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The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah
Eight tales by Nobel laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer--one for each night of the Hanukkah celebration--tell of a world in which miracles abound, love triumphs, and faith prevails. Full-color pictures throughout.
87 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
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176 people want to read
About the author
Isaac Bashevis Singer
548 books1,111 followersIsaac Bashevis Singer was a Polish American author of Jewish descent, noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978.
His memoir, "A Day Of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing Up in Warsaw", won the U.S. National Book Award in Children's Literature in 1970, while his collection "A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories" won the U.S. National Book Award in Fiction in 1974.
His memoir, "A Day Of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing Up in Warsaw", won the U.S. National Book Award in Children's Literature in 1970, while his collection "A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories" won the U.S. National Book Award in Fiction in 1974.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 4, 2018
"Love comes from the soul and souls radiate light."
Isaac Bashevis Singer presents eight stories, one for each night of Hanukkah . . . though you'll need more willpower than I to read only one at a time. These are touching tales of heroism, love, loss, and mysterious visitors who arrive needing help, but repay their hosts a thousandfold. Highly recommended for fans of folk and fairy tales.
Isaac Bashevis Singer presents eight stories, one for each night of Hanukkah . . . though you'll need more willpower than I to read only one at a time. These are touching tales of heroism, love, loss, and mysterious visitors who arrive needing help, but repay their hosts a thousandfold. Highly recommended for fans of folk and fairy tales.
January 1, 2025
This book I had to read out loud (something we sometimes do at dinner) before I could appreciate it. On first reading (before the out-loud reading) I thought the author was moralizing, but hearing it that way evaporated with the simultaneous reading and hearing.
It has now hit me that what these stories are about is the real possibility of magic.
We are often told that life is full of miracles: the miracle of a newborn baby, the miracle that life even exists. But miracle though those and a million other examples may be, a miracle is not the same as magic. Magic happens when there is an occurence that by all reason and logic should not have happened.
The other day my husband was cutting a banana in half, and I corrected him because he was about to cut the fruit sticker in half along with the banana, and thus would have to peel it off twice. He laughed at me. But you can see why I find magic in the world. I usually proceed with the belief and perception that I have to manage everything, or otherwise nothing will work. So when in fact things do work without my having had to handle them, presto: magic.
I loved that Isaac Bashevis Singer also finds magic in the world.
I have read some of these stories three times, some twice, and some only once. The ones I read three times were those I've had the chance to read out loud to my grandchildren (of whom three of the four are already readers themselves). At this point there is only one of the stories I didn't like. That one I've read just once. So far.
It has now hit me that what these stories are about is the real possibility of magic.
We are often told that life is full of miracles: the miracle of a newborn baby, the miracle that life even exists. But miracle though those and a million other examples may be, a miracle is not the same as magic. Magic happens when there is an occurence that by all reason and logic should not have happened.
The other day my husband was cutting a banana in half, and I corrected him because he was about to cut the fruit sticker in half along with the banana, and thus would have to peel it off twice. He laughed at me. But you can see why I find magic in the world. I usually proceed with the belief and perception that I have to manage everything, or otherwise nothing will work. So when in fact things do work without my having had to handle them, presto: magic.
I loved that Isaac Bashevis Singer also finds magic in the world.
I have read some of these stories three times, some twice, and some only once. The ones I read three times were those I've had the chance to read out loud to my grandchildren (of whom three of the four are already readers themselves). At this point there is only one of the stories I didn't like. That one I've read just once. So far.
January 3, 2025
Read January 2, 2025
What a compilation of beautiful stories to celebrate Hanukkah! From a barren couple to a stolen child, from a parakeet with a personality to a couple fleeing the Nazis; each story is at least as engaging as the one before. The stories are as follows:
1. A Hanukkah Evening in My Parent's House
2. The Extinguished Lights
3. The Parakeet Named Dreidel
4. Menashe and Rachel
5. The Squire
6. The Power of Light
7. Hershele and Hanukkah
8. Hanukkah in the Poorhouse
The themes of faith, love, loss, devotion, and perseverance, and this tradition that lives in a people in a way that binds them together through millennia is truly moving.
Read one story for each day of Hanukkah!
What a compilation of beautiful stories to celebrate Hanukkah! From a barren couple to a stolen child, from a parakeet with a personality to a couple fleeing the Nazis; each story is at least as engaging as the one before. The stories are as follows:
1. A Hanukkah Evening in My Parent's House
2. The Extinguished Lights
3. The Parakeet Named Dreidel
4. Menashe and Rachel
5. The Squire
6. The Power of Light
7. Hershele and Hanukkah
8. Hanukkah in the Poorhouse
The themes of faith, love, loss, devotion, and perseverance, and this tradition that lives in a people in a way that binds them together through millennia is truly moving.
Read one story for each day of Hanukkah!
August 25, 2023
ENGLISH: This is the fifth time I've read these eight stories about Hanukkah, my favorites among the stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer. Among these, I like these specially:
The parakeet named Dreidel. Menashe and Rachel, about the love of two blind children. The power of light, about two children who escape from the Warsaw ghetto under nazi watch.
ESPAÑOL: Esta es la quinta vez que leo estos ocho cuentos sobre Hanukkah, mis favoritos entre los cuentos de Isaac Bashevis Singer. Entre estos, me gustan estos especialmente:
El periquito llamado Dreidel. Menashe y Rachel, sobre el amor de dos niños ciegos. El poder de la luz, sobre dos niños que escapan del ghetto de Varsovia sin que les capturen los nazis.
The parakeet named Dreidel. Menashe and Rachel, about the love of two blind children. The power of light, about two children who escape from the Warsaw ghetto under nazi watch.
ESPAÑOL: Esta es la quinta vez que leo estos ocho cuentos sobre Hanukkah, mis favoritos entre los cuentos de Isaac Bashevis Singer. Entre estos, me gustan estos especialmente:
El periquito llamado Dreidel. Menashe y Rachel, sobre el amor de dos niños ciegos. El poder de la luz, sobre dos niños que escapan del ghetto de Varsovia sin que les capturen los nazis.
December 5, 2018
Isaac Bashevis Singer is far from your typical Newbery Honor author, a citation he earned three times (Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories, 1967; The Fearsome Inn, 1968; When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw and Other Stories, 1969). He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1978, and also took home two National Book Awards. Singer's vaunted literary reputation is undoubtedly highest among adult readers, perhaps making him most comparable to Esther Forbes, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Randall Jarrell, and Neil Gaiman when it comes to Newbery authors. Additionally, Isaac Bashevis Singer is known to have written his books first in Yiddish, then translated them into English, and I think it's safe to say there aren't many American children's authors who have taken that creative route. Here in The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah, we see a departure from Singer's collections of silly folk stories for kids. While still meant for young readers, the book's tone is more serious, and Singer's respect for Hanukkah is evident in the attitudes his characters show toward the holiday, particularly old Reb Berish, equipped with more Hanukkah parables than any one person will probably ever hear. In these eight short stories of light and hope in the Hanukkah season, of blessings dispensed when needed to believers and unbelievers alike, one feels the deep meaning of Hanukkah to the Jewish people, the historical act of God's faithfulness it commemorates to remind us that there are still better days in the future of mankind. God does not abandon those who choose to live for him, and sometimes when night is darkest and no clear pathway to redemption is apparent, the LORD has ways of showing his protection with great miracles.
"Some people think that in olden times miracles were more frequent than today. That is not true. The truth is that miracles were rare in all times. If too many miracles occurred, people would rely on them too much. Free choice would cease. The Powers on High want men to do things, make an effort, not to be lazy. But there are cases when only a miracle can save a man."
—Reb Berish, The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah, P. 35
In A Hanukkah Evening in My Parents' House, we receive an introduction to how Hanukkah is celebrated in many moderately observant Jewish households, complete with a pious father figure who can't seem to resist sermonizing to his children. A short moral narrative about a boy named Zaddock motivates a young boy of the present time to give alms for the less fortunate, a miracle of its own sort. Following A Hanukkah Evening in My Parents' House is The Extinguished Lights, a harrowing tale of an unnaturally brutal winter and its supposedly supernatural causes. A Hanukkah ghost story, for those inclined to believe in the spectral, The Extinguished Lights tells of a sick little girl whose last Hanukkah wish went unfulfilled the previous year, and the town that goes to great lengths to appease the apparently wroth spirit of the girl to alleviate the terrible winter that has fallen upon them. Even the most intransigent of scoffers can change their minds when ghosts enter the stage. A Yiddish-speaking bird calls upon an observant Jewish family on Hanukkah's eighth night in The Parakeet Named Dreidel, and it feels as if more than mere coincidence is at work when the parakeet's involvement in the family's affairs leads to numerous blessings down through the years, not the least of which is the happy marriage of its new and previous owners. God's hand in the lives of his people can show itself in mysterious and unexpected ways, if we have faith to discern its wise maneuverings.
"Those who deny God always try to explain all wonders as normal events or as coincidences".
