A Rising Phenomenon: The Flourishing of Jewish Comics

Printed journalism has always sought to convey a certain message, verbally or graphically, through its content. The comic, a series of drawings creating a sequence of events, is a very rich field with thousands of styles, and it has seen significant growth in the Jewish-Haredi world in recent years. Due to inappropriate content such as violence or insufficient modesty, the Haredi community largely avoids watching television and movies. Here, the role of comics becomes significant, providing an excellent substitute for the need of Haredi children to visually experience the lines they are reading. Holding something tangible helps children develop their imagination and deepen interest in the plot.

Tzipora Eckstein, 38, married and a mother of five, publisher and owner of the religious comic magazine "Marshmallow," says she entered the field thanks to her children. She began her career as a teacher at 'Beit Yaakov' in Jerusalem, after completing a Bachelor's degree in education and computers, serving in that role for about ten years. A random visit to the library with her children sparked the groundbreaking idea for a comic magazine. "I was curious about what children like to read and saw an ad for a comic book, something very special that parents and children had been waiting for, which was about to arrive at the library. As a mother, it's very important to me to provide my children with reading material that is both interesting and carries some educational message, and this book published at the library somehow caught my eye. I wrote down the title and later went to buy it at a bookstore. It was a bit pricey, but my children were very excited."

When Tzipora saw the spark of joy in her children's eyes, that was the moment she decided to start her own comic magazine. As a teacher, she had plenty of educational ideas, and now all that was left was to start looking for illustrators and language editors, though the journey was not easy.

"I was searching for a professional team that would understand what I wanted on one hand and fit my style on the other, agreeing to do what I asked for. It was difficult. The artists we worked with on the first issue operated under the method of 'I'm the artist, and I know what's beautiful and what's known', and it was very hard for me to accept this. I wanted to bring my ideas from potential to reality in the most precise manner, so from the second issue onward, I hired an art director named Avraham Zamora, a recognized figure in his field, who did all the work for me and recruited the most professional people who work in reputable companies abroad. Nowadays, the 'Marshmallow' magazine is published every three months, but the goal is to reach every child in Israel and publish it every month. "The magazine is sold for a symbolic price because the idea is to provide children with something cheap and quality, which ensures that on one hand, parents do not need to invest a lot of money, and on the other hand, the child learns and enriches his knowledge thanks to the educational messages embedded in the stories." According to Tzipora, the responses so far have been warm and supportive from both parents and children.

How do you adapt comics for the religious community?

"The need for the magazine to suit both the Haredi and the religious communities, and perhaps even the secular, often puts us in tough dilemmas, like which characters to include in the stories. We also faced the question of how to draw the faces of tzadikim we have never seen, such as Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and Rashi. Finally, after consulting with Torah scholars, it was decided to draw only their silhouette, not their actual faces. Furthermore, except for the 'Yiddishe Mame', there are no female characters in our magazine. These are things we constantly need to think about, and it's really like walking between raindrops, constantly ensuring that everything is kept pure."

What is your vision?

"For as many children as possible to be exposed to our magazine, enjoy it, gain knowledge from it, and even get addicted to it. There's no reason why not. It's beautiful and colorful, it's interesting, and it's what children love."

Eliyahu Shalom, the editor of the children's magazine 'Comics', who started by selling holy books and then moved on to selling children's reading books, came to the world of comics in a similar way. "I discovered children's love for comics and decided to publish a children's magazine that would come out twice a month rather than every week as the children wanted.

Haredi children study until late and only see text in front of them. They don't have movies and the internet, so the visual world is missing for them, and in my opinion, comics is the best solution available. The abundance of images that comics provide and the facial expressions of the characters, not to mention 3D comics which provide a slightly more tangible experience, all create a visual sequence that somewhat resembles watching a movie - kids read it quickly and enjoy it greatly."

Eliyahu emphasizes that the feedback is widespread and positive. Many parents report that the magazine serves as a tool for them to create cooperation and achieve discipline with their children. "There was even a case of a grandmother who subscribed to the magazine," Eliyahu shares, "because she wanted to ensure regular visits from her grandchildren."

The magazine is divided into sections on various topics: the weekly Torah portion, parables and their meanings, humor, and more.

Regarding the embedding of educational messages in children, Eliyahu claims that comics are a wonderful tool to convey educational messages in a fun and enjoyable way that the child will remember for a long time. The magazine is currently published twice a month...

What skills are needed to be part of the 'Comics' creators' team?

"Creativity, mainly. You need to know how to diversify the story topics and write in a way that will be interesting, and the illustrations also need to be precise and beautiful. Another aspect, since it is a Haredi magazine, we only employ people who are God-fearing."

A story that distinguishes your magazine?

"Three Brothers and Three Mitzvot", it is an adaptation of a comic released 160 years ago, translated into Yiddish, and taken from the National Library in Jerusalem. It's a story that occurred in North Africa a thousand years ago. Before his death, the father gave each son a will they must uphold at all costs, even at the risk of their lives. The story begins with the hardships of one brother, Nathaniel, who received the mitzvah of washing hands and went to the brink of death to fulfill this mitzvah."