New York – In an effort to reach an even larger audience, a highly lauded children’s book aimed at opening up the conversation between parents and children about personal safety in a friendly and fun manner goes high-tech in a downloadable, read aloud, video format.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Let’s Stay Safe! a 32 page hardcover picture book geared toward young children that discusses general safety topics as well as stranger danger and child safety/abuse prevention, was released by ArtScroll almost a year and a half ago and sold more than 19,000 copies.
“We wanted parents to have even better access to child safety tools,” explained Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, founder and director of Project YES, as well as an outspoken advocate on preventing child abuse for over a decade — long before it was socially acceptable to discuss this sensitive subject in our community. “We created a digital child safety product so that anyone in the world can download it effortlessly and share it with their children.”
While the suggested donation for the video download is five dollars it can be downloaded for as little one cent.
“We want this to be in every Jewish home,” explained Rabbi Horowitz. “We don’t want money to be a barrier to people who wish to share these important lessons with their children.”
Below Video: Let’s Stay Safe! Short Video Sample
The print version of the book has been extremely well received since its release, according to Rabbi Horowitz, who says dozens of people have contacted him, crediting Let’s Stay Safe! with saving their children from actual real-life abuse situations.
“I was doing a parenting workshop in Flatbush a few months after the book came out and a woman who saw signs in the street for the workshop came in. She told the parents in the room how she had been in Eichler’s (a popular local Judaica store) shopping for a Chanukah party when she saw the book, brought it home and read it to her children,” recalled Rabbi Horowitz. “At the very same Chanukah party a great uncle started fondling her six year old daughter. Having read the book, the girl looked at the great uncle calmly, and told him he was making her uncomfortable and then ran to get her mother — exactly what the book’s suggests.
A Yiddish version of the print book is expected to be out shortly and a Hebrew version of Let’s Stay Safe! is in the planning stages as well. The illustrations are being modified to fit the communities so that the children will feel comfortably at home with the book. Rabbi Horowitz hasn’t ruled out the possibility of releasing a downloadable read aloud version of the book in Yiddish as well if there is enough community interest.
The video is a project of the Karasick Child Safety Initiative of Project YES, the book was authored by Bracha Goetz, illustrated by Tova Leff and is geared toward young children.
Online: http://www.rabbihorowitz.com/letsstaysafe/preview.html
Please, this is not about Jew vs. Jew. This is all about jewish children vs. predators/pedophiles/strangers (Jewish or not). Unfortunately, bad things do happen in the Jewish community including the orthodox and ultra-orthodox community. If this work helps even one child and their families, kol hakovod to the team.
Shame on you!! We should all be supporting OTD people. They are Jewish souls as you are. Where did you grow up?? In a jungle?? Where is your Ahavas Yisroel? Perhaps if there would be more people like RABBI Horowitz there wouldn’t be that many OTD neshamot. And Rabbi Horowitz has demonstrated a huge KIDDUSH HASHEM by his actions to the media. It’s people like you that are holding up the Geualah and perpetrate Chillul Hashem Norah. Do you even know the definition of Chillul Hashem? Hoping you do Teshuva fast.
Project YES is sponsored by the Agudah and this book is sponsored by Project YES so how can you say he has no Rabbonim supporting him? He has Gedolim supporting him!
AlterG,
Does Rabbi Horowitz’s stopping molesters bother you?
Why are you so threatened by this book?
You realize there is only one reason why someone would be against children being able to defend themselves…..
VeHameivin Yavin.
Rabbi Horowitz is our generations only true gadol. Just think of what our neviim would have said about the rest of our so-called gedolim protecting powerful abusers in our community against aniim, yesomim and almonos.
oh stop
Here is a yid protecting our most precious resource, our children . and your dissing it.
our current problems show ….. this is long overdue.
If u dont want to be educated or arent interested thats ok. Keep your head in the sand, its your loss . i sincerely hope it doesnt come back to bite you.
but dont trash those that are trying to make a better world.
We had R Horowitz in our shul last shabbos. what a treat. My children and their peers all parents of young children couldnt get enough.
proof is in the pudding , eh?
AlterG must be referring to the recent stories that have spurred this kind of education in the first place. Let be the first to commend Rabbi Horowitz and his committment to children of all persuasions and to Hashem. Then let me increase the base of your knowledge by telling you that many Chasidish and Litvish Rovs, Roshei Yeshivah, and Rebbes support Rabbi Horowitz through Project Yes and his Yeshivah. Then let me invite you to read the story posted by VIN carefully, including the part about the uncle and encourage to open your mind and realize that if this could happen in the open at a party, it could happen clandestinely behind locked doors.
Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, has got to be one of the GIANT GADOLS OF OUR GENERATION! Hatzlacha!
He made a huge chilel hasham??? He was the victim’s best advocate and helped her and all the others tremendously throughout the entire trial and he continues to help all the new cases which are increasing monthly. Why do you continue to protect the abusers and not the poor children? Do you have kinder in your house?
