Long ago, in Romania, young Saul heard stories of Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel, and he longed to go there, to “wander through grassy fields, climb rocky hills, and walk barefoot on warm, golden sand.” And as he grew, so too did his longing. Finally, he was old enough to travel by train and boat to Israel, where he traded his shoes for sandals. He disembarked from the ship in Tel Aviv and kicked his sandals off to feel the soft sand between his toes. Then, in joy and gratitude, he said the Hallel prayer, a prayer of praise and thanks, and went for a walk along the beach.
While walking in the sand, Saul met a stranger with dark skin and long hair wearing a turban and a tunic. The stranger also had bare feet. Saul didn’t know how to greet him, so he recited the Hallel prayer: “When the Jews left Egypt … ” The stranger responds with the next line: “ … a place so strange to Jacob and all his descendants.” Together, the two travelers finished the prayer and realized that, despite their different appearances, they were not strangers — they were brothers.
In this sweetly illustrated story, children learn about the deep connections Jews have to the land of Israel and each other. It may even inspire them to walk barefoot on an Israeli beach one day.