—Reb Berish, P. 40
Menashe and Rachel is the story of a blind boy and girl seemingly destined for a life together from early childhood. Menashe is a vivid and imaginative storyteller, capable of weaving spells over his listeners' hearts with the power of his words, and Rachel more than anyone loves to hear them. Menashe's creative artistry is a window to a world Rachel has never seen, for she was born without sight, unlike Menashe, whom disease blinded at age three. But though the two have never beheld the sight of one another, their love is strong and eternal, and neither could endure for long if they were permanently separated. A love this special is reason for the whole world to see and have hope. Next comes The Squire, narrated to a small crowd of kids by old Reb Berish, about a man named Falik and his family. Once blessed with good health and material comfort, the family fell into desolation after being struck down by disease and poverty. Reb Berish takes a moment mid-story to chide the current generation for its stinginess, saying, "Nowadays people are selfish, they don't care about others, but in former times people helped one another when in need." Yet despite the charitable spirit of neighbors and friends when Falik's family hits their rough patch, the proud young man won't accept help...until the day a Hanukkah miracle surprises them all, and Falik's health and monetary resources are suddenly restored. Who can question the presence of a miracle at the perfect time, and not sound boorish? But Reb Berish reminds us that there's always room for unbelief, if that's what one chooses to cling to. Faith and unbelief, opposite sides of the same coin, each able to be held onto with or without logical reason.
"That glimmer of light, surrounded by so many shadows, seemed to say without words: Evil has not yet taken complete dominion. A spark of hope is still left."
—The Power of Light, P. 45
The Power of Light, the short story for which this collection in its entirety is named, thrusts us right into the aftermath of the horrors perpetrated by Nazi Germany on the Jews of Poland, destruction ravaging a land and people, with so much suffering all around. Two teenage survivors of the Warsaw bombing, David (age fourteen) and Rebecca (thirteen), cling to life in an abandoned building. There's no light to be had at night, except for the Hanukkah menorah David rescues one day and brings back for Rebecca, but his best efforts to keep the two of them fed and relatively healthy won't be sufficient much longer. The light of the Hanukkah flame seems to ignite their spirits, as well, to take a crazy chance on escaping war-torn Poland, though Nazi captors lurk everywhere and chances of eluding them all the way to a land of safety are remote. Can a young boy and girl with no one but each other evade death and make it into the loving arms of fellow refugees in the nation of Israel? Is such a flight from the dark even possible without miraculous assistance? Reb Berish is back after The Power of Light to regale his young listeners with Hershele and Hanukkah, about a wild fawn come to the house of honest Reb Isaac and his family. The fawn acts as if it belongs with them, and surely it does: its coming is a sign from God expected by Reb Isaac's barren wife, a sign that the couple is not to be without child forever. Reb Isaac and his long-suffering spouse will know the joy of having a son, as well as the happiness of their communion with the fawn who heralded his coming, two gifts from the LORD under whose dominion they lead their lives.
The eighth and final story in The Power of Light is Hanukkah in the Poorhouse, which I easily consider the best of the entire collection. I would give The Power of Light as a whole at least two and a half stars, perhaps even the full three, and that's mostly because of this final tale. Jacob, an old man in the poorhouse with no one beside him and only his fellow unfortunates to listen as he explains his life story, relates the ordeal he survived in Cossack-occupied Russia, where many young Jews were deported from their homes and forced to live in violation of their most sacred religious beliefs. Just days before teenaged Jacob is to marry young Reizel, the love of his life—a wedding planned to prevent the Cossacks from drafting the boy for military service—Jacob is seized from his home and forced into indentured servitude far away. His dear Reizel cries out that she will wait for Jacob's uncertain return no matter what, but it turns out to be decades before such an option becomes possible. When finally Jacob escapes from his cruel overlords after twenty-two years of exile apart from the girl he dreamed of marrying, he returns home to find a village much different from the one he lived in as a youth. His parents have changed, and so, too, has changed his situation with Reizel, the only girl he would ever want to marry. But the ugliest scourges of evil cannot restrain a heart from loving, even if they can destroy the object of that love. Jacob's past, present, and future may have been stolen from him, but his love for his worthy Reizel is not gone. Even all these years later, as an old man, he looks to the lonely night skies and imagines her as comely and loving as the day they last parted, and knows he will always be close with his Reizel in the memories of his heart, where no man can thieve away and no plague ever kill. As Jacob's rabbi tells him when he speaks of seeing Reizel in the starry sky, "Love comes from the soul and souls radiate light." There is no greater truth among mankind than that. When the only place you hold one as beloved as Reizel is in your memories, there's no where else you care to be.
The Power of Light is a powerful book, especially Hanukkah in the Poorhouse. Isaac Bashevis Singer possesses a rare ability for spinning meaningful stories. The words of Menashe (from Menashe and Rachel) come to mind, where he describes the curious way his own storytelling talent works: "When I'm asked to tell a story I begin to talk, not knowing what will come out. But somehow a story crops up by itself." Similar I suppose it must be for the internationally renowned and admired Isaac Bashevis Singer, who understood equally the depravity and wonder of the human heart, and knew how to speak to it in ways that make universally profound sense. The Power of Light is a keeper, and so is the book's author. In midst of the holiday season or not, I recommend it for anyone.