You call him “Mr. Horowitz” and yet you call the one sitting in jail “Rabbi.” Forget the titles and just start protecting our precious little ones.
dont worry about the rabbis supporting r. horowitz.
woory about protecting your children.
i almost beat the …. out of a rebbe that touched my son inappropriately.
sure as hell didnt ask the rabbi. and the rebbe disapeared from the cheder.
if a few more parents did the same problem solved
With all due respect, Rabbi Horowitz did NOT make a chillul Hashem. Protecting children by taking a predator off the street is NEVER a chillul Hashem. Any predator is a rodeif and one does not need a Rabbi to tell him to remove a rodeif. It is a clear halacha!
Rabbi Horowitz did not make a chillul Hashem. Taking a predator off the streets in order to protect children is NEVER a chillul Hashem. A predator is a rodeif and one does NOT need a Rabbi to tell him to stop a rodeif. It is a clear halacha.
Wise guy:
You may differ with his perspective on the circus of the court case, but there was nothing about Rabbi Horowitz that approaches chilul Hashem. Blindly defending a molester just because you wish the crime to be untrue is a chilul Hashem. Besides, you might review the mishna in Pirkei Avos that states that one who is mechalel Shem Shomayim in private will meet his consequences in public. If you define media as chilul Hashem, what exactly is the mishna suggesting with mechalel in private? We’ll, I’ll suggest a simple meaning. Doing things in private that are completely unacceptable, such as violating the private boundaries of another person (adult or child). Yes, the crimes for which people are getting long sentences. If you have another pshat, please share it here.
We don’t need Rabbi Howoritz to make a chillul Hashem. Unfortunately people who wear a certain “uniform” while engaging in unlawful behavoir are doing it to themselves. Take your head out of the sand!
Sorry AlterG, you don’t rise to the level of Rabbi Horowitz’s little toe.
after you sir!
The only ones that can possibly oppose this book are child molesters. The only chillul Hashem being done is by the molesters themselves. If you dont molest, you wont get arrested, wont get sentenced and you wont make media headlines. Blame the molesters, not those defending the children.
ALTERG did not expect there to be so many normal people out here in the blogosphere. I am proud to see how every comment here takes him to task for his Chilul Hashem way of thinking. We all need to support Rabbi Horowitz for his amazing work on behalf of all of Klal Yisroel. Those naysayers need some introspection.
People like you are the reason why there are so many social crises within Orthodox communities that can’t no longer be hidden in the digital age. You are more preoccupied with your community’s image in public eye than protecting children or serving Hashem. You don’t need “rabbis” to approve every thought-process in your brain. You shouldn’t wait for Gedolim to give you permission to publish a solid, child safety educational material. Are you more worried that such a book is needed in the frum world because these problems shouldn’t be addressed in your perfect world?
Guys: pls chill, you CAN’T sentence a man for 103 years w/o witnesses, w/o dna, w/o video, just as per he sad vs she sad, especially if the girl is a mchalel shabbos. Murders only getting 35 years, where are you guys racmunos for his wife? 10 children? 20 grandchildren? Why braking such beautiful family? Do you have a jewish heart?
Project YES is a part of the Agudah. Rabbi Zweibel has said numerous times that they do NOTHING without the haskomos of the Gedolim. Everything they do is approved by the Gedolim. Thus by extension if the Agudah published this book the Gedolim have approved it!
Alter, you really, really, don’t get it.
It is not the courts, or the justice system that broke up the family.
It is Nechemia, who molested a poor girl, who broke up the family.
His molesting her was the “Makeh B’Patish” that made sure she would be Mechalel Shabbos. And for that you want to take away justice from her?
Let me put it another way.
You had 50,000 people in Citi field screaming “Ein Apitropis L’Arayos” to ban the internet.
“Ein Apitropis L’Arayos” is a Psak. It is Halacha.
Interestingly, Chazal did NOT pasken “Ein Apitropis L’Arayos” about the internet.
They said it about one situation, and one situation ONLY.
The Psak of “Ein Apitropis L’Arayos” was said regarding Yichud – which was proven that he was Oiver.
So now, you – the big Tzaddik that you are – feel you are a Bar Plugta with Chazal.
CHAZAL paskens “Ein Apitropis L’Arayos”
YOU pasken “Yesh Apitropis L’Arayos”
Fortunately, not only is Halacha against you, the courts were as well.
Just bought the book and it’s really well done. I love the cute illustrations and the catchy rhymes.
alter, no one is forcing you to show this information to your children or grandchildren. but it is for our children’s benefit that it exists and may save some lives. some parents arent comfortable with this topic, and this makes a wonderful opening to start a discussion or ch’v discovery or accusation. do you have something to hide???
Sometimes I read a thread like this and I truly despair that our charedi community still produces blind bigots such as AlterG.
Where did we go wrong, morai verabosai?
This is the only way that molestors could be stopped – when you teach your kids.
Putting frum Jews in Jail will not do much good. There will always be thousands of molestors on the streets.
If people are saying that Hurowitz also aided in convicting Jews in prison – I think he did some awful dirty work.
But his book is a great way to protect children.