This eloquent collection of short stories and Jewish proverbs, folktales and essays reminds readers that a single life is fleeting and small, and yet each individual is connected to something larger and more constant than themselves. With simplicity and clarity, these stories many of them centuries old manage to bridge the distance between past and present, between individual virtues and the strength of a community. Like any good book, Hakaks does not provide answers. Instead, it asks the right questions the same questions our ancestors asked themselves, and the ones our childrens children will ask themselves, too. (Alizah Salario)

Lev Hakak is a Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles. He published many books and research articles in the field of Modern Hebrew Literature. As well, he writes Hebrew poetry and prose, and he is the editor of the only Hebrew periodical in the US, Hador: The Hebrew Annual of America.