French Immigrants, 1840-1940 Book

This children's book is a deeply moving story of hope, survival, and tragedy. It is based on the true story of a miniature Torah scroll and a secret bar mitzvah that took place in 1944 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. This Torah scroll was taken on Space Shuttle Columbia by Ilan Ramon, an Israeli astronaut, and was incinerated with everyone onboard when the space shuttle exploded upon reentry on 1 February 2003. I found the story to be clear, stark, uplifting, also soul-crushing. It is an emotional rollercoaster. It is not easy subject matter for a children's book, but that does not make it any less meaningful or important.

While I found the story to be clear, it seems other readers might have struggled with it. It is important to remember that it is a true story, simplified for the medium of a short illustrated book, but accurate in its details. It is also important to remember that the Torah is not a good luck charm, but a sacred text and a connection with all those who have read it before you. Rabbi Dasberg did not die because he gave the Torah away; he died because he was killed by the Nazis. Ilan Ramon borrowed the Torah scroll from Professor Joachim "Yoya" Joseph, who had been the one to use the miniature Torah scroll at his bar mitzvah at Bergen-Belsen and who thereafter became its custodian. Ramon borrowed the Torah in order to share its story - of tragedy and endurance - with the world, from outer space. The Torah was not meant to stay in outer space. It would have come home with the crew. Ilan Ramon commented on the fragility of the world, when he looked down upon it from outer space. And it is this fragility that haunts the reader at the end of the book.