From Djerba to Jerusalem

Many countries. Many lives.
And one overwhelming love, for Hashem, His Torah and His People.
Meet Shulamit Bitton-Blau. You're going to love her.

One foggy day in northern England, a young woman danced into the relatively new girl's seminary that had been founded in Gateshead, wearing an enchanting smile, a bright purple coat, and sandals. The only child of a family deeply rooted in Djerba, the legendary island of Kohanim, Shulamit Cohen was Sefardic, a miracle child whose Jewish education had taken place entirely at home. Yet within moments of her arrival she felt entirely at home in Gateshead - and Gatehead felt entirely at home with its new, unusual and exuberant student.

It was that exuberance, coupled with her rock-solid emunah and her unparalleled love for Torah, which carried Shulamit through her many journeys and challenges. That wide-eyed student grew up to be the wife of an impoverished Torah scholar in Gateshead, a rabbanit in Marseilles when her husband was appointed av beis din, a widow who married off eight children, and, after her remarriage, the wife of one of the outstanding figures in Yerushalayim's Eida Chareidis.

Quite a journey; and Shulamit was quite a personality. Bestselling author Libby Lazewnik brings her to vivid life: her unusual optimism in the face of daunting circumstances and her devotion to her family - a family that included all of Klal Yisrael.

From Djerba to Jerusalem is an engrossing story. More: it's an eye-opening, heart-opening look at the power of chesed, emunah, and love.