Highlighting: “Humans of Judaism” by Nikki Schreiber. Artisan. 2024. Hardcover. 256 pages. ISBN-13:
978-1648294013.

Congregation Ahavas Achim in Highland Park was the site of the book launch for the newly released “Humans of Judaism” by Nikki Schreiber on Tuesday evening, November 5. The inspirational book tells 300 Jewish stories on a wide variety of topics, gathered from Schreiber’s hugely popular social media brand of the same name, as well as new content created just for the book. The author grew up in Highland Park, so the setting of the book launch was especially meaningful.

Over 50 people from the area attended the sisterhood-sponsored presentation and quickly bought up the dozens of copies of the book that were available. Some attendees were familiar with Schreiber’s work; others, like Susan Haber of Highland Park, came for a “night out and to hear about the newly published material.” Nancy Levy, also of Highland Park, was familiar with some of the authors of the book’s stories and was hoping to learn more about them at the event.

Sisterhood President Elena Orgel welcomed everyone and shared that her recently arrived copy of Hadassah magazine featured an article about the book, and that Highland Park is the first of many stops on Schreiber’s scheduled publicity tour. Lisa Goldberg, sisterhood member, thought the book would be a wonderful topic for a meeting. “I play mahjong with Nikki’s mother, and as longtime neighbors we have followed the progress of her efforts.” Goldberg introduced the author, whom she had watched grow up, as “one of our own, who is now a social media star.”

Schreiber began by sharing the genesis of the Facebook page and the following Instagram “Humans of Judaism.” It began about 11 years ago, shortly after Schreiber’s father passed away. At a low point, she knew she needed to do something meaningful to honor her late father and “turn the pain into purpose.” What started as a creative outlet blossomed and turned into the multimedia sensation it is today. “The stories people shared about my father during shiva were so meaningful that I wanted to create something that would share the positive,” she said. After the year of mourning concluded, Schreiber realized she wanted to continue the endeavor.

Congregation Ahavas Achim moved to Highland Park from New Brunswick after a fire destroyed the former building on Yom Kippur in 1980. Schreiber noted that her late father was a chazan there that day and there is a newspaper picture showing him wearing his tallit in front of the building. “The shul is the people of the congregation, not the building.” And that is what “Humans of Judaism” is about.

Schreiber describes herself as a very private person with a very public social media presence. Her family history alone could populate volumes of stories: Schreiber’s maternal grandmother was a seventh-generation resident of Jerusalem, and her father was the son of a chazan from Newark. How her parents met and married is an incredible story. Her maternal grandfather owned a grocery store, but would close the store for business so he could learn Torah with one of his customers. Many years later, it was discovered that the man he learned with was the father of his future son-in-law.

Another story was so powerful that Schreiber chose to read it aloud. A mother hid two pieces of chocolate while she was in a concentration camp, planning to save them for her daughter at a time of significant need. When another woman was in pain from giving birth, it was determined that the new mother was more deserving of the chocolate. Some years later, the girl had a sense that survivors of the Holocaust would fare better with enhanced psychological mental health support and organized a conference on the subject. She opened the conference by telling the story about the chocolate and at some point an attendee requested to speak. Before beginning, the attendee addressed the conference organizer saying that she had something to give her. The speaker then presented the organizer with two pieces of chocolate, saying, “I am that baby.”

It isn’t only that the stories are astonishing. They are testimonies of events that allow the people in the stories to live on well beyond their actual lifetimes. Schreiber noted that when people post old pictures on her social media accounts, the comments will also include names of people who have been recognized from the pictures, and additional connections are made.

The book’s publishers contacted her early in 2023 and the book process began. Some of the stories were written by the individuals themselves, some by Schreiber based on material she found or researched, and others a collaboration between Schreiber and the submitter. The effort became even more profound after October 7, 2023. Schreiber noted that digital terror became more of an issue, with Jewish pride somehow becoming controversial and met with hateful comments. The “Humans of Judaism” site became even more important. “We have to become unapologetic and have the next generation continue to be proud of their Judaism. Our history is our stories and we need to use them to continue to grow.”

The “Humans of Judaism” formula that is recreated in the book involves 50% pictures and 50% stories. Each story is a brief page or two that carries a larger impact covering many topics and diverse subjects.

Some of the stories include those of Dr. Howard Tucker, who at 101 years old was recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest practicing physician; Ephraim Hertzano, creator of Rummikub; Ágnes Keleti, Holocaust survivor and, at age 103, the world’s oldest living Olympic champion; Nissim Black, Hasidic recording artist; and Sam Salz, a running back for Texas A&M and the only known Orthodox Jew in NCAA Division I football. There are stories that will appeal to readers of all ages and stunning photographs from around the world. Especially interesting are pictures of people putting on tefillin around the world.

Rivka Kaplow, of Highland Park, submitted a story about her family in pre-state Israel and their arrival after fleeing pogroms in Iraq. “There is still a lot of family history that is not known, but it is nice to share what is known,” she said.

“Humans of Judaism” is available on Amazon and other online and storefront merchants.