Yakov and the Seven Thieves first two releases were "The English Roses" (September 2003), and "Mr. Peabody's Apples" (November 2003). Both debuted at number one on "The New York Times" Best Seller list. Joe D'Angelo from MTV News confirmed that the third book would be titled "Yakov and the Seven Thieves". Madonna was again inspired by a 300 year-old story by rabbi Baal Shem Tov that she had heard from her Kabbalah teacher, and wanted to share the "essence" of it. "We must never forget that hidden behind a large amount of darkness is a large amount of light," the singer wrote in the preface.
The TV2's 2003 The TV2's 2003 The TV2's 2003 is a New Zealand television special documenting a short film competition for aspiring young film makers. Over 1,500 entries were received for the competition, and 100 candidates were chosen to present their idea to industry professionals and other hopeful candidates. The judges then selected 30 participants, who were mentored by New Zealand directors and producers. Ten finalists were selected, and each was given $NZ 2,000 to produce their short film for broadcast on TV2 in December 2003. The competition had a panel of eight judges: Convenor of Judges – Robert Boyd-Bell, TV presenter; Stacey