Review: The Many Problems of Rochel-Leah

The Many Problems of Rochel-Leah

by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Felisha Henditirto

Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House Publishers), 2024

Category: Picture Books

Reviewer: Rebecca Klempner

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In The Many Problems of Rochel-Leah, Jane Yolen relates the tale of a distant relative, Rochel-Leah, who grew up illiterate in the shtetl in the 1830s until her great longing to read pushed her to beg, sneak around, and eventually find a way to learn Hebrew. Intially barred from cheder because she was a girl, eventually Rochel-Leah becomes a teacher herself. She's depicted with great spunk and affection.

Henditirto's illustrations nicely support the text. Most of the colors of clothing, furniture, and the forest in and around Rochel-Leah's home are subdued, but her dreams of reading--as well as the contents of books--are suffused with a lovely glow, sparkling with holiness and joy.

While the story presents two solid messages -- "Torah learning is for everyone" and "If you want something badly, persist" -- I'm concerned with the accuracy of the historical background offered in the first few pages of the book. When I shared my concerns with some Yiddishists, librarians, and historians, they verified and clarified the nature of the problems I perceived. The issues are as follows:

1. We're told in the book that "only boys are taught to read." Although most girls in the Pale of Settlement in 1830 would not have been taught to read Hebrew, many of them did know how to read in Yiddish. There is no differentiation between Hebrew and Yiddish made by Yolen in this book. 
2. We're told that not only does Rochel-Leah not know how to read, but her mother and aunts and all the other women around her don't either. As noted above, there would almost certainly be some women in the shtetl who could read, and they would be well known for this skill among their neighbors. There were Yiddish translations of the siddur, the Torah, and many other holy books widely available. In settings in which few women could read, those who did read would often lead prayers for the other women during Shabbos and holidays, and literate women would read to illiterate ones in small groups on Shabbos day about the parashah of the week. 
3. Finally, Yolen tells us that Rochel-Leah's brothers, who can read Hebrew, read the newspaper. My consultation with Yiddishists and historians revealed that not only were newspapers in the Pale more likely to be in Yiddish than in Hebrew, newspapers didn't really exist in the Pale at all until after the availabilty of cheap paper in the 1840s made periodicals affordable to the masses.

The author's note at the end -- unlikely to be read to or by young readers of a picture book -- does say this is a "true(ish) story," but the story itself will be what children will remember most upon closing the cover of the book. I wouldn't want readers of this book to walk away with inaccurate understandings of what life was like for Jewish girls in the Pale in the 1830s. However, I do appreciate the positive messages in The Many Problems of Rochel-Leah and the love for learning that the story represents.

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Reviewer Rebecca Klempner is the author of A Dozen Daisies for Raizy, Adina at Her Best, Glixman in a Fix, and (most recently) How to Welcome an Alien. Her writing for adults has appeared in Tablet, Hevria, Hamodia, Binah, The Jewish Press, The Wisdom Daily, and many other publications. Additionally, she is a freelance editor. She lives with her family in Los Angeles.