The White Ram

by Mordicai Gerstein

As the rest of the animals leave on the sixth day of Creation, a patient ram waits in the Garden of Eden to complete his task and, after avoiding temptation, saves a child and fulfills God's will, in a touching story from the author of The Man Who Walked Between the Towers.

Genres: Picture Books, Jewish, Religion, Childrens, Old Testament, Christian

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2006

About the author

Mordicai Gerstein was an American artist, writer, and film director, best known for illustrating and writing children's books. He illustrated the comic mystery fiction series Something Queer is Going On.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Made on the sixth day of Creation, a white ram waits patiently in the Garden of Eden. The other animals leave one by one, but the ram waits and waits until he is needed to fulfill God's will. Running to the aide of Abraham and Isaac, the ram must prevail over many temptations in order to save a child.

Response: I started reading this book without really knowing what it was about. I was a bit confused as far as what the ram had to do with multicultural literature. It was not until the end that it hit me. I can see using this in a classroom perhaps at a Jewish school where the children are familiar with the holiday symbols mentioned at the end of the book. I don't think readers who do not know about these symbols would understand the significance.

[Shoshanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I REALLY loved this book. I read the intro to the book and it said that this story is based on Midrash (I need to read more of that). I had no idea about the ram and its journey and struggle to reach the akeda! I had no idea what the midrash said happened with different elements of the lamb! And I really had no idea about about how each horn has its meaning and when we hear the shofar on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, how we should remember the akeda! I'm tearing up. This book is beautiful and amazing and I highly recommend it, especially around the khagim!

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

It's an interesting challenge to present the ram as an actual character, because it creates the odd moral that God doesn't want human sacrifice, just as long as another sentient, sapient being gets killed instead. But Gerstein makes it work about as well as you could.

I like how he chooses to represent God, where the clouds form an outline so that His hands or face are formed by the empty space...but only when it's subtle. When the clouds are weirdly twisting into squares to form fingernails it kinda loses its charm.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t remember this story from all my bible lessons growing up. I think it might be Jewish in origin as it mentions Rosh Hashanah in the end. I think this was a lovely story, and wish it was one of those thought in my various Sunday school and VBS classes.

[Angela De Groot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunningly visual and beautifully told. Amazing.

[theravenandthewhale · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite during the season of Lent, when we like return to the lamb as a symbol to understand the sacrifice of Jesus.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful images accompany this biblical tale. This book left my daughter with many questions, however, as the more violent aspects of the story were glossed over to make the story kid friendly.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book handles a difficult Biblical story well. It doesn't sugar coat it, but doesn't emphasize the sad parts.

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I must save the child!"

[Josiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The White Ram is an intriguing spin on a renowned Biblical story of God's care and redemptive power. In this version of the story, the white ram that intervenes at the last moment to ostensibly save young Isaac from sacrifice on the altar as an act of worship to God by his father, Abraham, was actually a part of the story long before the sacrifice ever was ordered. According to the narrative of The White Ram, the ram was created specially by God in the twilight of the first Sabbath, with its ultimate purpose already known. The unblemished lamb was to serve as a substitute for the son that would one day far into the future be born to Abraham, and it is a task that the ram nobly accepts and even looks forward to, despite the fact that it will cost him his life.

When the time finally comes for the white ram to offer himself as the substitute sacrifice, he takes off running to find the child named Isaac and save him. The Evil One tries his best to stop him along the way, providing temptations that a ram would never want to resist, but this is a special ram, on his way to fulfilling the destiny for which he was created. When the ram's sacrifice is completed, he is afforded special honor by God all through the course human history, and given a resting place forever in which he can have peace.

The White Ram is a really nice book that pays respectful homage to this profound story from Jewish history. I love the way that author/illustrator Mordicai Gerstein didn't draw God directly, but rather made artistic hints of His omnipresence, creating in the spaces in the air suggestions of God's Being as He interacts with His creation. I would consider giving three and a half stars to The White Ram.

[Lisa Rathbun · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful legend that tells the story of Abraham and Isaac from the point of view of the ram. There is an interesting contrast between the patient, quiet waiting of the ram in the beginning (remniscent of "they also serve who only stand and wait") and then his headlong, determined rush to get to the mountain and save the child. The evil one attempts to stop him several times, like Satan tempting Christ in the desert, but he won't be stopped. This folk tale references Rosh Hashanah which is a teaching opportunity for children not familiar with that Jewish holiday. As a Christian, I see in the white ram such a wonderful picture of Christ's dedication to come to MY rescue and how His sacrifice saved me!

[Aiden Dunnigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mordicai Gerstein's The White Ram is a Jewish children's novel telling the story of the White Ram that God had placed on Earth on the last day of Creation, and made him wait to fulfill his purpose. The ram fought many temptations and obstacles from "The Evil One" and overcame them, did his duty, and is posthumously celebrated even today. The story was good in that it taught perseverance and motivation.

[Elizabeth Smitheram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot and the pictures were great and had a lot of detail in them. However, I would not keep this in a classroom because it deals with religion and I would not want students to think I was promoting one religion over another. However, I would not mind having it in my own house. It's a story about a ram based on the Old Testament.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jewish folk tale about the white ram that Abraham sacrificed instead of his son, Isaac. I'd never heard this story before, but I love hearing Biblical tales that don't necessarily show up in the Bible. Parents, this is not a gory tale, and the scariness of Isaac's almost-death is barely even noticeable in the telling of the story. My 8yo son liked it.

[BookOfLife]

Hear an interview with author Mordicai Gerstein on The Book of Life podcast's September 2007 episode at www.bookoflifepodcast.com!

[Tiffany]

Rachael bawled her eyes over this book.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful retelling of the Old Testament story.

[Aya Chadwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustration. It's just a sad story...

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mordicai Gerstein is jewish and wrote these books filling them with jewish legends and historical facts. The kids loved the pictures and the story was interesting.

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Then the ram lay down on the altar, and his soul flew into God's hands."

Nope, his throat was slit and he was sacrificed. He didn't just peacefully drop dead on the altar. If you are going to use picture books to spread religion to children, as least do it factually. And if the religious story that you want to tell contains elements that are too violent or scary for children, maybe that's a clue that it shouldn't be made into a picture book.