The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey: A Graphic Novel of Jewish Wisdom and Wit in the Wild West (Rabbi Harvey, 1) Paperback – July 1, 2006

Comic books were anathema in my house when I was a child. My mother sniffed at them so sniffily that whenever I bought an Archie comic book, sneaking it into my room like the contraband it was, guilt trumped pleasure every time. Only one comic strip was lauded in those days—Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy—because Bushmiller was her father's patient. Before Maus, the term graphic novel most likely brought to mind In Cold Blood or possibly Lady Chatterly's Lover, both of which were on our bookshelf.So when Steve Sheinkin's The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey crossed my desk, I had to stop my nostrils from flaring and quiet the voice of inner Mom-scorn. Subtitled A Graphic Novel of Jewish Wisdom and Wit in the Wild West, the three-book Rabbi Harvey series would have made even my comic-disdaining mother open the front door wide with welcome.Because Rabbi Harvey rocks!Sheinkin combined his two childhood literary passions—a book called 101 Jewish Stories and a collection of Wild West adventures—into the persona of Rabbi Harvey. Rabbi Harvey keeps the peace, settles disputes and outsmarts the bad guys in the fictional frontier town of Elk Spring, high in the Colorado mountains.The rabbi's adventures are built upon classic Jewish texts and teachers: Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, the Baal Shem Tov, Talmudic teachings and Pirke Avot, The Ethics of the Fathers. It's whimsical; it's wonderful; its wise and wacky with equal amounts of insight and sight gags. Time and again I marveled to be reading texts I have studied for years transposed to dusty corrals and cornfields. From wisdom gathered across the centuries, and filtered through a passel of delightful characters, come issues we continue to struggle with today.Each chapter begins with a dilemma that Rabbi Harvey soon rides in to solve. Stagecoach bullies, ruthless outlaws, a thieving traveling salesman and more are all vanquished by Rabbi Harvey, who carries little more than the smarts beneath his 10-gallon hat. In a chapter called "Stump the Rabbi" the setting is the most popular event at the yearly Elk Spring Fair. For five cents, Rabbi Harvey promises to answer any question. A most poignant dilemma closes the chapter. The issues raised by the Elk Spring challenger predate the Shoah (Holocaust). Rabbi Harvey's answer, in the form of another question, evokes it."Something has been bothering me, Rabbi.Yes, Albert?Slavery, the Civil War, stealing land from the Indians…How could all these things happen in our country?I don't understand Where was God?"Rabbi Harvey thought for a moment. Then he responded with a question of his own."Where were the people?This got to them both to thinking."In Sheinkin's hands, the Chasidic tale The Chicken Prince comes to life anew. A boy named Asher assumes the role of the Chicken Prince, taking up residence beneath the dining room table. Asher disrobes and begins pecking for corn from the ground. Rabbi Harvey approaches his distraught parents and offers his help. Before they know it, the rabbi has also disrobed, joining Asher beneath the table where they both start clucking and pecking for grain. Then one day, Rabbi Harvey shows up with two shirts and asks Asher if wearing a shirt would get in the way of his being a chicken. Asher agrees that it would not. Pants, socks and shoes follow and soon enough Asher trails the rabbi out from beneath the table.The Wild West ending is even better than the original. Although the link above offers one lesson to this parable—Am I limiting my potential because of my self-perception?—Sheinkin made me consider the Chicken Prince from a different angle. Perhaps this tale is also about how we perceive others. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov could just as well have been reminding us that when it comes to those whom we think are different or limited, we must first get down on their level, see and experience the world as they do, and then and only then might they feel safe enough to join us in ours.Pirke Avot asks, Who is wise? And answers, He who learns from every man. I won't claim to be wise, but I will say that I am delighted to learn from Rabbi Harvey, my new and completely guilt-free comic book hero.

This book definitely has originality and, as the title states, a wittiness to it. Normally I’m not too much into graphic novels, but this worked and thought it was quite well put together. The illustrations were excellent and add an extra dimension to the storytelling. We follow the tales and adventures of Rabbi Harvey, who has a knack for handling dilemmas, riddles and problems, big and small, in Elk Creek, Colorado in the West. He encounters oddball, eccentric characters and seemingly unsolvable situations in his small town; nonetheless, Rabbi Harvey always has an answer for everything. And, let’s face it: he’s just a fun character to follow.Not only were the episodes quite entertaining and clever, but there is moral aspect to the tales. I probably enjoyed the first in the series, “Meet Rabbi Harvey”, the best, but all were engaging and humorous.A quick, very enjoyable read and I’ll look for more episodes for Rabbi Harvey from this author in the future.

Again, there is nothing wrong with the book itself, only the gift wrapping Gift wrapping paper was torn again, and the gift card was only partially printed.The gift wrap tearing could be the result of some thoughtless packing for shipment. There was only one bubble wrap sheet in the box, and it was laid on top of the book, leaving the back of the book to rub against the bottom flaps of the box. If the wrappers would think a bit, they could see that the best way to insure that the gift-wrapped book would suffer no damage would be to place the book BETWEEN top and bottom wrapping materials. Then the gift wrap would be much less likely to sustain damage.As it was, the corners of the gift wrap were all damaged, and there was one tear in a folded flap. This was less than the last time, but still a ways from being attractive and perfect.

What a great read. Funny, clever one shot stories where the art isn't so great but serves its purpose. I recommend.

This is just a lovely book that my nieces & nephews enjoyed! Good going author!

So this has been the favore series of two of our boys’, one an avid reader and another very much a reluctant one. They have reread these books tons of times and don’t get tired of them. Steve, any additions to the series?

Fun retelling of Traditional stories. The stories are more approachable for some young people. We use it as part of a Jewish education program.

I admit to initial doubts about the Rabbi Harvery books, but when I finally read them, they were extremely fun and entertaining. He admits he takes otherwise known Jewish stories, and rewrites them in a western setting, but they are good stories, and the retelling is done really well. The dialoge is often hilarious, and these books really appeal to the American Jewish public.