
Ideas
Word choice
LEXILE: AD760L
ATOS: N/A
January 26, 2015
In the Month of Kislev tells an engaging story about a poor family and a wealthy family who live in Poland in a shtetl, a little Jewish town. The story uses the actions of this wealthy family to teach us how important it is to share what we have with others who have less. It is an interesting and straight forward retelling of a Yiddish story that has been passed down in the true style of oral tradition.
The book’s real strength and what I think makes it unique is that it takes the time the time to explain what Hannukah is all about. In the story many words that may be foreign to readers are explained and illustrated – menorah, dreidel, gelt, potato latkes etc. All of these items have a part in the book’s story and are accompanied with simple but very colourful drawings by Louise August. Most illustrations are outlined in black, sort of like line drawings, but are very much alive and vibrant because they are filled with vivid colours. The characters are dressed in traditional garb and the Rabbi plays an important role in the villagers’ lives.
The bonus of the book is one page totally separate from the story that explains what Hanukkah means and how the celebration came about. It details the special traditions and customs for this celebration and what they symbolize. This one page synopsis of Hanukkah is a wealth of information and should be shared by children and adults alike. Whether you are of Jewish faith, another faith or no faith, this book will help you understand much more about Hanukkah and why people celebrate this part of their history. Knowledge is powerful. Knowledge begets understanding. What better story to read during the holidays than a story based on a real historical event that tells how people of one faith were persecuted, how there was a war of liberation by a small Jewish army who was able to defeat a much stronger opponent and regain religious freedom for all Jews. I had no idea of Hanukkah’s history. What a time of hope and celebration Hanukkah must be and what an inspiration for all people about hope and commitment to one’s beliefs.
The book’s real strength and what I think makes it unique is that it takes the time the time to explain what Hannukah is all about. In the story many words that may be foreign to readers are explained and illustrated – menorah, dreidel, gelt, potato latkes etc. All of these items have a part in the book’s story and are accompanied with simple but very colourful drawings by Louise August. Most illustrations are outlined in black, sort of like line drawings, but are very much alive and vibrant because they are filled with vivid colours. The characters are dressed in traditional garb and the Rabbi plays an important role in the villagers’ lives.
The bonus of the book is one page totally separate from the story that explains what Hanukkah means and how the celebration came about. It details the special traditions and customs for this celebration and what they symbolize. This one page synopsis of Hanukkah is a wealth of information and should be shared by children and adults alike. Whether you are of Jewish faith, another faith or no faith, this book will help you understand much more about Hanukkah and why people celebrate this part of their history. Knowledge is powerful. Knowledge begets understanding. What better story to read during the holidays than a story based on a real historical event that tells how people of one faith were persecuted, how there was a war of liberation by a small Jewish army who was able to defeat a much stronger opponent and regain religious freedom for all Jews. I had no idea of Hanukkah’s history. What a time of hope and celebration Hanukkah must be and what an inspiration for all people about hope and commitment to one’s beliefs.
January 3, 2017
We are a Christian family, but I still enjoy reading books to the kids about Jewish feasts and holidays. This one, set in Poland probably several centuries ago, tells of a peddler's poor and hungry family and the injustice they suffer at the hands of a selfish lumber merchant. The ending is a happy one. Hanukkah is the backdrop of this story, but it also shows the way the Rabbi served as judge for his people, the arbiter of disputes. Good story and it definitely puts one in the mood for making latkes.
December 28, 2016
Feivel, the lumber merchant, and one of the richest men in the small Polish village, is incensed to learn that the children of Mendel the poor peddler have smelling his Hanukkah latkes . . . for free! Luckily, the wise Rabbi knows exactly what to do.
This is just a wonderful story, with lovely, simple illustrations.
This is just a wonderful story, with lovely, simple illustrations.
December 15, 2014
In contrasting the celebrations of a poor Jewish family and a well to do Jewish family during the holiday of Hanukkah and a Rabbi's judgment in a quarrel surrounding traditional holiday practices, the meaning of Hanukkah shines through to readers.
November 29, 2016
Excellent illustrations - oil paint on woodcuts.
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