By
– September 1, 2011
In the beginning, according to the 16th century myth by Rabbi Isaac Luria, God sent forth light in fragile vessels that shattered, scattering sparks everywhere. People were created to collect those hidden sparks and so repair the world, a concept that fuels the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam. Nowhere is the grand sweep of the Ari’s tale more intimately told for children than in this luminous new picture book, where Schwartz’s lyrical text glows inside Swarner’s soft mixed-media spreads. The book opens with cozy conversation between a grandfather and his granddaughter under a night sky. She asks the universal question, “Where did all the stars come from?” His answer extends the Ari’s story in a compelling, easily understood metaphor. Swarner’s vessels are mysterious, masted ships that sail festively out across a deep blue sky. The stars in heaven are light from those vessels, but other sparks still need to be found on earth. With each good deed she can do, the grandfather tells her — planting trees, helping her baby sister, being kind to animals, loving someone — the granddaughter releases another spark to become a star up in the sky. She will make the world a better place. Bit by bit, with each individual helping, the vessels and the world will become whole. In an afterword, Schwartz further explains the source of the story and the resonance of tikkun olam. This book will be treasured by religious schools and families alike. For ages 4 – 8.
Reading Guide
Sharon Elswit, author of The Jewish Story Finder and a school librarian for forty years in NYC, now resides in San Francisco, where she shares tales aloud in a local JCC preschool and volunteers with 826 Valencia to help students write their own stories and poems.
