What’s a hero or heroine? Shortly we will be celebrating the story of a quintessential heroine, Esther, also known as Hadassah. She exhibits so many qualities of a heroine from her initial reluctance to get involved to her final confrontation with the villain. Heroes are not always brave-at least not at the beginning of their journeys: heroes overcome their fears to undertake difficult tasks, often ones that they are totally unprepared for and challenge authority. How much more difficult it must have been to be CHOSEN as queen than to be BORN to take that role. (more…)
As one might expect, a Judaic library has a large number of books about the Holocaust, which has cast its shadow over almost every event in modern Jewish history.
On January 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day will be marked by a decree of the United Nations. This date is not arbitrary for it commemorates the day 80 years ago in 1945 when the Red Army entered Auschwitz, where more than 1.1 million Jews were murdered. (more…)
’Twas the eve before Hanukkah
And all through the shul
Not a person was present
In the office or school.
The halls were dark.
The playground was quiet.
Rabbi Julie was not to be found.
BUT enter the kitchen and
What do you see?
Six volunteers so busily
Preparing a meal for the
Food insecure.
It’s MESH night at Shomrei
You can be sure.
The glow of the Hanukkah lights will shortly fill our homes and shine through the windows. The Hanukkah story is a great story with heroes and villains, suspense, and a satisfying ending. Even when the story is modified for young readers, it still retains its majesty and provides many opportunities for reinforcing Jewish values.
This year’s crop of Hanukkah books includes some excellent retellings as well as a look at Hanukkah in settings other than the U.S. There have been several books with interfaith families as the focal point. And there’s a delightful handful of Hanukkah books for adults. (more…)
Begun in 1924 as Jewish Book Week by a Jewish librarian who worked at the Boston Public Library, it has stretched to the entire month before Hanukkah. Jewish Book Month is a time to highlight and celebrate libraries, books and Jewish writers.
Jewish books have been around for a very long time: even if not everyone was literate, each person knew the value of the Torah and the highest aspiration was to be a scholar of Jewish books. (more…)
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