"Some people think that in olden times miracles were more frequent than today. That is not true. The truth is that miracles were rare in all times. If too many miracles occurred, people would rely on them too much. Free choice would cease. The Powers on High want men to do things, make an effort, not to be lazy. But there are cases when only a miracle can save a man."
—Reb Berish, The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah, P. 35
In A Hanukkah Evening in My Parents' House, we receive an introduction to how Hanukkah is celebrated in many moderately observant Jewish households, complete with a pious father figure who can't seem to resist sermonizing to his children. A short moral narrative about a boy named Zaddock motivates a young boy of the present time to give alms for the less fortunate, a miracle of its own sort. Following A Hanukkah Evening in My Parents' House is The Extinguished Lights, a harrowing tale of an unnaturally brutal winter and its supposedly supernatural causes. A Hanukkah ghost story, for those inclined to believe in the spectral, The Extinguished Lights tells of a sick little girl whose last Hanukkah wish went unfulfilled the previous year, and the town that goes to great lengths to appease the apparently wroth spirit of the girl to alleviate the terrible winter that has fallen upon them. Even the most intransigent of scoffers can change their minds when ghosts enter the stage. A Yiddish-speaking bird calls upon an observant Jewish family on Hanukkah's eighth night in The Parakeet Named Dreidel, and it feels as if more than mere coincidence is at work when the parakeet's involvement in the family's affairs leads to numerous blessings down through the years, not the least of which is the happy marriage of its new and previous owners. God's hand in the lives of his people can show itself in mysterious and unexpected ways, if we have faith to discern its wise maneuverings.
"Those who deny God always try to explain all wonders as normal events or as coincidences".
—Reb Berish, P. 40
Menashe and Rachel is the story of a blind boy and girl seemingly destined for a life together from early childhood. Menashe is a vivid and imaginative storyteller, capable of weaving spells over his listeners' hearts with the power of his words, and Rachel more than anyone loves to hear them. Menashe's creative artistry is a window to a world Rachel has never seen, for she was born without sight, unlike Menashe, whom disease blinded at age three. But though the two have never beheld the sight of one another, their love is strong and eternal, and neither could endure for long if they were permanently separated. A love this special is reason for the whole world to see and have hope. Next comes The Squire, narrated to a small crowd of kids by old Reb Berish, about a man named Falik and his family. Once blessed with good health and material comfort, the family fell into desolation after being struck down by disease and poverty. Reb Berish takes a moment mid-story to chide the current generation for its stinginess, saying, "Nowadays people are selfish, they don't care about others, but in former times people helped one another when in need." Yet despite the charitable spirit of neighbors and friends when Falik's family hits their rough patch, the proud young man won't accept help...until the day a Hanukkah miracle surprises them all, and Falik's health and monetary resources are suddenly restored. Who can question the presence of a miracle at the perfect time, and not sound boorish? But Reb Berish reminds us that there's always room for unbelief, if that's what one chooses to cling to. Faith and unbelief, opposite sides of the same coin, each able to be held onto with or without logical reason.
"That glimmer of light, surrounded by so many shadows, seemed to say without words: Evil has not yet taken complete dominion. A spark of hope is still left."
—The Power of Light, P. 45
The Power of Light, the short story for which this collection in its entirety is named, thrusts us right into the aftermath of the horrors perpetrated by Nazi Germany on the Jews of Poland, destruction ravaging a land and people, with so much suffering all around. Two teenage survivors of the Warsaw bombing, David (age fourteen) and Rebecca (thirteen), cling to life in an abandoned building. There's no light to be had at night, except for the Hanukkah menorah David rescues one day and brings back for Rebecca, but his best efforts to keep the two of them fed and relatively healthy won't be sufficient much longer. The light of the Hanukkah flame seems to ignite their spirits, as well, to take a crazy chance on escaping war-torn Poland, though Nazi captors lurk everywhere and chances of eluding them all the way to a land of safety are remote. Can a young boy and girl with no one but each other evade death and make it into the loving arms of fellow refugees in the nation of Israel? Is such a flight from the dark even possible without miraculous assistance? Reb Berish is back after The Power of Light to regale his young listeners with Hershele and Hanukkah, about a wild fawn come to the house of honest Reb Isaac and his family. The fawn acts as if it belongs with them, and surely it does: its coming is a sign from God expected by Reb Isaac's barren wife, a sign that the couple is not to be without child forever. Reb Isaac and his long-suffering spouse will know the joy of having a son, as well as the happiness of their communion with the fawn who heralded his coming, two gifts from the LORD under whose dominion they lead their lives.
