Some time ago I wrote a children’s book which has been sitting in a file on my computer. With everything that has happened in these past few weeks, I thought it was time pull it out and share with everyone. It is a very simple story but I think it speaks to a question that many people are asking right now: where is Hashem in all of this tragedy?
Simply put, Hashem is everywhere. Hashem is the light in this world. A light that is sometimes hard to see, sometimes nearly impossible to find, but He is always there. We may not always understand what happens in this world and why, but we must hold onto Hashem and trust Him. There is a greater picture, a fully realized canvas that we cannot understand or comprehend.
We must hold tight to Hashem during the good times and, more importantly, during the difficult times. We must stand with our homeland and embrace the people in Eretz Yisrael with whom we have a bond more powerful than blood. We are one people with one home and one G-d and we must always remember that Hashem is everywhere.
We have all tried to describe Hashem to ourselves but how do we describe Hashem to children? How do we explain Hashem’s presence in a simple, kid friendly way? This is my attempt to do just that:
Hashem is Everywhere
As Daniel walked home from synagogue with his father he asked, “Daddy, where’s Hashem?”
Daniel’s father answered, “Hashem is everywhere.”
“Is Hashem under that rock?”
“Yes.”
Daniel ran over to the rock and turned it upside down. “I don’t see Him! I just missed Him!”
Daniel’s father laughed.
Daniel continued walking with his father.
As they reached their house Daniel asked, “Daddy, is Hashem inside our house?”
Daniel’s father replied as he opened the door, “Yes.”
“I don’t see Him. Where is He?”
“Daniel, why don’t you look in the family room while I make us some lunch.” Before his father could finish his suggestion, Daniel began searching the room.
Daniel turned over all the cushions, crawled behind the couch, and peered behind the book cases. “I can’t find Him. I keep missing Him.”
Daniel stopped his search as he heard his father yell, “Come in and eat lunch. You can look later.”
Daniel bounced into the kitchen and sat down at the table.
After eating half of his sandwich Daniel asked, “Daddy, is Hashem in my sandwich?”
Daniel’s father laughed as he said, “Yes, Hashem is everywhere.”
Daniel paused and said with a smile, “He tastes good.”
Daniel and his father laughed as they finished their lunch.
“Can I start looking for Hashem again?”
“I think you should take a nap now. You can look again after that.”
Daniel yawned, “Looking for Hashem makes me sleepy.”
“You’re right. It takes a lot of time and energy. It can make you very sleepy.” Daniel slowly climbed the stairs with his father following him.
As Daniel got into bed he asked his father, “Daddy, can you check the closet for monsters?”
“There are no monsters in the closet, only Hashem.”
“Can I see?”
“You can’t see Hashem. He is everywhere at the same time.”
“Why can’t I see him?”
“Hashem is… invisible. He is always watching you and always protecting you.”
Daniel closed his eyes as he said, “Just like Mommy is always with me. Right?”
“Right. Just like Mommy.”
I totally forgot about your having written this children's story about Hashem. I agree with you, with everything going on in Israel it seems appropriate to pull it out and share it.
ReplyDeleteI like it, I did not think I would but it is very nice, Robin
ReplyDeleteThank you Robin. I appreciate your honesty.
ReplyDeleteHey Sean, I originally posted this on the writers group on Linkedin. 1000 apologies for the duplication.
ReplyDeleteIn the spirit of the virtual kibbutz that has been discussed in other places I have an offer. It's actually from my 16 year old daughter Sophie so here goes. She is a high school fine art student who aims to make aliyah next year and study art at an Israeli uni. Her 'thing' is characterisation and colour. I showed her your story and your comments and she was engaged and wondered whether you'd be interested in her sending you some illustrations. This is absolutely non-commercial, non commitment based and really is just for her to develop her skills and gain opinions on her work from professionals. She just wants some experience. If you were happy to accept this offer I guess that all she'd need was some gentle briefing for interpretation. How do you see your characters being depicted, how many illustrations for the book etc. What do you think?
Hi Ian. Thank you for your interest and please thank your daughter for me as well.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see what your daughter comes up with for the book! I can barely write let along illustrate so this is a very exciting opportunity.
The story is geared toward young children so having the little boy being the same age as the readers is what I was thinking. The father should be early to mid thirties. The background details of the home should denote that it is a Jewish home as well. Beyond that, I think the story is open to interpretation regarding illustrations.
With regard to the number of illustrations, my though is that there should be illustrations roughly every two lines. Of course, I am open to the number of suggestions as well so long as they match up with the story.
I don't know where this project will go but, at this point, I am really excited to see the interest that you are taking in it. I hope that this is enough information to start. Please let me know if you need any additional details or if you have any questions. I look forward to hearing from you again!