Reaching the Stars / Vivacious, indomitable Ruchoma Shain, the well-loved author of the bestselling All For the Boss, presents here a lively account of her many and varied teaching experiences, both in and out of the classroom. As her legions of students confirm in correspondence that spans three decades, Mrs. Shain's success in this area is indisputable and unequaled, and her positive influence on their lives continues despite the passage of time.
Mrs. Shain's unique teaching style, combining humor, creativity and improvisation with a wealth of knowledge, contains what she views as the key to her success: sensitivity, or, in her words, the ability to "reach out" to others. Each of Mrs. Shain's students was a star in her firmament, and reaching every one of them, regardless of the effort required, was her goal. On countless occasions, schoolteacher became nursemaid, guidance counselor, or eve family social worker, as her lessons encompassed every aspect of life.
Her tireless efforts bore a rich harvest: her students not only learned the curricular lessons she imparted, they learned from her superb example and grew to become sensitive,caring adults, many of them now teachers themselves and possessed of the outstanding middos instilled in them at a tender age by their loving mentor.
With her aliyah to Israel in 1968, Mrs. Shain envisaged a quiet retirement, not quite knowing how she would fill her days or satisfy her yearning to teach. The problem was solved when she was invited to give a series of lectures to women of all ages at a Jerusalem seminary. Imbued with Mrs. Shain's inimitable sensitivity and warmth, these lectures proved exceedingly popular and she often found herself addressing a standing-room-only crowd. Once again, her lessons extended beyond the classroom, as she continued to reach out to her students and, in turn, was welcomed and drawn into their lives.
For a born-teacher like Mrs. Shain, every encounter is an education opportunity. Through her teaching, she has reached hundreds; through her writing, tens of thousands! Publication of "All for the Boss" in 1984 resulted in reams of correspondence from every part of the globe. Young and old from near and far were inspired by her devoted daughter's fond tribute to her father, Reb Yaakov Yosef Herman, zt"l, and by his remarkable deeds. They wrote to share their thoughts with the author as she had shared hers with them; they wrote to relate how profoundly her book had affected them; they wrote because her words had touched a responsive chord in their hearts.
This is the essence of "Reaching the Stars."