The eighth and final story in The Power of Light is Hanukkah in the Poorhouse, which I easily consider the best of the entire collection. I would give The Power of Light as a whole at least two and a half stars, perhaps even the full three, and that's mostly because of this final tale. Jacob, an old man in the poorhouse with no one beside him and only his fellow unfortunates to listen as he explains his life story, relates the ordeal he survived in Cossack-occupied Russia, where many young Jews were deported from their homes and forced to live in violation of their most sacred religious beliefs. Just days before teenaged Jacob is to marry young Reizel, the love of his life—a wedding planned to prevent the Cossacks from drafting the boy for military service—Jacob is seized from his home and forced into indentured servitude far away. His dear Reizel cries out that she will wait for Jacob's uncertain return no matter what, but it turns out to be decades before such an option becomes possible. When finally Jacob escapes from his cruel overlords after twenty-two years of exile apart from the girl he dreamed of marrying, he returns home to find a village much different from the one he lived in as a youth. His parents have changed, and so, too, has changed his situation with Reizel, the only girl he would ever want to marry. But the ugliest scourges of evil cannot restrain a heart from loving, even if they can destroy the object of that love. Jacob's past, present, and future may have been stolen from him, but his love for his worthy Reizel is not gone. Even all these years later, as an old man, he looks to the lonely night skies and imagines her as comely and loving as the day they last parted, and knows he will always be close with his Reizel in the memories of his heart, where no man can thieve away and no plague ever kill. As Jacob's rabbi tells him when he speaks of seeing Reizel in the starry sky, "Love comes from the soul and souls radiate light." There is no greater truth among mankind than that. When the only place you hold one as beloved as Reizel is in your memories, there's no where else you care to be.
The Power of Light is a powerful book, especially Hanukkah in the Poorhouse. Isaac Bashevis Singer possesses a rare ability for spinning meaningful stories. The words of Menashe (from Menashe and Rachel) come to mind, where he describes the curious way his own storytelling talent works: "When I'm asked to tell a story I begin to talk, not knowing what will come out. But somehow a story crops up by itself." Similar I suppose it must be for the internationally renowned and admired Isaac Bashevis Singer, who understood equally the depravity and wonder of the human heart, and knew how to speak to it in ways that make universally profound sense. The Power of Light is a keeper, and so is the book's author. In midst of the holiday season or not, I recommend it for anyone.
December 3, 2024
Actually I didn't care for these. I was hoping very much to be raised in light and miracles, and to be honest, this didn't do it for me. I appreciated the miracles, but in pretty much all eight stories, kids are starving and near death, and don't play, and are cold. The miracle part was lovely, but right now I need a little more. I really did love the story of The Parakeet Named Dreidel. That was my favorite and the only one that touched exactly what I was looking for.
November 22, 2024
Today we got our first “snow” of the year. I say this lightly because it melted already but remains a timely reminder that winter, my least favorite season of the year, is fast approaching. Now, there are some positive things that take place in winter, but the weather is not one of them, unless of course it is the time I spend in Florida. A heated pool and beach is my ideal way to spend winter, but many would disagree because they tend to mark the passage of time with the changing seasons. I do not live in Florida full time as of yet, so I begrudgingly accept that winter exists, and with it, comes one of my favorite holidays, Chanukah. I have always loved Chanukah because beyond the dreidels and menorah lighting, latkes and sufganiyot, is the message of the small band of Jewish soldiers defeating the mighty Greek army. Being a holiday that children can really get involved in, I used to get as many picture books as I could from the library. My kids had their favorites, but now they are all teenagers and not interested in hearing me act out Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins from memory. I get the books for myself and still read them. This year I decided that an upcoming reading goal is to read some of the Jewish master writers. I got a head start by selecting a children’s book of Chanukah stories by Nobel laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer. The Power of Light speaks to the message of Chanukah and warmed my heart on an otherwise cold day.
For most of life I have been drawn to stories featuring magical realism, where magic occurs in otherwise everyday life events. The best of these stories take place in Latin America, but Jewish writers are known for their own special brand of magical realism. Most of these stories take place in shtetl, villages, such as Isaac Bashevis Singer’s Chelm, a made up village where anything can happen. Chanukah if one thinks about it lends itself to magical realism: a small army of young soldiers defeating the Greeks, children playing the dreidel game so the Greeks did not know that they were studying Torah, oil in the Holy Temple meant to last one day lasting for eight long days. That is the magic of Chanukah and why I tolerate the holiday even if it takes place in winter. As much as I prefer warmth, it would seem weird to kindle the menorah and eat latkes amidst the Florida palm trees. Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote extensively for both adults and children. He once cited five hundred reasons why he wrote for children, and he listed two important ones at the back of this book. The first is that children still believe in G-D. They are pure and believe in the family, angels, devils, witches, goblins, logic, clarity, punctuation, and other such obsolete stuff. They also don’t expect their beloved writer to redeem humanity. Young as they are, they know that it is not within his power. Only the adults have such childish illusions. With this in mind, Singer wrote these eight stories, one for each night of the Chanukah Festival of Lights.
