"I Want to Help as Many People as Possible Stay Calm During the War"
Hananel Turgeman is an illustrator of holy books and runs illustration workshops. Since the outbreak of the war, he has been meeting thousands of children in the workshops he voluntarily runs, believing in illustration as a tool for healing and mental resilience during regular times and war.
It was not easy to schedule an interview with the illustrator Hananel Turgeman. These days, he is busier than ever. Besides his work as a book illustrator and workshop facilitator, he has volunteered to help Israeli children during this time of war, leading illustration workshops for thousands of children, allowing them to express their feelings through drawing. "When the war started, I decided to help as many people as possible remain calm, and thank Hashem, I've already had the honor of entering the homes of thousands of children through digital workshops. I'm happy and grateful for the chance to provide children moments of joy and peace between the alarms and difficult news."
Two days after the war broke out, Hananel led a workshop for about five hundred children. It was a special workshop where he taught the children how to draw characters, asking each to illustrate their superheroes.
The following day, he conducted the same workshop for a smaller group of children from the Gaza border area, feeling the significant difference and emotional challenge involved in guiding a workshop for children who experienced the horror.
"I came to the workshop emotionally charged, following the funeral of a relative who fought as a special police officer in Kibbutz Kisufim that day. When I taught the children to draw their heroes, I asked them to think about who the hero is that they want to save them when they feel dark and a little sad. I made an effort to be sensitive to the topic, especially since I don't know what memories the children carry with them and what they've been exposed to. Then one of the girls drew her heroes, depicting a weeping mother holding a small child in one hand and a sad child in the other. Those were her superheroes. The girl approached me for guidance on improving the expressions on her characters' faces, and as we refined the emotional aspect of the drawing, she burst into tears.
The workshop consisted of children who didn't know each other, but the girls simply approached and hugged her in empathy, as I tried to show as much sensitivity and empathy as possible in this difficult and complex situation. I truly saw how drawing gave her the opportunity to look in the mirror at herself and express things she couldn't say in words. "
Hananel receives numerous responses. Mothers who joined their children while watching the digital workshops shared that for an entire hour they were captivated and managed to forget about the war, giving them and the children a time of resilience and calm.
Turgeman, certified as a village rabbi and with a bachelor's degree in education, surprises us by saying he can't pinpoint the exact age he began drawing. "Most children stop drawing by early school grades, but I never stopped. Already in school, I would summarize the learned material visually and draw concepts we studied. Later, I used this method when studying for my matriculation exams and rabbinic studies."
Are there children who are afraid to draw?
"Yes. It's important to understand that many children are unaware of their abilities because they stopped drawing at school age. Sometimes, children tell me, 'Leave it, it's not for me, I'm not the class artist.' And the amazing thing is, after ten minutes, they look in surprise at their drawing, hardly believing they drew it themselves. Their perception of themselves just changed, and the confidence they lost to take a page and draw simply returns and strengthens."
"Drawing Restores Lost Confidence to Children"
The observation of children's drawings illustrated under Hananel's guidance demonstrates his professionalism and great talent in conveying illustration abilities to each child. "I don't see myself as the best artist," he says. "Hashem has simply blessed me with the ability to translate content into drawing, which is reflected in my last name, 'Turgeman.' I'm merely teaching how to write in a visual language."
Hananel studied mathematics education. Although not a current math teacher, he uses his extensive teaching knowledge to give children the ability to draw simply and understandably. He conducts workshops in schools for all students in one day, managing, to the teachers' astonishment, to captivate even children with attention and concentration disorders.
''Teachers and mothers contact me excitedly after a ninety-minute workshop where students unable to sit still for more than a few minutes are focused and leaning over the drawing pages throughout the session. Some workshops teach the basics of illustration, then I ask students to choose a mitzvah close to their hearts and express it through a handmade comic. The children discuss the different mitzvot among themselves, explaining excitedly why they chose to draw the comic about a particular mitzvah, to the amazement of the educational staff, who have spent the whole year trying to instill love and passion for the commandments in students, and seeing how in an hour of creativity, the things penetrate the children more than any lesson."
At 60, He Completed a Tractate for the First Time
When Hananel was a young boy, he undertook to study Mishnah in memory of his late grandmother, using illustrated Mishnah books available at the time.
As he grew, he himself taught young children Mishnah and saw how much his drawings helped them understand, eventually developing into the "Mishnayot" project, where he illustrated eight tractates aimed at making Mishnah accessible to children, making it experiential and easy to understand.
The Mishnah is illustrated with great charm and humor unique to Hananel's style, but what's especially striking is that the illustrations are contemporary.
"My goal was to address my child in the present era and show him how relevant the content of the Mishnah is today. For example, in Tractate Berakhot, alongside the text 'If he was sitting in a boat or a cart... he should direct his heart toward the Holy of Holies,' I drew people sitting in a train car. In Tractate Yoma, where it mentions the High Priest entering the Sanhedrin chamber, I drew the priest entering a modern office with pictures of his granddaughters on the wall. When children see the Mishnah, they think it's a storybook, and they open it due to the interest it sparks in them."
He receives moving feedback, mainly from adults who struggled to study Mishnah and, for the first time at the age of forty, managed to complete a tractate, thanks to the drawings that help interpret and explain the text in an engaging way. ''Once, a sixty-year-old man approached me and shared that for the first time in his life, since studying in yeshiva, he finally managed to complete a tractate. He opened the illustrated Mishnah out of curiosity, and shortly afterward, he was amazed to find he had completed a tractate."
For Hananel, drawing is much more than therapy. It's a powerful tool for delivering messages and strengthening the desire to study Torah.
"Drawing is a true work of thought. I pray to Hashem to give me the ability to convey my intentions correctly. When I illustrate holy books, I aim for parents and children to learn together through them. I'm happy to pass this ability to tens of thousands of children, and even during the war, I will continue my mission and bring joy to as many people as possible."
