L ifestyle /C ulture
Local Author Pens Book on Jewish Festivals
B OOKS
JESSE BERNSTEIN | JE STAFF
RONIT TREATMAN, a local
writer and the former president
of the Philadelphia Jewish Voice,
published a book intended to
explain Jewish festivals to people
who may be connecting to their
Jewish ancestry for the first time.

“Hands-On Jewish Holidays”
is available in English, and trans-
lations of the nearly 300-page
self-published book will be
available in Russian, Spanish,
Portuguese and Hebrew in the
near future. All versions will be
accessible in both paperback and
as an e-book, via Amazon.

To Treatman, the multi-
lingual daughter of Israeli
diplomats, “Hands-On Jewish
Holidays” is the culmination of
two years of writing, an expres-
sion of her long-held values and
a practical solution for newly
conscious Jews.

“This is kind of a mash-up of
a parenting book and a Jewish
traditions book, built on the
holidays,” she said. “We are our
children’s first teachers, all of us.”
Treatman, 53, grew up in
Israel, Ethiopia and Venezuela,
and lives in Center City with
her family. She served in the
Israel Defense Forces, working
in the Liaison Unit to Foreign
Forces and studied at Hebrew
University and
Temple University, earning a degree in
international business.

She’s has long been interested
in transmitting Jewish ideas
April 11th - 25th
Celebrate our Jewish culture together in virtual space; Israel, Music, Food, Film and Community!
For more information and to register for each event, go to: www.jewishphilly.org/bucks
Sunday, April 11th; 10:00AM - Concert Tour of Jerusalem with Yonina
Yoni and Nina Tokayer, also known as "Yonina", are an Israeli musical duo acclaimed for their weekly home
videos which have reached millions of viewers around the globe. Visit Jerusalem from your living room
with Yonina while enjoying their positive music and soft harmonies; Jewish, Israeli and International music.

Sunday, April 18th, 12noon - Baking with Chana
Celebrate baking and check out the kitchen situation with Chana Weinstein of Newtown, PA! Her “Sitch in
the Kitch” program is the perfect opportunity for kids who love cooking and baking and also like to cook
along or watch! Learn how to make zebra cookies!! After registering you will get the ingredient list in case
you want to bake along with Chana!
Sunday, April 18th, 1:00pm - Rabbi Pickle, of the Kosher Pickle Factory on Pickles; get ready to make pickles!
Rabbi Pickle will lead a hands-on demonstration on making pickles using the same method as the original
pickle masters of the famed Lower East Side of New York. Participants will learn the history behind the art
of pickle making, the method, learn about and gain insight to the deeper meaning of many of the
ingredients and make your very own container of pickles. After registering you will get a list of ingredients.

Saturday, April 24th, 9:00pm - Film and Discussion, Let Yourself Go
Watch this entertaining and humorous Jewish film at your leisure and come together on Saturday evening
the 24th for a discussion about the film!
"A comedy about a self-involved psychoanalyst's (played by Tony Servillo) tightly ordered world is thrown for a loop
by two women: Claudia, a high-spirited fitness instructor, and Giovanna, his ex-wife who lives next door and still does
his laundry." Registrants will receive the link for the film by April 20th.

Sunday, April 25th, 7:00pm - Evening of Muzika around Bucks County
Musicians from our Bucks County Kehillah synagogues and the community will play their specialties. Get
ready to dance, and sing along from home! Come for your favorite and stay for all! You will not be disappointed.

For more information about the event, please contact Carrie at buckscounty@kehillah.jewishphilly.org
22 APRIL 8, 2021
JEWISH EXPONENT
and practices through holidays
and recipes, whether through
her blog or the Philadelphia
Jewish Voice; “Hands-On Jewish
Holidays,” named after her
long-running blog, marries that
interest to her passion for the
Bnei Anousim — the millions
of people around the world who
trace their Jewish ancestry back
to forcibly converted Spanish
and Portuguese Jews.

For the last eight years,
Treatman has been involved
with Reconectar, an Israeli
group that seeks to serve those
Bnei Anousim as they try to
make sense of their connec-
tion to Judaism. Founded in
2015 by Ashley Perry, director
general of the Knesset Caucus
for the Reconnection with the
Descendants of Spanish and
Portuguese Communities, the
organization is inundated with
questions about Jewish customs,
practices and festivals.

About two years ago,
Treatman, who was faced with
the same flood of queries, started
researching and writing ideas,
and didn’t stop until recently.

Writing in simple language
intended for those encountering
Jewish customs and festivals
for the first time, “Hands-On
Jewish Holidays” covers every-
thing from the basics of Shabbat
to instructions for crafting a
model of the Beit HaMikdash
on Tisha B’Av, and even features
a lengthy bibliography, courtesy
of Treatman’s son, David.

“This book wrote itself with
children in mind, specifically my
children,” Treatman writes in
the introduction. “When I was a
new mother I needed to step up
to the challenge of transmitting
Judaism to my kids. Much of
what I found around me was not
very inspiring. I needed to come
up with creative ways to engage
them. Here is a compilation of
how we immersed ourselves in
the Jewish holidays. We are all
children at heart. I hope this
book inspires you to engage with
the Jewish holidays in a creative
and meaningful way.”
Ronit Treatman wrote “Hands-On
Jewish Holidays” over two years.

 Courtesy of Ronit Treatman
Since its March 14 publi-
cation, Reconectar has touted
“Hands-On Jewish Holidays” as
a resource to its Portuguese- and
Spanish-speaking constituen-
cies. Treatman’s book, according
Perry, is a perfect encapsulation
of its mission.

“There is such a thirst for
Judaism and to understand
Jewish traditions amongst
the Bnei Anousim and other
emerging communities, so
it is so important that there is
easy to understand and acces-
sible content for those who were
not raised in a formal Jewish
community,” Perry said in a press
release. “It is so important for us
in the formative Jewish commu-
nity and in Israel to help these
people reconnect, because their
story is one of centuries-long
survival against the odds and
it is the greatest challenge and
opportunity for our generation.”
Though the impetus for
the book was her work with
Reconectar, Treatman saw
the obvious fungibility of the
idea for other emerging Jewish
communities. Treatman trans-
lated the book into Spanish on
her own, and hired translators
for the forthcoming Russian,
Portuguese and
Hebrew versions.

All of Treatman’s efforts were
volunteered. “I get a lot of satisfaction from
this work,” she said. l
jbernstein@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM