PITTSBURGH – Imagine you want to get an important task done, but because of personal limitations, you are unable to do so when a friend unexpectedly offers to help.
But why should this person volunteer?
Because that’s exactly what friends do.
“That’s What Friends Do” is also the title of a recently published children’s book by Cantor Steven Stoehr, which aims to convey the importance of being a helpful, caring friend and accepting those who are different after October 27th. 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue massacre.
“It wasn’t so much that I wanted to teach children about the sad massacre in Pittsburgh and the pain it caused,” said Stoehr in a telephone interview. “I wanted to pick up the necessary message of that day and try to spread tolerance and peace.”
Stoehr, 60, a native of Squirrel Hill, has family ties to Tree of Life, but was never a member himself. Even so, he was devastated after the synagogue was attacked and wanted to make a gesture in response. He first wrote a song using his skills as a cantor, but he felt it wasn’t enough.
“So I was like, ‘Well, how about a children’s book?'” He said. “How about a message that may have some seedlings to reach younger children so that we (in the future) don’t have to worry about the things we worry about, integrate our communities and beliefs, and so on . “
The book tells the story of an anthropomorphic Torah who was injured in the mass shootings and who befriends a coat or Torah blanket that was given to the synagogue after the attack. The Torah tells the cloak it wants to share with the world so that people learn to be nicer to one another, but the slow healing injury leaves the scroll unable to travel.
The mantle then offers to go instead of the Torah. When the Torah asks the mantle why it would make this incredible effort, it replies, “This is what friends do.”
“The plot really is to solidify the idea that you don’t have to live alone, but only have to be limited to your own abilities – you can rely on other people,” said Stöhr. “It’s kind of an ode to Mister Rogers. It’s everything he has ever taught us all: be nice to each other, be helpful, be a friend.”
The story is based on real events.
In April 2019, Stöhr led a group of the international assembly of cantors to give Tree of Life a specially designed cloak for a Torah scroll that was damaged by gunfire during the shooting. Since then, the coat has been sent as a centerpiece for educational events to communities in the United States and Canada.
“It went to Maryland and Minneapolis and Canada and California, and we still want it to happen now, especially with the book,” Stöhr said. “All of this happened and I would hope it will continue to happen.”
Torah mantle trips have stopped because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Stöhr believes the tour will continue once the virus is under control. He hopes teachers or parents across the country will find the book and plan an event with the mantle in their communities.
The book was illustrated by Amber Leigh Luecke and includes a blank outline of the cloak at the end, asking children to create their own Torah cover. Children can take a photo of their drawing and send it to Stöhr in order to receive a needle from the coat.
Stoehr worked with artist Jeanette Kuvin Oren to create the real cloak, which depicts 25 white stars that represent the first responders on the morning of the attack and 11 black and gold stars that represent those who were killed that day.
Stöhr also knew Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of Tree of Life / or L’Simcha years before the rabbi came to Pittsburgh. Stöhr and Myers, who spent much of his careers as cantors before becoming rabbis, were both members of the cantor assembly.
Myers, who survived the shooting, said the book was “a wonderful way to tell the story appropriately for ages.”
“I think it’s really important that there is literature that children can read to help them deal with the severity of some of the terrible things that happen in life on a level that they can understand,” Myers said. “I know there are really good books out there on how children can deal with death, but to this extent, if you are talking about massacres in the United States, how do you help children deal with it? So Steve did something wonderful . “
All profits from the sale of the book go to Tree of Life / Or L’Simcha. That’s What Friends Do is available for $ 17.95 on Amazon and all winnings go to Tree of Life / or L’Simcha.
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