The Lev Effect

The Lev Effect is a sequel to the critically acclaimed Lost and Found. The school head shakes up the values of a small- town Jewish community.
The Lev Effect returns to Bolton PA the scene of Lost and Found (Random House). The Bolton Jewish Community converts a disused old people's home into a boarding school and hires a Russian refugee to run it and the retirees to staff it. The old residents love the change, but things get dicey when the director admits a Palestinian boy, schedules Palestine National Day and a dinner fund raiser for a Catholic homeless shelter. The family that endowed the place 50 years ago sues to get their trust fund back. A teen- age hacker manages to find alternative funding by manipulating resident's pension accounts. An enemy on the faculty tries to get the director deported. When the director dies some people think that he was the Messiah. The Lev Effect is full of warmth, humor, the celebration of goodness and the extraordinary in the ordinary which should appeal to the faithful of all religions and iconoclasts alike. The first lines of the novel follow:

"Nudelman started it.
"I want Isaac to have a real education," he said, looking around at the Synagogue Board with his wise hound's eyes.
Those were the words that began it all. Just eight words, a few sounds tossed into the air of the Board-room. But words have power. They can make people kill, make them fall in love, even buy appliances they don't need…"