Can I Tell You About Being Jewish?

This would make the perfect companion book to a unit of work on Judaism. It covers all the expectations within the educational framework and gives it from a faith perspective.

This is a very readable look at what it means to be Jewish both today and in terms of the religion's long history. The book is organized as a journal that a twelve-year-old Jewish girl, Ruth, shares with her close friend, Ayla, who is Muslim. There is some plot centered around Ruth's family to frame the narrative.

This book is expansive and inclusive. It makes room for people with a strong belief in God and those who are more cultural Jews. There are descriptions of holidays, customs and values.

Those who are Jewish can learn from this book as can those who are not. I found this to be an excellent, liberal take on the Jewish faith.

I tried to like this one, and I did in some spots. It’s a decent enough explanation of much of Judaism, but there are some things that don’t work for me. First, it’s written in the form of a diary. But it reads not like a young girl’s diary but like someone writing in the form of a young girl'’s diary. It just doesn’t seem realistic. Also, there are some issues with the explanations. For example, even in the beginning she’s explaining sabbath. She says that some people don’t keep it. Ok, but what does that mean? Keep sabbath? She’s talking to a Muslim girl, but she says Shabbat is the Jewish sabbath, but what is that? The multiculturalism is nice, but it seems forced. The drama within the pages seems to be thrown in to add realism......... but seems forced. It just didn’t work for me.

This book is an excellent explanation of being Jewish as told through the words of a twelve year old Jewish girl to her non Jewish curious girlfriend. Simple answers to questions never asked but wondered. I loved the book and can’t wait to buy for my family’s young ones.

When you read this book, you will feel as if you are having a conversation with the author. The author begins the book by telling the reader that she had a diary that she kept that answered a friend’s question about why she was Jewish. She said her mother’s Jewish heritage meant that she and her brother were Jewish even though their father was a Jewish convert.
She tells her friend that the Torah is like the trunk of a tree and that Jewish customs are like the branches that grow from it. She also discusses her upcoming Bat Mitzvah and what it means, as well as telling you about her brother’s Bar Mitzvah ceremony.
You will enjoy learning about Judaism in this friendly, enlightening way, it is a good introduction to Judaism for children and young people!