Aileen Grossberg shared this tribute at the Shabbat service on November 23, 2024. Additional comments were made by Katherine Delaney. 

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Jewish Book Month which begins tomorrow and has been going strong for 99 years.

It’s so appropriate that today when we celebrate the many years that the Lampert family has supported the library and made books available to the Shomrei community, we also celebrate the 60th anniversary of Judy Wildman’s bat mitzvah. As Jews, as People of the Book, we hold both bound books and the Torah scroll in high esteem. (more…)

The story of Noah and the ark has something for everyone: there are cute animals for the little ones, a lesson in architecture for older readers, and some bawdy details for adults …. as well as a couple of serious issues of respect for one’s elders and by way of midrash, respect for the earth.

However, it’s those cute animals or the rainbow that most often become the focus. Pass a preschool classroom and you might hear a chorus of bass and moos when Noah is introduced or children drawing brightly colored rainbows. (more…)

Quite some time ago when I first became involved with Jewish libraries, there was not much to choose from in the way of modern secular literature, especially for children. K’tonton was alive and well; the All-of-a-Kind-Family were doing what families did; there were a few laughs as the Chelmites stumbled through life; folktales were here and there. (more…)