Creating Angels: Stories of Tzedakah

by Barbara Diamond Goldin

Overview

Award-winning storyteller Barbara Diamond Goldin has collected and retold twenty-four stories about tzedakah in this inspiring volume. Some of these stories are based on oral tales, like "The Two Beggars," which is from Afghanistan, and "The Rabbi's Blessing," which is from Tunisia. Some stories, like "A Town of Baruchs" and "The Rabbi and the Rag Dealer" are Hasidic in origin, while others, like "Ox and Herbs" and "The Two Keys," are from much older sources. Some of the stories are based on midrashic tales. The Hebrew word tzedakah is often translated as "charity," but it actually means "justice" or "righteousness." According to the Jewish Sages, tzedakah means we have an obligation to give to those in need, not only when we are feeling generous, but on a regular basis. Barbara Diamond Goldin has brought these stories of tzedakah together in the hope that they will inspire the young and the old, the rich and the poor, to give to those in need and to adopt a righteous sensibility and sensitivity akin to the commandment of performing acts of loving-kindness. By performing these mitzvoth, we all engage in tikkun olam, repair of the world, and, according to the Sages, each good deed we perform in the physical world creates an angel in the metaphysical world. This book should encourage readers to create their own angels and to recapture the significance of the mitzvah of tzedakah to the Jewish community, even to the world, today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742552845
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/30/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.41(d)

About the Author

Barbara Diamond Goldin is currently the youth librarian in a public library. She is the recipient of the Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award from the Association of Jewish Libraries for her significant contribution to Jewish children's literature. She is the author of many works of fiction and non-fiction.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 1. Mullah Avraham's Fine Silk Coat
Chapter 3 2. The Water Carrier
Chapter 4 3. Are Not the Ways of Heaven Wondrous?
Chapter 5 4. A Rich Woman's Diet
Chapter 6 5. Creating Angels
Chapter 7 6. The Unusual Innkeeper
Chapter 8 7. The Frangrance of Good Deeds
Chapter 9 8. Mud Makes the Difference
Chapter 10 9. The Two Beggars
Chapter 11 10. Ox and Herbs
Chapter 12 11. The Kaddish
Chapter 13 12. The Loan
Chapter 14 13. The Rabbi's Blessing
Chapter 15 14. The Watchman
Chapter 16 15. A Town of Baruchs
Chapter 17 16. The Dirty Pastry
Chapter 18 17. The Rabbi and the Rag Dealer
Chapter 19 18. The Tutor's Wages
Chapter 20 19. You Know What Friends Are For
Chapter 21 20. The Ring
Chapter 22 21. Two Keys
Chapter 23 22. Being Choosy
Chapter 24 23. A Partner You Can Trust
Chapter 25 24. The Evil Urge
Chapter 26 Glossary
Chapter 27 Bibliography