Putting a new twist on tales

“Story Lady” Lisa Cohen likes to put a Jewish spin on some of her stories. Bunny Foo Foo, for instance, realizes he was wrong to bop the field mice on the head, so he kisses them on the cheek instead. Goldie Locks helps Baby Bear fix his broken chair, and now they have a play date every Tuesday.

“That’s a Rosh Hashana story; they realize the error in their ways,” Cohen said.

Cohen, whose day job involves entertaining children, is overseeing children’s services for the High Holy Days at the Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach for Chabad Jewish Center this year.

The free services are geared toward the thousands of Jewish families who are not affiliated with a temple. Chabad’s children’s program, which will begin 6:45 p.m. today and 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Hyatt, helps children understand the holidays through interactive storytelling and play. Cohen has been teaching and performing for children since she founded Creative Arts and Parties for Kids in 1986.

“Teaching the children is my form of worship, so that’s how I justify working on the holidays,” Cohen said.

Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, the most solemn day on the Hebrew calendar, begins at sundown tonight. The holidays, which began Sept. 12 with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, are also know as “The Days of Awe.” People of the Jewish faith are supposed to re-examine the direction of their lives during the holidays, atone for their sins and make a fresh start for the new year. During Yom Kippur, adults and older children fast and refrain from work. The holiday is a time of quiet reflection and prayer.

Explaining complex theological concepts, like atonement, to small children is no easy task, but it’s something Cohen excels at, said Rabbi Reuven Mintz, of Chabad Jewish Center.

“She has a way of relating things to children in a way they understand.” Mintz said. “We’ve had a tremendous amount of positive feedback from parents.”

The secret to getting children to understand is keeping it simple, Cohen said.

“It’s the adults who make things complicated,” Cohen said. “Some of the best priests and rabbis have a way of explaining things so that everyone can understand.”

One of Cohen’s inspirations for her interactive programs is a favorite childhood memory.

“My mother compared all the different races to the different colors of flowers,” Cohen said. “I remember looking at the flowers, and she would say, ‘Look at the pink ones, aren’t they beautiful and look at the blue ones, they’re beautiful too.”

Cohen’s Yom Kippur program at the Hyatt will get children involved with the story of Jonah and the whale from the Old Testament, she said.

“Children learn when they are involved, so we’ll go around and ask, ‘What would you do if you were Jonah?’” Cohen said.