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We’ve made it! Houses sparkling and chametz-free. Fabulous food, gorgeous new clothes. Finally — it’s Pesach!

With Yom Tov and Chol HaMoed here, we have time to breathe. To relax. To learn. To be entertained — and to be inspired.

And — finally, finally! — we have time to read books that are engrossing, enthralling, illuminating, absorbing.

ArtScroll has a new book for every age and every stage, perfect for Pesach reading. Here’s a sampling:

My Last Year in Mitzrayim: Chaim Greenbaum, bestselling author of novels including The Will and The Mexico File, shows he can write amazing and exciting books for younger readers too. My Last Year in Mitzrayim brings us the fictional “diary” of Amiasaf, a Jewish boy enslaved in Pharaoh’s Egypt. Readers ages 8 and up will cry — and laugh — with Amiasaf, as he describes his terrible enslavement and the wondrous events that took place as the redemption grew near. Pesach will become so much more meaningful as our children experience galus and geulah with children their own age, right there in Mitzrayim. Click here to get yours today at artscroll.com!

Silver and Gold: Teens are going to love this one! It’s about everything that’s important to them: Friendship, growing up, secrets (when to keep them, and when not to), and trust. Written beautifully by Zivia Reischer, Silver and Gold is one of those rare books that is fun to read, and even more fun to think about and share with friends. Click here to get yours today at artscroll.com!

 

Stardust: Popular author C. B. Weinfeld has a marvelous talent for finding stories about unexpected greatness. Where others see a shabby old lady and her shy granddaughter, she sees a strong and generous personality in the making. An old copper box decorated with pretty engravings holds more than aromatic snuff — it contains a man’s desperate desire to succeed, and his even more powerful wish to keep his father happy. This is a collection of stories that leave us amazed. Sometimes they bring a tear to our eye, sometimes they make us laugh — but always, they strengthen our belief in others and in our own potential for greatness. Click here to get yours today at artscroll.com!

 

Promised Child: Thirty-five years ago, Avner Gold’s The Promised Child burst onto the Jewish literary scene and became an instant classic. Now rewritten, with fourteen brand-new chapters, it is twice as long as the original, and more than twice as good. Set in 16th-century Poland, this is a dramatic tale of vengeance, arson, betrayal, abduction, and rescue — historical fiction at its most exciting. Click here to get yours today at artscroll.com!

A great light began to shine more than two centuries ago — and, finally, it illuminates our lives today, in our own language. It is the light of Rabbeinu Yaakov Abuchatzeira’s masterly commentary on the Torah, Pituchei Chotam.

The Abuchatzeira name is undoubtedly familiar to our readers. Who has not heard of the Baba Sali, Rav Yisrael Abuchatzeira zt’l, Rabbeinu Yaakov’s grandson, and Rav David Chai Abuchatzeira shlita, of Nahariya, Rabbeinu Yaakov’s great-great-grandson?

Now we can get to know their saintly ancestor — and, even more important, the Torah that he taught — through his unusual, inspirational, and fascinating Torah commentary.

Who was Rabbeinu Yaakov Abuchatzeira?

Later known as the Abir Yaakov, Rabbeinu Yaakov was born in 1806. At the tender age of sixteen, he became rav of his town in Morocco, and soon afterward he became the leader of all Moroccan Jewry. For close to 60 years he led his community with almost superhuman dedication. He was famed for his miracles and loved for his devotion, and after his death his grave became a site for pilgrimage and prayer.

And he was a talmid chacham. Oh, what a talmid chacham! He immersed himself in the study of both Talmud and Kabbalah, achieving mastery of all areas of the Torah and a profound understanding of its secrets.

In Pituchei Chotam, Rav Yaakov explores vital concepts that we can learn from the holy words of Chumash — the nature of our world, the unique Jewish mission, the primacy of Torah, the eternal battle between the yetzer hara and the yetzer tov. While the concepts are deep, the commentary can be understood on many levels, by scholars and laymen alike.

ArtScroll’s Pituchei Chotam gives us the text of his commentary in a flowing translation. (The most esoteric teachings were omitted.) The first volume includes Rabbeinu Yaakov’s commentary on Sifrei Bereishit, Shemot, and Vayikra, while Volume 2, Sifrei Bamidbar and Devarim, is in preparation and iy’H will be released in time for the weekly Torah reading.

Rav David Chai Abuchatzeira says of his great-grandfather’s sefer, “It is a … storehouse of fear of God and encouragement to serve Him wholeheartedly. May [those who learn his Torah] and all who aid in this endeavor merit all that is good, physically and spiritually. May all their desires be fulfilled in the best possible way….”

Amein!

To order your copy of Pituchei Chotam today, click here: artscroll.com