February 13, 2007 /25 Shvat, 5767

Ms. Rahel Musleah
20 Cambridge Rd.
Great Neck, NY 11012

Dear Ms. Musleah:

Thank you for your presentation at our Kornfield Memorial Torah Institute this past weekend.

The reviews have been pouring in, and they are stellar. Every person who attended Friday night and/or Shabbat morning services was drawn in by your easy delivery and outgoing personality. We all came away with deepend appreciation for Indian and Baghdadi Jewry - a topic that is certainly uncommon and not widely known. Your timing was excellent, and our congregation looks forward to your return in the near future.

Personally, I have listened to many learned presentations and yours was at the top. The blend of history, music, culture, and sociology which you employed was scholarly and very informative, and you presented in such an engaging way that it was a pleasure to listen to you and even join with you in song. As a specific example, people have requested that, from time to time, we sing the Indian melody you taught us for L'cha Dodi. In a word, you were outsanding!

Please feel free to use me and the Yorktown Jewish Center as a reference. I know that any organization that asks you to speak will be as delighted as we are.

Warmest personal regards,

Rabbi Seth Sternstein

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September 26, 2005

Ms. Rahel Musleah
20 Cambridge Road
Great Neck, NY 11023

Dear Rahel,

Thank you very much for traveling to Cleveland to share your remarkable story of the Jewish community of Calcutta, India. Your multi media presentation was informative, entertaining, and enriching.

We were thrilled by the large and diverse crowd the event, featuring your story “Jewish Calcutta through Memory and Music”, attracted on a week night. We believe the response was due to the great interest in the topic, and a desire for a “different” type of evening that included music and slides. Of course, your reputation as an author, journalist and singer, added to the excitement that you were appearing in Cleveland.

Your presentation “flew” by as you covered many different aspects of history, community, custom and family enhanced by personal slides that made you feel that you were right there. The added treat of hearing you sing and seeing authentic personal items added to the enjoyment. 98% of the evaluations backed up what was obvious-attendees felt it was fascinating and a most worthwhile evening. Many took the time to call and write personally the next day expressing their pleasure with meeting and hearing you. All appreciated the time you spent signing books and cd’s with personal messages.

I also appreciate you spending time with children at two different day schools. You tailored your approach to the kids to make it at their level and interactive.

It was a pleasure working with you. You are a true professional and were very flexible as we planned the final arrangements and venues.

I look forward to having you return to Cleveland and treat us again to your talents.

Sincerely,
Harriet Rosenberg Mann, co chair
Opening Meeting
Greater Cleveland Chapter of Hadassah

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November 18, 2007

Dear Rahel,

This evening, we concluded our nine-day Riverdale Jewish Festival of the Arts 2007.  It had many highlights, but by far, your two workshops were, judging by the effusive evaluation forms, the most successful in critical acclaim. 

You appealed to a wide variety of audience members.  Your flexibility in arranging and planning (and then rearranging and altering) your workshops to suit not only the target audiences, but also the venues was so very appreciated.  The teachers who accompanied the children (all 178 of them) were amazed that you could mesmerize and entertain children whose grade-levels ranged from Kindergarten through Grade Six.   Our staff was amazed that you could rework a program that was predominantly a hands-on, arts-and-crafts session, to one that would work better in an auditorium.  And throughout all the changes, you kept up your spirits and those of the staff members who were fortunate enough to work with you.  At the conclusion of your afternoon sessions, the children entered their school buses singing “El, Eliyahu” with real gusto!

Doris, our volunteer coordinator and a former science teacher (and also a very harsh critic) was totally smitten.  She marveled how in one day you could do two such appropriate workshops, engaging ALL the members of both audiences.  The adults were no less enthralled than the children.  I’m sure you felt their great interest by their many and diverse questions on so many aspects of your fascinating presentation. 

On a personal note, let me thank you for the many suggestions you made to make sure that both events were suitable and adapted to your target audiences.  That thought and preparation made both events so successful.  Your creativity is limitless.
My one regret is that you did not see all the evaluation forms.  It was the only event during the festival where the assessments were UNANIMOUSLY, over-the-top positive.  The participants were in awe that despite the distracting, vibrating, noisy disturbance of the nearby karate class, you managed to maintain your sense of humour and engage your audience.  It was so clear from these evaluations that your affection and admiration for your remarkable family members and ancestors generated so much respect for them in the audience as well.  As you could also see from the many questions, people wanted to know so much more about these remarkable people who, thanks to your storytelling gifts, had come to life again in 2007!  Their accomplishments and achievements were truly extraordinary. 

Your beautiful, clear voice brought a calming atmosphere to each session.  As one afternoon participant, age 7, said, “I just LOVE her singing!”

Your uplifting, wonderful presentations (replete with costumes, pictures, anecdotes, music and much humour) were sheer joy! 

You are a treasure in the Jewish community and I very much look forward to bringing you back to Riverdale, where you are now so beloved.

With many thanks for an inspiring day,

Erica S. Goldman-Brodie
Festival Coordinator
Riverdale Jewish Festival of the Arts 2007