Poisoned Passover
Who's poisoning Passover guests in Crestfall, Illinois? When Julia Donnelly brings chopped liver to her Torah group friend Devorah's seder, she has no idea it will result in mass poisoning, murder, and a connection to past arson. Julia, wife of Crestfall's mayor, and Rabbi Fine, Torah study group leader, become involved in a mystery surrounding Sophie's Kosher Deli. Someone is trying to put her out of business. Is it Lester Pintner, a developer who wants to put up a building, her good-for-nothing son Milton who wants to transform the store into a pool parlor, Sweet Cheeks, a mysterious woman who has attached herself to Milton, or perhaps Nate, another deli owner who wants to buy Sophie's store.
Meanwhile, Julia must also deal with challenges on the home front when her son Sammy refuses to go to school. She has a full plate!
How does she cope with everything? By teaming up with the Rabbi, using powers of observation and logic from Jewish tradition to solve a confusing puzzle of danger and greed!
The Missing Hand
Grievous sins from the past and ill-gotten gains from World War II Bohemia threaten the peaceful Jewish community of Crestfall, Illinois. Julia Donnelly, the wife of the mayor, is pressed into service to find a bejeweled "yad," which means hand in English. It is a tool that guides people in reading the Torah, the Jewish Bible.
With no experience except watching TV detective shows, Julia and her Torah group leader, Rabbi Avrum Fine, attempt to solve the mystery. After discovering the yad, another mystery appears, much deeper. Exploring good and evil in the man who brought the yad to America and escaped punishment for his crimes after the war.
View all Torah Group Mysteries books:
The Synagogue
Take a tour through the gathering place of the Jewish people. This book
covers it - the synagogue's history: its ritual objects; and how it serves
as a house of prayer, a house of study, and a house of meeting. Explore
synagogues around the world and discover what makes your synagogue
special. By the end of the tour, you will understand why the synagogue
is our people's home away from home.
Little Rabbit Finds His Way
Have you ever been angry when adults treated you like a child? Have
you missed someone you love who has gone away? Little Rabbit, a
Potawatomi Indian boy, lives in the area that will become Niles
Township. While his father and older brother have left to keep
American settlers from taking their land, he must stay behind
with the women, children and older men. Little Rabbit decides
to prove he is old enough to help his tribe. He journeys through
the deep great woods looking for guidance from the spirits. He
discovers that becoming an adult depends less upon the strength
of the warrior and more on the Little Rabbit within. This first in a
series of stories on the history of Skokie shows us how the
Potawatomi, our first settlers, lived off the land and face the
arrival of the American settler.
Bitty's Trip To Town
Did you ever wake up and think your day was going to be
just like any other and then you were surprised by
something completely unexpected? That’s what happens
to Bitty Perlmutter and her brother Tom when they go to
town with their father. Bitty tells us about her life in early
Skokie, the cabin she and her family live in, the chores she
and Tom have to do and their trip to town. We go with her
to the general store as she listens to the men discussing the
Civil War. On the ride home, Bitty faces serious danger while
Papa and Tom are left behind. After riding to town, saving
Mama’s turkeys from drowning, and receiving a mystery
package, Bitty has had a very surprising and wonderful day.
The Great Fire of 1910
Have you ever promised to take care of a little sister or brother,
looked away just for a minute, and they’re gone? Have you ever
had to do something that really scared you? Seven-year-old
Ambrose Brod has to make some tough decisions in The Great
Fire of 1910. Instead of enjoying the excitement of Market Day,
Ambrose is forced to face his most secret fear. Can he help
his family? What can the Village learn to make sure this terrible
event will never happen again? The third in a series of stories on
the history of Skokie shows how the Village came together in a
time of loss and how one event in a child’s life shaped his future.
