The NY Daily News reports: Top rabbis have endorsed a new children’s book teaching Orthodox Jewish kids about kidnapping and molestation – a historical first for the sheltered community.
“Let’s Stay Safe” is backed by Torah Umesorah, a rabbinical authority, and ArtScroll, the maker of religious prayer books.
The glossy pages show a stranger sporting a yarmulke and a boy asking for help finding his mom – eerie reminders of the murder of Leiby Kletzky, 8, killed in July after being kidnapped in Borough Park.
“It is important for parents to understand that the Kletzky tragedy was an exception to the rule, and that the vast majority of predators are people the children know,” said Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, who oversaw the book’s creation.
Torah Umesorah started distributing the books last month to Jewish bookstores and its 700 affiliated schools across the country.
“As a result of the Kletzky case, there is a greater need for parents to be aware of safety issues,” said Rabbi Shmuel Klein, director of publications for Torah Umesorah.
An earlier book, Rabbi Yehoshua Danese’s “Yoni Ploni never talks to STRANGERS!” was self-published, but didn’t have enough rabbinical support to be a hit.
Last month, Danese added two pages titled “What Should I Do If I Get Lost?”
Brooklyn Jewish bookstores now sell the new edition.
“I got a chill up my spine when I heard about the Kletzky case,” Danese said. “The challenge is how do you meet the balance of alerting the community without terrifying them?”
The Kletzky family knows of the books, a relative said.
“It’s a sad time we live in,” said a teary-eyed Malky Bodenstein, a Kletzky cousin, thumbing through the books at Eichlers Bookstore in Borough Park. “I want to cry. It’s sad you have to tell your kids about these things.”
{NY Daily News/Matzav.com Newscenter}
It also is sponsored by Agudas Yisroel and has their logo on the cover
Excellent book and thank you once again Rabbi Horowitz for waking up the world to the realities that we face..
Great book way overdue. We have read it to our children numerous times and stopped for discussion. Yasher koach Rabbi Horowitz!
edit: Levi Aaron was not a predator…
I work in a Sforim store, and this book is flying off the shelf.
It is sad but true that there is a need for this type of book in the Torah community.
My friend wrote this book. For some reason I don’t see her name on the front cover. Let me just tell you what a fantastic person she is. May she be blessed with much success.
To # 1- I didn’t see a dollar sign anywhere on the cover.