In a short story collection, one usually finds the work to be a mixed bag. Not so for the writing of Isaac Bashevis Singer. His writing is brilliant, and he gets to the crux of each story in less than ten pages, including illustrations. My favorite story is easily The Parakeet Named Dreidel. A family is about to light the menorah from the window of their Brooklyn apartment. They spy a green and yellow parakeet who must have gotten lost from his home and carefully bring him in from the cold. Although they place ads around their neighborhood, no one seems to have lost a parakeet so he remains as the family’s beloved pet, who they appropriately name Dreidel. The twist at the end of this holiday is touching and reminds me both why I love Chanukah and being a pet owner. The other story featuring animals is Hershele and Hanukkah. Reb Isaac and his wife Kreindel had the zchus (merit) to run a squire’s country home. What they did not have were children of their own, but they lovingly brought in children of both of their relatives and raised the children as their own. One night as Isaac was about to light the menorah on the first night of Chanukah, Kreindel hears a scratching at the door. It is a male fawn who they decide to name Hanukkah after the festival. Kreindel believes that this fawn is the answer to their prayers, and what results is the power of the bond between all living creatures. Hanukkah and Dreidel were the stars of this book for me.
Chanukah is about overcoming adversity. There is no time in recent history where this is more true than reclaiming Jewish pride after the Holocaust. I tend not to read Holocaust stories, but the title story The Power of Light takes place in the Warsaw ghetto. Teenagers Dovid and Rivka have escaped the ravages of the ghetto and desire to meet up with the partisan fighters in the forest. They have vowed to marry when they come of age, yet both are apprehensive about fleeing in fear that they might get caught. It is the first night of Chanukah, and Dovid has procured the necessary items to light a makeshift menorah. This action sparks Rivka’s soul, and she convinces Dovid that the time is now to leave Warsaw. Chanukah has given her the strength to prevail over evil no matter how difficult the task at hand is. Each of these stories is just as compelling as the next. Many take place in a shtetl and involve people with little money achieving their own Chanukah miracles. Other stories touch on the theme of outsmarting army conscription whereas others involve magical realism of the prophet Elijah or some unnamed benefactor. Each story is accompanied by an illustration by Irene Lieblich who grew up in a shtetl close to where Isaac Bashevis Singer lived before immigrating to America. The illustrations are stunning and add to the story, especially that of Hanukkah the fawn; however, a child could easily use their imagination to surmise the story without a visual aide. Such is rhe magic of a children’s pure soul and that of Chanukah as well.
It has thankfully stopped snowing. The seasons change, yet I still long for the sunshine and warmth. One day maybe my wish will come true. In the meantime, as the seasons change, I know that the Festival of Lights will be upon us soon. I might not have young children coming to read about a moose in Alaska or a little person saving Hanukkah or even a reb yid named Hershel saving Hanukkah from a band of goblins, but I still remember those stories. Many innovators believe that adults are children at heart. As I read Isaac Bashevis Singer’s stories for children, I am reminded of both his brilliance and of the purity of children’s minds and souls. I will gear up for festival by polishing the menorahs, spinning the dreidels, and frying up a few batches of latkes. The weather might be cold but the holiday brings in much light and joy. I reminded about its message regardless of the weather by reading these touching stories for children. I can hardly wait for Chanukah to begin next month and I will approach it as a child with unencumbered joy.
🕎 5 stars 🕎
For most of life I have been drawn to stories featuring magical realism, where magic occurs in otherwise everyday life events. The best of these stories take place in Latin America, but Jewish writers are known for their own special brand of magical realism. Most of these stories take place in shtetl, villages, such as Isaac Bashevis Singer’s Chelm, a made up village where anything can happen. Chanukah if one thinks about it lends itself to magical realism: a small army of young soldiers defeating the Greeks, children playing the dreidel game so the Greeks did not know that they were studying Torah, oil in the Holy Temple meant to last one day lasting for eight long days. That is the magic of Chanukah and why I tolerate the holiday even if it takes place in winter. As much as I prefer warmth, it would seem weird to kindle the menorah and eat latkes amidst the Florida palm trees. Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote extensively for both adults and children. He once cited five hundred reasons why he wrote for children, and he listed two important ones at the back of this book. The first is that children still believe in G-D. They are pure and believe in the family, angels, devils, witches, goblins, logic, clarity, punctuation, and other such obsolete stuff. They also don’t expect their beloved writer to redeem humanity. Young as they are, they know that it is not within his power. Only the adults have such childish illusions. With this in mind, Singer wrote these eight stories, one for each night of the Chanukah Festival of Lights.
In a short story collection, one usually finds the work to be a mixed bag. Not so for the writing of Isaac Bashevis Singer. His writing is brilliant, and he gets to the crux of each story in less than ten pages, including illustrations. My favorite story is easily The Parakeet Named Dreidel. A family is about to light the menorah from the window of their Brooklyn apartment. They spy a green and yellow parakeet who must have gotten lost from his home and carefully bring him in from the cold. Although they place ads around their neighborhood, no one seems to have lost a parakeet so he remains as the family’s beloved pet, who they appropriately name Dreidel. The twist at the end of this holiday is touching and reminds me both why I love Chanukah and being a pet owner. The other story featuring animals is Hershele and Hanukkah. Reb Isaac and his wife Kreindel had the zchus (merit) to run a squire’s country home. What they did not have were children of their own, but they lovingly brought in children of both of their relatives and raised the children as their own. One night as Isaac was about to light the menorah on the first night of Chanukah, Kreindel hears a scratching at the door. It is a male fawn who they decide to name Hanukkah after the festival. Kreindel believes that this fawn is the answer to their prayers, and what results is the power of the bond between all living creatures. Hanukkah and Dreidel were the stars of this book for me.
Chanukah is about overcoming adversity. There is no time in recent history where this is more true than reclaiming Jewish pride after the Holocaust. I tend not to read Holocaust stories, but the title story The Power of Light takes place in the Warsaw ghetto. Teenagers Dovid and Rivka have escaped the ravages of the ghetto and desire to meet up with the partisan fighters in the forest. They have vowed to marry when they come of age, yet both are apprehensive about fleeing in fear that they might get caught. It is the first night of Chanukah, and Dovid has procured the necessary items to light a makeshift menorah. This action sparks Rivka’s soul, and she convinces Dovid that the time is now to leave Warsaw. Chanukah has given her the strength to prevail over evil no matter how difficult the task at hand is. Each of these stories is just as compelling as the next. Many take place in a shtetl and involve people with little money achieving their own Chanukah miracles. Other stories touch on the theme of outsmarting army conscription whereas others involve magical realism of the prophet Elijah or some unnamed benefactor. Each story is accompanied by an illustration by Irene Lieblich who grew up in a shtetl close to where Isaac Bashevis Singer lived before immigrating to America. The illustrations are stunning and add to the story, especially that of Hanukkah the fawn; however, a child could easily use their imagination to surmise the story without a visual aide. Such is rhe magic of a children’s pure soul and that of Chanukah as well.
It has thankfully stopped snowing. The seasons change, yet I still long for the sunshine and warmth. One day maybe my wish will come true. In the meantime, as the seasons change, I know that the Festival of Lights will be upon us soon. I might not have young children coming to read about a moose in Alaska or a little person saving Hanukkah or even a reb yid named Hershel saving Hanukkah from a band of goblins, but I still remember those stories. Many innovators believe that adults are children at heart. As I read Isaac Bashevis Singer’s stories for children, I am reminded of both his brilliance and of the purity of children’s minds and souls. I will gear up for festival by polishing the menorahs, spinning the dreidels, and frying up a few batches of latkes. The weather might be cold but the holiday brings in much light and joy. I reminded about its message regardless of the weather by reading these touching stories for children. I can hardly wait for Chanukah to begin next month and I will approach it as a child with unencumbered joy.
🕎 5 stars 🕎
December 24, 2015
This is not a book for young children, but perhaps teens and adults. All of the stories are good, but one about a 13 year old girl and 14 year old boy escaping the Warsaw ghetto, then the Polish woods as partisans, then they were among the first refugee immigrants to Israel. The story is called “The Power of Light.” I borrowed the book of short stories by this winner of the Nobel Prize from interlibrary loan.
December 14, 2010
I reread this for Chanukah each year and still find the magic in the stories that I felt when I first read it. Singer truly captures the power of belief.
January 8, 2025
A Celebration Of Hanukkah
The year's celebration of Hanukkah (December 25, 2024 -- January 2, 2025) had concluded before I had found and read I.B. Singer's "The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah". A book group in which I sometimes participate had selected the book for discussion. "The Power of Light" is a short, magical collection of eight children's stories with equally magical colored illustrations by Ilene Lieblich (1923-2008), an artist who frequently worked with Singer. The stories are set in Singer's native Poland and in Russia with one story set in Brooklyn. Hanukkah is known as the "Festival of Lights". Singer was not a traditional religious believer but these stories suggest how light, love, and faith persist in the face of trouble. These little stories will fascinate adults as well as children.
Robin Friedman
The year's celebration of Hanukkah (December 25, 2024 -- January 2, 2025) had concluded before I had found and read I.B. Singer's "The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah". A book group in which I sometimes participate had selected the book for discussion. "The Power of Light" is a short, magical collection of eight children's stories with equally magical colored illustrations by Ilene Lieblich (1923-2008), an artist who frequently worked with Singer. The stories are set in Singer's native Poland and in Russia with one story set in Brooklyn. Hanukkah is known as the "Festival of Lights". Singer was not a traditional religious believer but these stories suggest how light, love, and faith persist in the face of trouble. These little stories will fascinate adults as well as children.
Robin Friedman
November 23, 2019
A delightful collection of eight short stories for the eight nights of Hanukkah. The stories are about touching relationships, from family to friendship, to romantic partnership. They express hope and hold a sweetness of believing positive things for the future. They contain tragedy and humor. They are presented as innocent children's stories but are set in a range of very challenging times throughout history from the Old World to WWII, to Israel to the United States.
January 3, 2025
I thought the stories in this holiday book were mostly really good and uplifting. They did add some light to my Hanukkah holiday.
I would recommend this as a good book for Hanukkah reading for an older child - late Elementary/early middle school age.
Also: Check out the Children's Picture book of the story " A Parakeet named Dreidel" from this book. It's wonderful
I would recommend this as a good book for Hanukkah reading for an older child - late Elementary/early middle school age.
Also: Check out the Children's Picture book of the story " A Parakeet named Dreidel" from this book. It's wonderful
December 19, 2017
Wonderful shorty stories
December 11, 2021
Very lovely old-fashioned little stories.
January 17, 2023
Lovely stories.
November 12, 2024
We read this book every Hanukkah. We cry and laugh. We feel the richness and the love.
January 6, 2024
So, it seems that I might find myself with a Jewish daughter-in-law. Thus, I figured I should read some "Jewish" things so as to get a bit more savvy regarding traditions and so forth. All this in a similar vein to my reading books with Chinese or Chinese-American characters so as better to understand the cultural background of my son-in-law, whose parents emigrated from China back in the 1970s. Of course I already know something about Jewish culture, having had a Jewish room mate in grad school, and having attended various weddings and bar/bat mitzvah's, and knowing when it's apppriate to snag a Yarmulke, and where to find one, and so forth.
So, anyway, in this book we have eight short tales related to Hanukkah, the eight-day festival of lights. Many of the stories are mythical, magical, mystical. The stuff of fairy tales. I believe my son already did some candle lighting a few weeks back with my grandson, along with, of course, the prospective daughter-in-law and her two little ones.
----------------- 2023 ----------------
This is my second reading of these stories. I got interested in re-reading them, in part, because I'm singing, with the Reading Community Singers, several Hanukkah songs at a Menora lighting on our Town Common in a few days. So, I wanted to get in shape for the experience by learning a bit about the event being celebrated.
FWIW, anyone who read my first review and is curious about my prospective Jewish daughter-in-law, that didn't come to pass.
So, anyway, in this book we have eight short tales related to Hanukkah, the eight-day festival of lights. Many of the stories are mythical, magical, mystical. The stuff of fairy tales. I believe my son already did some candle lighting a few weeks back with my grandson, along with, of course, the prospective daughter-in-law and her two little ones.
----------------- 2023 ----------------
This is my second reading of these stories. I got interested in re-reading them, in part, because I'm singing, with the Reading Community Singers, several Hanukkah songs at a Menora lighting on our Town Common in a few days. So, I wanted to get in shape for the experience by learning a bit about the event being celebrated.
FWIW, anyone who read my first review and is curious about my prospective Jewish daughter-in-law, that didn't come to pass.
October 24, 2013
One of my favorite memories of Chanukah was listening to my father read Jewish literature as the Chanukah candles burned low. Usually from Zlateh the Goat or from the Wise Men of Chelm Stories, his reading was always resonant and deep. Later we would play dreidle. This collection of stories, by Isaac B. Singer, was published late in my father's life and would have made a great addition to our family celebrations. They are poignant, deep, easy enough for a child to be awed by but deep enough for an adult to puzzle over for a long time to come. Nostalgic in the best ways but modern with a tale of the Hanukah parakeet in New York. Eight tales, for eight nights. A must have for your Chanukah collection. Especially this year as we observe Thanksgevekkah.
August 21, 2014
My favorite Hanukkah book. Eight short stories, each wonderfully illustrated, about diverse Hanukkah miracles-- some very obvious, some subtle, but all deeply touching. Settings range from 19th century Russia to the 1940's Warsaw ghetto to relatively modern-day New York.
December 30, 2013
These stories are presented as if they are for children, but this is not a children's book. Of course, the stories are centered on Hanukkah, but they are stories of relationships and families. Quite enjoyable.
December 23, 2015
Review first published on My Blog.
Eight short stories highlighting miracles that have taken place during Hanukkah. Very sweet tales to read after the candles are lit and driedel has been played.
Eight short stories highlighting miracles that have taken place during Hanukkah. Very sweet tales to read after the candles are lit and driedel has been played.
January 26, 2010
Thanks to Susan for finding this precious book of stories for me. Wonderful tales of Chanukah- definately not only for children.
May 17, 2010
I read these stories a lot as a kid.
Read
January 27, 2016Notes to self: Eight different stories, not connected as I remember.
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