Tali is under the Table

Written by: Tamar Weiss-Gabay

Illustrated by: Zoya Cherkassky

This story was inspired by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov's

The Turkey Prince

Dear Parents,

When Tali is angry and refuses to join everyone seated at the table for lunch at Grandma's, her cousin Shira knows exactly what to do: she joins Tali under the table, and slowly leads her back to the family gathering. Later, when grandma is angry, Tali knows exactly how to help her.

"As in water face to face, so the heart of man to man"

 (Proverbs 27:19)

King Solomon likens the relationships between people to staring into a body of water. When we look into a body of water, we see our own reflection. Our surroundings mirror our feelings, like a reflection in the water: if we smile at a friend – our friend will smile back; if we pout – they will too. Moods are part of our daily lives. The attention we give a friend, as well as the sympathy and love we show toward them, help to "remove their spikes", exactly as Shira did with Tali.

Enjoy reading and discussing this book together!

Proposed Family Activities:

• You may want to look at the illustrations closely together. You could ask your child to pick a character, and tell the story from his/her perspective.

• Perhaps you could ask your child what Shira did by joining Tali under the table. You could share ideas for ways out of situations in which you feel angry, sad, or upset. You may want to share an experience in which you helped cheer someone up.

• It is not always easy to discern how others are feeling. You may enjoy standing with your child in front of the mirror, taking turns to make faces, as the other guesses which emotion those faces are designed to convey.

A recipe for Tali's Grandma's apple pie

Ingredients

2 eggs, whisked

2 apples, peeled and diced

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

1 tablespoon of cinnamon powder

I cup of self-raising flower (or 1 cup of regular flour and a teaspoon of baking powder)

2/3 cup of white sugar

½ cup of oil

A pinch of salt

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.

Mix the diced apples with the cinnamon and brown sugar.

Whisk the eggs and white sugar together, and add the rest of the ingredients.

Mix the batter well.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the pie is firm and golden.

Serve hot next to a scoop of vanilla ice cream.