Andrew Galitzer has always loved to draw. As a kid, he could often be found doodling and creating sketches that brought his imagination to life on paper. Doodling was also a tool he used to help focus in school, which at first was to the chagrin of his teachers who assumed he was distracted.
“In elementary school, I drew during almost all my classes,” Galitzer shared with The Jewish Link. “Each year I would explain to my teachers that drawing helps me pay attention, and I’d ask permission to do so. Teachers were impressed to see that I was in fact listening, answering questions and doing well on tests.”
And so Galitzer continued to draw throughout elementary school. He just had one issue: artist’s block. Galitzer always wanted to draw, but never knew what to draw. Turning to friends for inspiration, he drew anything from dragons, to planes, to sports teams, to logos and more. He always wanted to create his own children’s book, and actually crafted his own with drawings, printed (rhyming) text, and staples—he even drew a fake barcode on the back. Galitzer cherishes these early memories and actually still has these original works.
“When I started sixth grade, one of my rabbis made a deal with me,” Galitzer continued. “He said I would only be allowed to draw in his class if I drew something related to what we were learning. At first I was annoyed by the limitation, but then it was like something clicked and a world of possibility opened in my mind. In his class, I always knew what I was going to draw—Torah Comics.”
Each comic summarizes a parsha on one page in colored pencil drawings. Galitzer continued to draw Torah Comics throughout sixth grade, and displayed them at his bar mitzvah in a gallery. Through a family connection, he met the creator of the famous “Dry Bones” cartoon and learned how to create comics more professionally by using the PaintBucket tool on the computer.
Galitzer was thrilled with this new technique and created many more comics, completing the Torah cycle a few times over as he continued to improve in high school. Once he was finally ready to fulfill his dream by publishing them in a book, he sent a manuscript to dozens of publishers. He eventually got it published by Gefen Publishers at just 20 years old.
“I still don’t believe it,” Galitzer continued. “Finding out that Gefen was going to publish my Torah Comics book was a dream come true. I get the chills every time I find it in a bookstore.”
In addition to publishing the book, Galitzer has hosted cartooning workshops and taught over 4,000 people in the last few years. He’s taught at camps, schools, shuls and on Zoom. This summer he ran his fourth annual free Tisha B’Av drawing class and drew the Beit Hamikdash with thousands of families from around the world.
“It blows my mind when I stop and think about it,” Galitzer continued. “I’m doing what I love, and just that fact alone is an incredible bracha that I don’t take for granted.”
Galitzer’s nickname and business is aptly named, AND-i-DREW, as in “I learned Torah, AND-i-DREW.” His main goal is to bring Torah to life, a mission he wants students to join him in. He created a contest for kids in grades one through eight to draw their own Jewish comic. The winner will get their comic featured in the “Jewish Comics Experience” comic con and be awarded a $100 prize. Students can enter at torahcomics.com/jewce.
“It means the world to me that so many schools and shuls are adopting this method of learning,” Galitzer explained. “So many schools have brought me in to inspire their students from my story, and teach students how they can connect to their classes through comic making.”
To support students in this engaging learning method, Galitzer created his own parsha curriculum, workbook and recorded workshops to empower schools and families. Now, anyone who visits his website can watch his step-by-step cartooning workshops and create their own Torah comic book.
Galitzer is currently studying robotics at Drexel University in Philadelphia to bring new ideas to life through engineering. He continues to work on Torah Comics projects and visit communities for cartooning workshops—he’s even creating a new line of Torah Comics with jokes to be featured in The Jewish Link! Most recently, he co-created the Parsha Showdown Card Game with the Knapp family and translated his book into Spanish. He is hoping to raise funds to translate the book into Hebrew with quoted pesukim.
To keep up with Galitzer’s journey, you can follow @TorahComics on Instagram or Facebook. You can also visit his website, torahcomics.com and subscribe to his mailing list.
Adam Samuel is a journalist from Teaneck. He blogs at www.adamssoapbox.com.
