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Emunah with Love and Chicken Soup: The story of Rebbetzin Henny Machlis, the Brooklyn-born girl who became a Jerusalem legend
Her home was small, yet everyone - hundreds of people - found a place in it. Her heart was open even wider than her doorway, and somehow every Jew - thousands and thousands of them - found a beloved place in it. That was Rebbetzin Henny Machlis.
Henny was a girl from Brooklyn - Idealistic, friendly, down to earth, lots of fun. In Sara Yoheved Rigler's masterwork, Emunah with Love and Chicken Soup, we see how this "typical" American Jewish girl transformed herself into a legend - a holy woman who many believe was the Sarah Imeinu (Sarah, our Matriarch) of our time.
If you've ever spent time in Jerusalem, you have probably heard of the legendary Machlis hospitality, how they fit 100-150 (and sometimes more) people in a Yerushalayim (Jerusalem)-sized living room, how Henny would prepare for every Shabbos (Sabbath) forty chickens, three different kugels, countless salads, four desserts, and, of course, gefilte fish, chicken soup, and cholent (stew) - both traditional and vegetarian.
But as Rigler, a friend of Henny's, discovered as she interviewed Henny's fourteen children, relatives, students, and friends, the Shabbos hospitality was just one glowing facet of the multifaceted diamond that was Rebbetzin Henny Machlis.
A master of prayer, a virtuoso in chessed (loving-kindness), an adept in child-rearing, a wise Torah teacher, an expert at working on middos (character traits), and a successful shadchannit (matchmaker), Henny Machlis regarded a life of Torah and mitzvos (Torah-commandments) as a great treasure that she was eager to share with everyone.
And her emunah (faith)? That was where her light shone the most brightly. She lived, everyone said, on the planet of Emunah, a place where miracles were everyday occurrences, because she knew, really knew, that only Hashem (G-d) is in charge and He can do anything. And, for Henny, He often did.
Like a steaming bowl of chicken soup, this book will satisfy you, comfort you, and heal you - in a way that only Rebbetzin Henny Machlis could. Sip it. Savor it. And be inspired and transformed.
Henny was a girl from Brooklyn - Idealistic, friendly, down to earth, lots of fun. In Sara Yoheved Rigler's masterwork, Emunah with Love and Chicken Soup, we see how this "typical" American Jewish girl transformed herself into a legend - a holy woman who many believe was the Sarah Imeinu (Sarah, our Matriarch) of our time.
If you've ever spent time in Jerusalem, you have probably heard of the legendary Machlis hospitality, how they fit 100-150 (and sometimes more) people in a Yerushalayim (Jerusalem)-sized living room, how Henny would prepare for every Shabbos (Sabbath) forty chickens, three different kugels, countless salads, four desserts, and, of course, gefilte fish, chicken soup, and cholent (stew) - both traditional and vegetarian.
But as Rigler, a friend of Henny's, discovered as she interviewed Henny's fourteen children, relatives, students, and friends, the Shabbos hospitality was just one glowing facet of the multifaceted diamond that was Rebbetzin Henny Machlis.
A master of prayer, a virtuoso in chessed (loving-kindness), an adept in child-rearing, a wise Torah teacher, an expert at working on middos (character traits), and a successful shadchannit (matchmaker), Henny Machlis regarded a life of Torah and mitzvos (Torah-commandments) as a great treasure that she was eager to share with everyone.
And her emunah (faith)? That was where her light shone the most brightly. She lived, everyone said, on the planet of Emunah, a place where miracles were everyday occurrences, because she knew, really knew, that only Hashem (G-d) is in charge and He can do anything. And, for Henny, He often did.
Like a steaming bowl of chicken soup, this book will satisfy you, comfort you, and heal you - in a way that only Rebbetzin Henny Machlis could. Sip it. Savor it. And be inspired and transformed.
575 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2016
9 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Sara Yoheved Rigler
14 books10 followersSara Yoheved Rigler is an acclaimed author and lecturer. She resides with her husband and children in Jerusalem's Old City.
She is a regular contributor to aish.com, the educational website of Aish HaTorah. Her articles have also appeared in many anthologies as well as in Mishpacha Magazine and Hamodia.
She is a regular contributor to aish.com, the educational website of Aish HaTorah. Her articles have also appeared in many anthologies as well as in Mishpacha Magazine and Hamodia.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 27, 2018
This book beautifully captures who Henny Machlis was, showing how 1 person can change the world for the better. For anyone else who wants to change the world for the better (like me), this book has insights, inspirational thoughts and stories and empowerment to do just that.
It's over 500 pages, but it's generally light reading and it's hard to put it down
Terrific book. Very inspiring to read the life of a woman who made God, family and all of those in need, the center of her life. Henny was not perfect, but she strived to be close to God, relying on Him for everything- and most of what she relied on Him for happened! If you want to be inspired to become more spiritual, this is a great read to get practical tips from a holy woman.
Sara Yoheved Rigler has gifted us with another treasure of a book. The way she put it together is amazing.It will fill up your Shabbos afternoons with warmth.It's well written with a good sprinkling of personal accounts, practical tips and a keen insight into the life a real life model of Sarah, the matriarch.
The book will have laughing and crying. But most important it won't leave you unchanged and uninspired. Rather you will find your self doing your very own personal soul searching. You will see people around and the world differently.
I wish it was on audible- it is worth reading and listening to and even sharing with a friend.
It's over 500 pages, but it's generally light reading and it's hard to put it down
Terrific book. Very inspiring to read the life of a woman who made God, family and all of those in need, the center of her life. Henny was not perfect, but she strived to be close to God, relying on Him for everything- and most of what she relied on Him for happened! If you want to be inspired to become more spiritual, this is a great read to get practical tips from a holy woman.
Sara Yoheved Rigler has gifted us with another treasure of a book. The way she put it together is amazing.It will fill up your Shabbos afternoons with warmth.It's well written with a good sprinkling of personal accounts, practical tips and a keen insight into the life a real life model of Sarah, the matriarch.
The book will have laughing and crying. But most important it won't leave you unchanged and uninspired. Rather you will find your self doing your very own personal soul searching. You will see people around and the world differently.
I wish it was on audible- it is worth reading and listening to and even sharing with a friend.
November 15, 2017
Amazing woman, amazing book. While reading, Henny will make you smile and lift your spirits.
I have so many favorite stories I have stickers that are in the book so I could quickly find a section I want to re-read. It is a must read.
I have so many favorite stories I have stickers that are in the book so I could quickly find a section I want to re-read. It is a must read.
April 20, 2020
Amazing book that changed my life! Full of ways to view challenges in life from a more positive perspective and to connect to G-d. A modern day righteous woman proves this level of faith is attainable in our generation. Kol haKavod
June 13, 2017
What an incredible book about an incredible person. I feel like a better person just having read it. I have a line of friends waiting to borrow it.
July 2, 2017
Amazing book! An inspiring biography of a very special woman. Well researched, with great pictures and lots of personal recollections. This book has left me with much food for thought.
July 23, 2017
What an inspiring life altering book. Henny Machlis was a tzadeket. This is a book to refer to throughout your life.
October 15, 2017
What an inspiring woman/story/book!! If people were half the woman she was, this world would be a better place!!!
April 2, 2021
Amazing, inspiring, and beautifully warm! Rebbetzin Machlis was a remarkable woman, and I highly recommend this book. I hope I can emulate the kindness, love and Emunah that she possessed.
October 10, 2021
So inspiring and moving. Wow.
November 2, 2024
Need inspiration? Stuck in a rut? Read this book!
June 26, 2018
Life changing!
April 23, 2017
This is my new favorite book.
And that is saying something, because To Kill a Mockingbird has been my #1 for about 5 years. Before that I didn't have a #1, because a book has to do so many things right before I could say 'this stands out uniquely, this is the best.'
For anyone unfamiliar with Henny Machlis, as I was before reading this, she was an "average person," who rose to extraordinary heights. By extraordinary heights I don't mean in prestiege, profession, or finances. Rather, I mean it in the sense of the staggering beauty of character that a human being can achieve after years of dedicated effort and prayer.
This book is more than just a biography. It has biographical sections, and those are well written, but it really shines in that the biography is just a framework. Rigler takes first person narratives of people who knew Henny, Henny's Torah teachings, examples of how we people have learned from her life and applied it to their own, as well as ways readers can grow from Henny's examples and collages them together into this masterpiece.
I know this put-the-snippets-together style wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, so heads up if your prefer straight narratives, but for anyone who liked Rigler's previous works, (particularly Holy Woman: The Road to Greatness of Rebbetzin Chaya Sara Kramer), who enjooys inspiring biographies, or who is deidcated to the idea of growing their Emunah, I would highly recommend this book.
And that is saying something, because To Kill a Mockingbird has been my #1 for about 5 years. Before that I didn't have a #1, because a book has to do so many things right before I could say 'this stands out uniquely, this is the best.'
For anyone unfamiliar with Henny Machlis, as I was before reading this, she was an "average person," who rose to extraordinary heights. By extraordinary heights I don't mean in prestiege, profession, or finances. Rather, I mean it in the sense of the staggering beauty of character that a human being can achieve after years of dedicated effort and prayer.
This book is more than just a biography. It has biographical sections, and those are well written, but it really shines in that the biography is just a framework. Rigler takes first person narratives of people who knew Henny, Henny's Torah teachings, examples of how we people have learned from her life and applied it to their own, as well as ways readers can grow from Henny's examples and collages them together into this masterpiece.
I know this put-the-snippets-together style wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, so heads up if your prefer straight narratives, but for anyone who liked Rigler's previous works, (particularly Holy Woman: The Road to Greatness of Rebbetzin Chaya Sara Kramer), who enjooys inspiring biographies, or who is deidcated to the idea of growing their Emunah, I would highly recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews