First, congratulations. A few words about the new book?
Thank you. 'Crossing the Border' brings together three very beautiful ancient Chabad plots, which I have reworked and even created contemporary frame plots for, with the aim of adapting them to today's young readers.
What boundary is crossed in the book?
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The book's central plot recounts, perhaps for the first time in a complete and orderly manner, the story of the heroic escape of Chabad Hasidim from communist Russia nearly 80 years ago.
Over 1,000 people - men, women and children - smuggled themselves across the border with the help of a wonderful industry of document forgery, which was run by a number of morally upright Hasidim. They did this in several groups, taking enormous risks, which, by the way, did not all turn out well. The other two plots in the book are also related to 'crossing borders', although in different ways.
It is assumed that the book will be released on the 5th of Tevet, Chabad's "Book Festival"...
That's right... For many years now, I have been trying to time my book launch for this date, which in Chabad has great significance and is indeed considered the 'Holiday of Books'.
Please explain to someone who is not a Chabad follower what the nature of this holiday is?
About 38 years ago, a threat was created to one of the spiritual works of the sixth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson zt"l. Valuable books were stolen from a huge library that the Rebbe had painstakingly collected and collected for the purpose of expanding and enriching Torah creation. His son-in-law, the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, then waged a determined struggle to return the theft. And when this struggle was successful in the Sada, the Rebbe sought to leverage the event and declared the date of victory - the 5th of Tevet - the "Feast of Books". The Rebbe called for increasing the number of holy books in home and public libraries on this day each year. Indeed, many people purchase holy books on Tevet as well as educational reading books that can strengthen the reverence of the young.
You mentioned that the current book contains Chabad plots, but most of your children's books are aimed at the general public.
I would put it differently... Most of my books are indeed not characterized by a particular tone, and in contrast, some of the books draw from the rich Chabad literary heritage. But all of the books, without exception, appeal to and are also suitable for the general public. The current book will also captivate, with God's help, any reader. It has all the literary elements to make this happen.
Finally, as someone who has written and published several dozen reading books, do today's children still read like they used to?
Fortunately, in our community, children and teenagers definitely read. Both because they are much less connected to screens than their peers in the general public, and also because our awareness of the written word is very strong.
However, one must be aware of the expanding and threatening phenomenon of comic books, which is more like 'watching a movie' than reading. There is nothing wrong with consuming comic books, but it is recommended to do so in moderation. Children who become addicted to books that are all drawings accompanied by short captions will later find it difficult to devote themselves to long continuous texts.
