JayneB Reviews / Book ReviewsEastern Europe / Hanukkah / Historical / Humor / Jewish characters / Jewish-faith / religion / Small-TownNo Comments
Whether you spell it Hanukkah or Chanukah, most books only have one story. This book goes to eleven!
Funny, Silly, Heartwarming, Delicious!Izzy Abrahmson’s holiday stories have been enjoyed by readers and listeners around the world. This book collects eleven of his favorites, plus the novella, “Out of the Woods.”
Winters in The Village are crazy, but the promise of holiday candles always light the heart.
No two years are ever the same. You’ll find out…Who invented the Chanukah present?
What’s with Joseph Katz and all the dreidels?
Where did the Chanukah Duck come from?
When will it stop being so cold?!
Why did Rabbi Kibbitz leave that cryptic message?
And how will Rachel Cohen save The Village?
Frozen flames, muddled challah, and a community of family and friends.
Dear Mr. Abrahmson,
I had a great time reading these short stories – and novella – about life in Chelm which is sometimes in Russia and (rarely) Germany (depending on how boundaries go). Pretty soon I’m going to need to find more words besides delightful and charming when writing these reviews.
“Winter Blessings” takes place in the Village of Chelm (“you pronounce it like you’ve got something stuck in your throat”) during Chanukah (or Hanukkah).
The essential ingredients are family, food, friends, fire, and all the stories we tell each other on those long cold winter nights.
There are a few repeats from the other book but lots of new and exciting ones such as Shemini’s campaign among her family to get a Chanukah present, a dreidel hustler out to win a bride (who gets outsmarted by his future father-in-law), a inept baker’s apprentice who creates a Challah Blob, a discussion between Rabbi Abrahms and Reb Cantor about the advisability of giving Chanukah presents which leads to a story about a Chanukah bush and a reminder about potatoes, and some superstitious Cossacks. Not everything is lighthearted (see Cossacks) but most of it is and I’m looking forward to more. In the meantime, I’ve subscribed to your podcast and requested the bonus Chanukah story. B
~Jayne
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Jayne
Another long time reader who read romance novels in her teens, then took a long break before started back again about 25 years ago. She enjoys historical romance/fiction best, likes contemporaries, action- adventure and mysteries, will read suspense if there’s no TSTL characters and is currently reading more fantasy and SciFi.
