Rachel Friedman Breaks The Rules

I’ve written before about how prayer has never been my particular form of connection to Judaism, but I’ve never touched on what it means to go to Synagogue. Synagogue is about more than just prayer. It’s a social gathering, a means of building community and catching up with friends. However, services can also be incredibly long which is rough on children. For that reason, my friends and I would sneak out and play “squares” on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, the protagonist of Sarah Kapit’s delightful new illustrated chapter book, Rachel Friedman Breaks The Rules, has no such recourse. 

As my Bubbie would say, Rachel has no zitzfleish. She has ADHD and cannot sit still for services. She also struggles to follow the most basic rules laid out for her by her father, like not crossing the street alone. Sometimes her rule breaking pans out – putting peanut butter in challah dough is apparently delicious. Other times her impulsivity is a problem – eating snacks in the middle of services and disturbing the congregants is definitely not the way to go. Luckily, Rachel has some something I did not. A very supportive and engaged Rabbi who helps her work through this. 

The characters in the books are diverse. Rachel’s  father is a single Dad trying to figure out how to raise two kids on his own since their mother passed away. Her best friend has two moms and the congregants in her Synagogue come from many different backgrounds. Plus, the Rabbi that helps Rachel and her dad sort through their rule breaking issues is a woman. 

Rachel is a likeable character that I’m sure many children in the target age group will relate to. She’s also Jewish, and the star of a whole new series of chapter books that includes spunky illustrations. While she may have a bigger personality than me, and practices a different variety of Judaism than I did, I think my child self would have been delighted to know she was out there. Maybe even encounter her in a regular library instead of one exclusive to the community and stocking only books from independent Jewish publishing presses. 

I’m sure Rachel’s further adventures will prove just as exciting as Rachel Friedman Breaks The Rules. I’m hoping they also incorporate themes of Jewish leaning just like this first book did. Watching Rachel claim her Jewish identity as part and parcel of her personality- which some may see as a problem until the Rabbi teacher them otherwise- was a powerful moment. Young readers everywhere, both Jewish and not, are sure to relate.  

Note: BookishlyJewish received a free copy of this book from the publisher

---

Find It: Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon