JANUARY 2017
Harold Grinspoon, founder of PJ Library, with granddaughter, Sloane. Aspen, Colorado, 1997
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THE MAGIC OF SHARING STORIES
TOMORROW’S PARENTS
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GRANDPARENTS CIRCLE
P JL I B R A RY.O R G
THE MAGIC OF SHARING STORIES By
LINDA ELOVITZ MARSHALL
DURING THE DEPRESSION my grandmother, an excellent seamstress, began taking in sewing. My grandfather, a proud and somewhat stubborn man, balked. His wife was not taking in sewing. Finally, they reached a compromise: Grandma could sew if (and only if) she used her sewing money for something fine, something grand, something they otherwise could not have afforded. Grandma, setting her heart on Aynsley bone china dishes, sewed. And she saved. When the dishes were finally acquired, she and my mother (her adoring, youngest daughter) played “tea party.” As they set the table, Grandma proclaimed, “This dish I bought with money from making Rachel Stein’s wedding dress. And this cup from a bedspread for Mrs. Silverman…And this…” Even when she was failing, my grandmother and my mother enjoyed their special game. I never joined them. Dishes, especially fancy ones, weren’t my, um, cup of tea.
me me. It didn’t begin “once upon a time.” It didn’t have princes and princesses. It wasn’t from far away. When I left graduate school, I opened (and closed) a bookstore, and, drawing on former experiences as an early childhood educator, tried writing for children. I attended a Jewish children’s book writers conference and had the opportunity of submitting a manuscript—one with Jewish content—to an editor. I knew African stories. I knew Mayan stories. But, Jewish stories? Oy! Then I remembered the dishes. I added plot to the story because there was none. I added humor because a bit of humor couldn’t hurt. I stirred in heaps of kindness because there’s never enough kindness. I wrote, recalling the red corduroy bedspread and curtains Grandma Rose made for me, the doilies and doll-dresses she crocheted with hands trembling from Parkinson’s Disease. And, to polish the story with love, the way my mother and my grandmother polished those dishes, I added an ending that included Grandma’s whole community.
Years later, when my own children were in school, I entered an Anthropology Ph.D. program. I listened to people and recorded their stories. Soon, I had stories from Zimbabwe, Guatemala, Prague…Some stories were even about dishes.
At first, my efforts at writing for children were rejected. But I listened to the editor’s suggestions and re-worked my stories. Grandma Rose’s Magic became one of my first books. I was 62 and a grandmother. It felt like magic. And, now, when I read Grandma Rose’s Magic to my own grandchildren, that magic sparkles.
Nevertheless, I didn’t appreciate the story of my grandmother’s dishes as part of who I am, part of my heritage, part of what makes
We all have stories. They’re magic and they sparkle, all of them. Because sharing our stories and heritage is, indeed magic.
LINDA ELOVITZ MARSHALL , former early childhood educator, bookstore owner, anthropologist, sheep farmer, freelance writer, mother of four, and grandmother, was 62 when her first book was published. Many more have followed—and a novel is in process. Linda’s forthcoming picture book, Rainbow Weaver (Lee & Low, 2016) is about a Mayan girl in Guatemala. For more information, visit lindamarshall.com. 2
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f o r e wo r d THE
This summer we launched an eight-week pilot where we encouraged PJ Library parents to sign up their parents to receive four PJ Library books. By the end of the enrollment period, we had more than 21,000 grandparents signed up and a growing waitlist! I’ve always felt that PJ Library is a program for adults. After all, it wasn’t my six-month-old who went online to sign up, and PJ Library didn’t address any of my infant son’s daily needs (other than the nights he was being particularly challenging and my wife would sing him lullabies from Welcome Song Baby to get him to sleep). PJ Library filled my need to pass down the same values and traditions I learned from my parents. I’m thrilled every time my now three-year-old son asks to put the change I collect during the day in his PJ Library tzedakah box. It’s a moment I didn’t know would happen when I was worried about developmental milestones and every single sniffle during that first year of his life. The grandparent project was inspired in part by seeing my parents read with my son and their other grandchildren. My parents are eager to fly through a pile of books with my son and his cousins; and they are over-the-moon to be reading PJ Library books about repairing the world, Jewish holidays, and our heritage. Seeing my son cherish his reading time with my parents showed me why PJ Library is a stronger program when it crosses generations.
This issue of PROOF is about exactly that, crossing generations. The relationship my mom had with her grandmother is quite different from the relationship she has with my son. My mother grew up in the same home as her grandmother, with whom she did not share a first language. My mother has described to me many times how she eventually realized that her grandmother wasn’t speaking with an intense accent, but in fact speaking Yiddish. More than sixty years later, my mother tells stories about her grandmother’s Jewish observances as if they happened yesterday. Even I can picture the yellow enamel pot with handles on either side in which all of her grandmother’s meals were cooked. My mom does not share a home with any of her grandchildren, but she does share a first language and culture with them. Despite the changes in my family in four generations, I hope that my mother can help my son understand his heritage in as memorable a way as her grandmother did for her (but now with the support of PJ Library, of course).
WILL SCHNEIDER Director of Advancement 3
P J L I B R A RY HAS DELIVERED MORE THAN
1 LOCAL COMMUNITIES ARE KEY! We work with approximately 1,100 professionals at more than 200 Jewish organizations in the United States and Canada to implement PJ Library and offer events that help Jewish families establish connections with one another and their local Jewish communities.
2 PJ LIBRARY BRINGS BOOKS TO LIFE! Since the inception of PJ Library, we have mailed more than 400 distinct titles— contributing greatly to Jewish children’s literature by bringing books back into print and seeing new titles reach publication for the first time.
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MILLION BOOKS IN THE UNITED S TAT E S & C A N A D A . In recognition of this milestone here are 10 facts about PJ Library that you may not know…
3 PJ LIBRARY PUBLISHED 10 OF OUR OWN TITLES! PJ Publishing gives PJ Library yet another way to ensure that the program is providing families with high quality Jewish children’s books that reflect Jewish families today, provide a window into the past, and encourage the celebration of Jewish life.
4 PJ LIBRARY BOOKS ENGAGE THE WHOLE FAMILY Every PJ Library book features informational content for parents, including discussion questions and activity ideas. The program also engages families through “ride-along” materials. In 2016, PJ families received High Holiday recipe cards, parsley seed paper, and Passover question catchers.
5 PJ LIBRARY DRIVES SUBSCRIBERS TO THEIR NEXT JEWISH EXPERIENCE In 2016, 478 campers received support from PJ Goes to Camp and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation’s Western Massachusetts campership programs.
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CUSTOM PJ LIBRARY TZEDAKAH BOXES HAVE BEEN SENT TO PAST AND PRESENT PJ LIBRARY SUBSCRIBERS SINCE 2014
WE SHARE PJ LIBRARY BOOKS WITH MORE THAN 200 SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES
That’s more than 278,000 children and their families creating their own tzedakah traditions and learning what it means to be a mensch.
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Books are sent, along with educational materials, to early childhood and K–2 classrooms. The program, PJ Goes to School, reaches close to 800 classrooms and more than 11,000 students.
THE PJ LIBRARY PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE IN 12 COUNTRIES
6 TWEENS IN THE UNITED STATES ARE A PART OF PJ LIBRARY TOO PJ Our Way is the next chapter of PJ Library for kids 9–11. Program subscribers choose one of four books each month at PJOurWay.org. Flip to the back page of this issue of PROOF to learn more!
Families are being reached in Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Israel (via sister program Sifriyat Pijama), Mexico, Russia, Singapore, Uruguay, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
9 U.S. MILITARY AND FOREIGN SERVICE FAMILIES EXPERIENCE PJ LIBRARY AROUND THE WORLD More than 650 Jewish families receive PJ Library books every month in countries such as Brazil, Cote d’Ivoire, Malawi, and Tajikistan. We’re committed to supporting families wherever their assignments take them!
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P JL I B R A RY.O R G
70 FACES TODAY’S HILLEL STUDENTS, TOMORROW’S PJ LIBRARY PARENTS
By
SHEILA KATZ
We learn in Jewish tradition that there are 70 faces of Torah. Anyone who has spent time on a college campus knows that there are at least as many faces of Jewish students today. While it might not seem like the children reading PJ Library books today have much in common with current college students, the span of children just being born to young adults entering college are all a part of the same Generation Z. Nicknamed “The Plurals,” members of Generation Z value pluralism, and it’s no surprise why. They are the most diverse generation, holding a multiplicity of ethnic and racial identities, and they take pride in that diversity.
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Fridays Are Special Like any typical Jewish family, a biracial little boy and his African-American father prepare for Shabbat. As they make challah and set the table, they prove that Fridays are special not only because of the things we do, but because of with whom we are doing them.
INTERFAITH FAMILIES
More than half of Jewish students on campus today come from families in which only one parent is Jewish. They likely also have family members of additional faiths. Hillel is a pluralistic organization that believes deeply in the value of inclusivity. A student with one Jewish parent—whichever parent—is welcome at the table. Through our partnership with the Genesis Prize, we have launched campaigns that showcase and celebrates the diversity of Jewish students on campus today, including our Jews of the University Facebook page which regularly features Jews from interfaith backgrounds.
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Below are the top five diversity trends among Jewish members of Generation Z. Also included are suggested P J Library books you can be reading to your children or grandchildren that celebrate the diversity in our community.
JEWS OF COLOR
We are currently living in the last period during which, the United States will ever have a Caucasian majority. Since 2000, there has been a 50 percent increase in the number of biracial babies born in the United States. Jews of color, including Sephardic and Mizrachi Jews, make up approximately 10 to 20 percent of the Jewish population. Hillel on campus is working to strengthen programs that focus on race, power, and privilege, while also making sure that all Jewish students, regardless of the color of their skin, feel welcome at Hillel.
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Hillel International works to engage all Jewish students on college campuses around the world. To do this, we stay informed about trends and tailor our student engagement strategies to provide both relevant and compelling Jewish experiences for students on campus. By learning about today’s Hillel’s students, we’re also preparing for tomorrow’s P J Library parents.
Nonna’s Hanukkah Surprise Rachel’s grandmother, Nonna, isn’t Jewish—but when Rachel forgets to bring her homemade menorah to Nonna’s house, Nonna figures out a way to save her granddaughter’s holiday. A story about an interfaith family, this book puts the emphasis on family.
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JEWS WITH DISABILIITES
Approximately 1 in 5 people in the United States has a disability. On campus today, we work to engage students with seen and unseen disabilities, including mental health issues. Hillel’s Ruderman Inclusion Ambassador program trains students with skills to engage their peers with disabilities while creating more inclusive programming for Hillel.
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RUSSIAN-SPEAKING JEWS
Fifteen percent of American Jews today come from Russianspeaking families. Understanding this statistic, Hillel has supported campuses seeking to engage Russian-speaking students in innovative ways. These include Baruch College Hillel’s Russian Speaking Sisterhood Project and Hillel at the University of Connecticut’s Babushka's House.
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The Mitten String Ruthie, an avid knitter, helps a deaf woman “hear” her young baby: she knits a connecting thread that lets mother and child communicate without sound. When Ruthie sees the differences in the people around her and works to meet their needs, she’s helping make the world a better place with every stitch.
The Castle on Hester Street Julie’s grandfather tells her all sorts of tall tales about his family’s emigration from Russia, but her grandmother tells her the truth: it wasn’t easy, but they’re glad they did it. Julie’s life wouldn’t be the same today if they hadn’t made the journey. Couched in humor and warmth, this story underscores the importance of holding on to one’s history while celebrating the present.
GLOBAL NETWORK
For today’s college students, it’s cool to have friends across the world. And because of international staff at camps, Birthright Israel trips, and study abroad, they have lots of ways to make global friends and connections. Students want to learn and explore other cultures and believe in being connected globally. Many Hillels are working across continents to help students interact with each other and partner on projects focused on justice. Recently, Hillel International launched a student cabinet, which features 23 student leaders from around the world who are charged with building a global student network.
Chik Chak Shabbat Goldie Simcha lives alone in apartment 5-A, and every Friday night makes herself a delicious, fragrant cholent for Shabbat. When she’s too sick to cook, her neighbors, all of different international backgrounds, stop by with their countries’ versions of the stew–and Goldie learns that maybe she’s not exactly alone after all.
Our Jewish community is stronger when we are all represented in the pages of the books that we read and in the stories and traditions we tell. We look forward to welcoming future generations to campus and to continue the great work of PJ Library in celebrating diversity and inclusion.
SHEILA KATZ is the Vice President for Social Entrepreneurship at Hillel International, working to engage students on the periphery of Jewish life in innovative ways. She can be reached at skatz@hillel.org 7
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P J L I B R A RY I N R U S S I A N :
inspiring a return to roots By
TATIANA MARON
Public Relations and Special Projects Manager American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
IN THE POST-SOVIET JEWISH SPACE, children possessed more Jewish knowledge than their parents because they were being raised during the period of Jewish renewal in the late 1990’s, when access to Jewish identity and educational programs became widely available for the first time in generations. Today those children have become adults, have their own children, and have resumed the tradition of transmission of knowledge from parent to child. With that family dynamic in place, JDC, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, was therefore eager to partner with PJ Library to forge a partnership to strengthen Jewish life and identity in Russia. This partnership led to the launch of the PJ Library in Russian program in late 2015, which enriches JCCs and their members, promotes Jewish learning within families, and supports Jewish Family Service participants. Since the Russian language program began, JDC and PJ Library have worked together to identify opportunities to increase the likelihood that Moscow’s Jewish families and community groups will connect to PJ Library books and maximize the Jewish experience each book represents. The Russian-language books were selected by PJ Library with this specific audience in mind, and the sets of activity materials that accompanies each book were also designed for the cultural and intellectual interests of Russian Jews. JDC was uniquely positioned to guide the conceptualization and design of these materials. JDC’s experts—Jewish educators, teachers, artists, and psychologists with years of experience—have released educational materials that cover a variety of subject areas and platforms. We have produced materials that acquaint families with Jewish traditions such as games, recipes, and art projects that inspire outside-the-box thinking, and topic guides to help parents initiate conversations around subjects like friendship, love, family, trust,
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and decency, which are touched on in PJ Library books. One of the most important outcomes at the family level has been to inspire parents to become Jewish educators to their children. Russian Jewish parents are engaging with their children by using the PJ Library books and our supplemental materials to create intimate and powerful family-driven conversations and activities that solidify Jewish identity. They are also raising important questions about our traditions…and providing answers, ultimately strengthening the family’s overall commitment to its Jewish life. In addition to our work with families, we also organize seminars for Jewish educators, both from secular and religious organizations. During the pilot year, JDC organized three educational seminars attended by some 60 representatives from dozens of Jewish schools, kindergartens, and cultural and community centers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Bryansk, Voronezh, Saratov, Samara, and Kazan.
PDF instructions provided to participants in the above pictured master-class
PROOF JANUA RY 2017
Andrei Borovsky, author of educational materials, holds a master-class called Columbus denim sails based on the book “Maritime history from the Babylonian Talmud”. This master-class was organized in the very center of Moscow at the Book Fair organized by JDC.
The seminars have concluded, but the learning continues. We are thrilled that all of our educational materials are available for free download on the PJ Library in Russian website, so that communities around Russia can use these resources. Best of all, these materials are inspirational, catalyzing educators in the communities to create their own classes or adopt and transform our materials to meet their community’s needs. Among these are Andrei Borovsky’s materials for the book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, which combines menorah-making tips, facts on Hanukkah around the world, and the history of the holiday. Another tremendous resource is Andrei Usachev’s Hebrew ABC, which helps children learn the Hebrew alphabet through activities like assembling paper bricks with Hebrew letters, and spelling the names of animals and celebrities (Elvis Presley is a favorite). One year after the program was launched, we’re proud of the impact that each book and set of provided activities has had on local families and community organizations. We are motivated every day knowing that Jewish children across Russia now have access to and are reading the same Jewish books at the same time. In this simple act, they are united by the same values and traditions. The materials enrich their lives with knowledge; knowledge they then take and apply to their families, friends, and wider community.
In this, the community develops, affiliation is increased, and the desire for involvement in Jewish life is intensified. The wonderful news is that as a result of the success of the program, PJ Library books are now available to families in communities in eight regions around Russia! At JDC, we continue to be driven by the notion that the very Jews who had their formative Jewish identity shaped by Jewish family camps, holiday celebrations, and other Jewish educational opportunities we created more than twenty years ago can robustly engage their families in Jewish life and impart Jewish tradition to their children. And for those who remain unaffiliated, we can offer a return to their roots through the PJ Library in Russian program and ensure that they find their place in our communities and among the Jewish people. The PJ Library model afforded us another opportunity to meet that goal in a creative and overwhelmingly positive way that utilized the talents and acumen of Russian Jews to contribute to the building of Russian Jewish life. You can learn more about JDC’s wide-ranging Jewish community development work in the former Soviet Union—through its network of JCCs, social welfare centers, youth clubs, Jewish educator’s conferences, and family camps—at jdc.org.
PJ LIBARARY IN RUSSIAN is supported by leading partners Genesis Philanthropy Group and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), as well as the Russian Jewish Congress and several private donors.
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Lessons from Sam TZEDAKAH HAS BEEN A CORE VALUE in my family for generations. My great grandparents were active within their local Cape Town, South Africa Jewish community, and they passed down their love of tzedakah to my grandfather, Sam. My grandfather’s influence can be found in the way I practice this principle with my family. It’s in the tender moments on Shabbat when I teach my children the importance of giving to those less fortunate and in the volunteer work I pursue to create a better world for my children. I cherish the lessons my grandfather taught me and hope they continue to inspire my family and influence how we practice tzedakah for generations to come.
By BRENT TWORETZKY Husband of Randi Zuckerberg
When I attended high school, living with my family in South Florida, I learned to code and fix computers. I was already an active volunteer at my school, but my grandfather encouraged me to share my engineering skills with others who could benefit from my abilities. The first time I volunteered my programming abilities was to support the National Conference for Community and Justice. My work helped to increase productivity, which enabled them to hold even more community events. I felt an extra sense of satisfaction that I could be there for others in a valuable, unique way, just as my grandfather had done as a builder.
I grew up in the suburbs of Cape Town, within a close-knit Jewish community of 20,000 people. My grandfather Sam was a builder by trade, and he dedicated himself to volunteer work within the community. Sam was especially involved with local homes for the handicapped and elderly. We shared many Saturdays in his workshop where he’d tell me about his service projects and we’d work on small pieces together, such as sanding a door or building a chair.
Currently, I sit on the board of Reboot where I help to scale our impact to the broader Jewish community through digital initiatives. I am also an advisor to HarvardX, an online education non-profit, where I help build high quality online access to education. Most recently, I approached Harold Grinspoon with a few ideas of how I could be helpful to PJ Library. Luckily, he agreed and I’m now collaborating with others interested in furthering PJ Library’s mission.
Though my grandfather didn’t seek credit, he felt pride in being able to apply his talents to helping others. Every now and then he’d take me to see our Saturday projects actually being used by the people he served. I knew I wanted to follow in his footsteps and make a difference in people’s lives in my own unique way, I just had to figure out how.
My time as an advisor for PJ Library has been personally rewarding, not just in the work we’re doing, but in how I’m able to share it with my children. Though they are still a little young to fully understand the impact of volunteering, I look forward to teaching them more and more as they grow, instilling in them the same love of tzedakah that has been alive in my family for generations.
BRENT TWORETZKY is Executive Vice President, Product, at XO Group, where he leads product management, design, and user research. He focuses on scalable ways to improve the modern Jewish and broader community, and serves on the board of Reboot, the Nextgen board of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, and the advisory committee of HarvardX. Brent earned bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science and Statistics from Harvard, and an MBA from Stanford. 10
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Generations of gratitude By RANDI ZUCKERBERG Wife of Brent Tworetzky
ONE OF THE THINGS I FIND BEAUTIFUL ABOUT JUDAISM is it encourages you to understand the past in order to have a better understanding of where you’re going. In our world of technology, we live incredibly fast-paced lives. It’s easy to constantly look forward, always thinking about what’s coming next. When I’m able to pause and reflect on my rich heritage, I’m reminded of the lives of my grandparents and their dedication to our family and their community. It’s in these moments that I fully appreciate where I come from and what lies ahead. Thinking back, I remember my childhood dreams of being a singer and the support my family provided me. My grandparents came to as many performances as they could, although I’m sure they were telling my parents that I should ditch the singing and become a doctor or a lawyer, but still, they were always there for me. My grandparents were working class New Yorkers through and through. My grandfather on my father’s side, Papa, as we affectionately called him, worked for the postal service and occasionally drove a taxi. He used to tell me the most valuable thing I could acquire was a NYC taxi medallion…I wish he was here to see how all of that has changed with services like Uber and Lyft and to discuss what he would think is the most valuable investment today. The support from my grandfather on my mother’s side was both emotional and literal. Thanks to a scholarship from the NYPD
Shomrim Society, a society that provides educational assistance to the children and grandchildren of Jewish police officers in New York City, I was able to attend Harvard. During his lifetime, I had a vague notion of the scope of his service, but it didn’t really sink in for me until his funeral. When I watched the moving military procession and saw the letter of commendation from the White House, I understood that he had truly dedicated his life to the community and our country. After graduating Harvard with a degree in psychology, a series of fortuitous events led me not to the microphone stand, but to a promising career in the booming tech industry. As my career brought me into the spotlight, it also gave me opportunities to fulfill the dreams I shared with my grandparents so long ago. I kept singing when and where I could and, a few years ago, I was invited to sing for the late President of Israel, Shimon Peres, and Prime Minister, Benjamin Neanyahu, at a Shabbat dinner in Davos, Switzerland. I was nervous, but I thought about what an honor this was for me, my family, and my community—about just how far I had come from the grandchild of a police officer and a postal worker/taxi driver, to a technology executive singing for the leaders of Israel. Before I began singing I paused, took a deep breath, and gave thanks to the generations before me who brought me to this moment. I only wish that all my grandparents had been alive to see the video on Facebook.
RANDI ZUCKERBERG is an entrepreneur, investor, bestselling author, and media personality. As an early employee at Facebook, she led major marketing initiatives in the company’s formative years, and has gone on to launch Zuckerberg Media, with the mission of creating media content that puts intelligent, tech-savvy, entrepreneurial women and girls at the forefront. She is the author of three bestselling books and travels the world, speaking about technology, entrepreneurship, the importance of women and underserved communities in tech, balancing work and family, and shockingly...how to unplug! 11
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SPOTLIGHT THE COHEN FAMILY FOUNDATION Indianapolis, Indiana
“Our family appreciates and understands how fortunate we are to be able to give back to our community by supporting programs such as PJ Library. It is just as important that we pass this knowledge on to our children and grandchildren. This is our responsibility to our family and community, and we hope to be able to continue doing this for many years to come.” ALAN AND LINDA COHEN
As longtime supporters of the Indianapolis Jewish community, as well as first-time grandparents, Alan and Linda Cohen were attracted to the mission and purpose of PJ Library and eager and excited to help bring PJ Library to the greater Indianapolis area. Now in its seventh year in Indianapolis, PJ Library—along with the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis—is proud of its continuing partnership with The Cohen Family Foundation. A lot has changed over seven years. The number of PJ Library subscriptions in Indianapolis has increased nearly 600% from 75 kids to more than 500! And Alan and Linda now have five (soon to be six!) grandchildren that experience the excitement of receiving a new book in the mail each month, and the enjoyment 12
of listening to—or reading themselves—books about their Jewish traditions and heritage. One thing that has not changed for Alan and Linda is witnessing the joy the books bring to their children and grandchildren, which recently prompted The Cohen Family Foundation to increase its support for PJ Library in order to include even more children in the “power and magic” of PJ Library. The Cohen Family Foundation’s board of directors includes two generations of family members, led by Alan and Linda Cohen, and their children and their spouses, Nathan and Ana Cohen and Chad and Lauren (Cohen) Edmundson.
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ANDREA AND GARY DELMAN Toledo, Ohio
“Gary and I are fortunate to help bring Jewish values into the lives of young families. Due to the foresight of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, PJ Library has continuously added to the lives of Jewish families through the gift of books. Here in Toledo, Ohio, our Jewish community is small but strong. Having not only the books, but activities that surround them, PJ Library is helping to engage Toledo’s young families in new directions. The program is continuously challenging itself to reach more children in new and inventive ways. We are grateful to be participants in this wonderful program.”
“As parents we all know the joy of sitting with our children and reading a story. MAXINE MURNICK Short Hills, New Jersey My husband and I always read to our children when they were young because we thought this was wonderful together-time. And my children read to my grandchildren every night. Creating Jewish themed books for young children, when their minds are most open, and sending these books to the children each month was a brilliant idea. After my husband passed away in 2010, my children and I wanted to honor his life. When I became aware of the need for funding PJ Library in our community it just seemed like a perfect fit. It recognized Ted’s love of children and his continued support of our Jewish community. I think
I am as excited about opening the envelope with a book as any of the children are. And having a parent or child say thank you for sending them a PJ Library book is so gratifying. We have all read about the Pew study that clearly showed a decline in affiliation in the Jewish community, no matter what type of Jew you may consider yourself. What could be better for the future of the Jewish community worldwide than doing something for our Jewish children? Being a supporter of PJ Library, knowing I may have had a positive impact on a young child, has been incredibly rewarding.” 13
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PARTNER SPOTLIGHT continued In recent decades, Jewish life in Greenwich has flourished, and with PJ Library it gained a vibrant hub through which to pass down valued traditions. A promising new initiative is Grandparents Circle, connecting grandparents socially and giving them a framework for funding PJ Library subscriptions, regardless of where their own grandchildren may live.
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Whether at an evening of musical theater, a chat with Sesame Street Workshop’s Lewis Bernstein or a PJ Hanukkah party with Mister G, the initiative brings together Jewish families l’dor vador—from generation to generation. Eight community builders have been especially instrumental in making Grandparents Circle an opportunity for community engagement, bequeathing the foundation of who we are and where we come from.
GRANDPARENTS CIRCLE GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT
RITA EDELSTON What took me to PJ Grandparents Circle was the question, “Could they meet at my house?” I no longer have young grandchildren, but I was thrilled to help launch PJ Library in Greenwich. I think Grandparents Circle is a great idea because it lets me support PJ Library and grow the Greenwich Jewish community. That idea builds on the beginning intent: to have Jewish books available for all families raising Jewish children, including interfaith families who were not necessarily exposed to the culture and traditions of Judaism. The Greenwich community thanks Rita and her late husband Marty Edelston for providing the seed money to launch the Greenwich PJ Library and this esteemed group for founding and stewarding the Grandparent’s Circle.
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WENDY & JIM SCHREIBER
PHYLLIS SHAPIRO
Several years ago, our rabbi told a group of grandparents, “Just because you have interfaith grandchildren, don’t think you have to tiptoe about being Jewish and don’t think you can’t have an influence on these children.” It’s true that grandparents sometimes tiptoe. We don’t want to offend. But in some cases we’re their only connection to Judaism. PJ Library books and programs are a wonderful early entry into the Jewish world.
When my children were young, we only had access to religious storybooks filled with words like, “the marching armies of HaShem.” Later PJ Library came along with books that espoused Jewish ethics, while remaining accessible to all denominations. It’s part of our mission to pass along our traditions to younger generations. So I am happy to support Grandparents Circle—not for my own grandchildren, who live in Israel—but for grandchildren in the community.
DEBRA SHORE
DEBORAH SIMON
I always take my granddaughter to PJ Library events, which are so terrific. Everything in life is about relationships, which is what PJ Library teaches. It’s also life changing because it encourages a lifelong love for reading, which helps you develop empathy for cultures around the world and makes you a smarter, better person. People who are only getting their information online are missing so much. Books give literacy, but they give emotional literacy as well.
How wonderful that young Jewish children can have these books of their very own to learn about their heritage. I have a 6-year-old grandchild in California. I love the idea that she receives books every month. It’s Jewish education. I believe in the PJ Library cause and feel fortunate to be a part of it. Why support Grandparents Circle? Why not?! Especially in these times, with all the hate, isn’t it wonderful to have something positive?
JANE WEITZMAN
NANCY ZISSON
As a grandmother, I can’t think of a better gift to give to my granddaughter than PJ Library. I still remember reading the Deborah Pessin and K’ton Ton books as a child. As president of the Jewish Book Council, I am thrilled that the Harold Grinspoon Foundation is creating a new generation of Jewish readers who will be our future members. PJ Library is one of the most influential Jewish achievements of our time.
Our PJ Library program, and the events for young children that have grown out of it, are the basis for making our families part of Jewish life in Greenwich. That is why I have been working to involve grandparents of PJ Library, whether or not their grandchildren live locally. Our PJ Grandparents Circle gives us a dedicated funding channel to ensure that more books are sent to families, and invites us to participate in grandparent programming going forward.
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P JL I B R A RY.O R G
BOARDING PASS
A life changing adventure from the
NORTH SHORE TO ISRAEL
GATE
12
BOARDING TIME
10 :30 AM
DEPARTURE: ARRIVAL: FLIGHT: DATE: REF NO:
SEAT
3F
Boston | BOS Israel | TLV PJL17 2017 0012008
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
NORTH SHORE REGION Massachusetts
CYNTHIA MANN Program Officer, PJ Library
THIS PAST FALL, sukkah kits were delivered to more than 50 PJ Library families on the North Shore of Massachusetts in a project called PJ Library Sukkat Shalom. After assembling their sukkahs, more than 200 people ate and celebrated the holiday festivities inside them and invited other families, friends and neighbors to enjoy the experience.
Jewishly in real time.” It was also free of cost, thanks to the Lappin Foundation, based in Salem, MA. Robert Lappin, the foundation’s president, was thrilled by the depth and reach of the initiative. “It wasn’t a one-off program,” he noted, “and, each day of the holiday, the total number of people ‘doing Jewish’ grew exponentially.”
The foundation long has been lowering barriers for what Lappin believes is another fundamental Jewish experience—spending time in Israel. Every summer for more than 40 years, area teens have had the opportunity to go on partially or fully (since 1996) subsidized trips designed to strengthen their Jewish identity and build life-long relationships. Once a novel idea, Birthright Israel used it as one of its models.
The families who participated also went to a workshop before the harvest festival to learn about it and to receive their own lulav and etrog, the branches and symbolic fruit used in the holiday’s signature and child-friendly waving ritual. For one P J Library parent, the project provided “the opportunity to build positive Jewish memories for our children and to live
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Removing barriers so families can have meaningful and joyful Jewish experiences helps advance the mission of Lappin and his foundation, whose tag line is “enhancing Jewish identity across generations.” This mission drives the foundation in its partnership with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation to serve more than 600 children through PJ Library. The North Shore was also one of the very first pilot communities for the tween set’s PJ Our Way, which is going strong.
For Lappin, Israel is a core part of Jewish identity because “that’s where our story began” and now, the opportunity to go is being extended to PJ Library parents. The first-ever such trip is planned for 30 people this spring. Heavily subsidized by the Lappin Foundation, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, and others, the trip is being marketed as “a life-changing adventure
PROOF JANUA RY 2017
“Parents read the PJ books about Israel to their kids but often haven’t been there,” she said. “We thought, how incredible would it be to provide an authentic Israel experience to parents so they can share it firsthand with their children? It will help them answer questions about why Israel matters. It will give each family their own Israel story and will cement links in the chain of Jewish tradition.”
Lynette Simons with her husband, Joe, and their four PJ Librarysubscribing children
designed to educate, empower, and inspire PJ Library parents of all faiths to teach their children about Israel and to build connections” between PJ Library families and Israel. Deposits for the $1,500 trip started coming in soon after word got out this fall, despite the complicated arrangements that many parents will have to make for child care. Lynette Simons, who has four PJ Librarysubscribing children, including a 9-monthold, was one of them. Her enthusiasm drove her to sign up right away, even before she had thought through plans for child care. Simons converted to Judaism when she married her Jewish husband in 2011. Since then, she said, she has wondered about Israel but been afraid to visit because of troubling news reports from the region. Then she heard her friends talking about the PJ trip at her synagogue. “They were excited and thought I should go,” she recalled. “And I started thinking that there
may not be an opportunity for me to do this again for a long time. How could I not?!” Simons said her children are “a little jealous, especially my 7-year-old who is preparing to take a pretend trip to Israel at school” (Hebrew School at Congregation Shirat Hayam in Swampscott). Her own personal goals are to feel more connected to and inspired about being Jewish. Debbie Coltin, the Lappin Foundation’s executive director, has no doubt Simons’ goals will be realized. “Parents read the PJ Library books about Israel to their kids but often haven’t been there,” she said. “We thought, how incredible would it be to provide an authentic Israel experience to parents so they can share it firsthand with their children? It will help them answer questions about why Israel matters. It will give each family their own Israel story and will cement links in the chain of Jewish tradition.”
In addition to seeing the country’s signature sights and spending informal time with Israeli families, the trip will feature PJ Library books and focus on how to raise children to love being Jewish as well as how to talk about Israel with family and friends. At the same time, family members back home can “accompany” their traveler with a child-friendly wall map of Israel and through blog updates during the trip that reflects what’s happening in real-time. Plans also call for several social and educational meetings before and after the trip in an effort to build close relationships between families and a stronger sense of community. As for the organizers, they are transparent about their objective. “Whether they are Jewish or part of a family raising Jewish children, we want parents to fall in love with Israel and share that with everyone they love back home,” said Coltin.
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P JL I B R A RY.O R G
THE “YOUR TURN” INITIATIVE:
A NEW WAY TO REACH PARENTS PROVIDING USEFUL TOOLS to parents has long been at the core of the PJ Library experience. This includes sending out our children’s books with information such as guides to pronunciation and explanations of concepts, as well as suggestions on how to use the books to discuss Judaism as a family. It was only a small leap, then, to give parents the opportunity to choose a book of their very own. In the summer of 2016, we launched the initiative, Parents: It’s Your Turn, which invited parents to choose one of four Jewish books. Made possible
by PJ Alliance funding, the program was completely free and a great success: more than 45,000 PJ Library parents chose a book! GOALS OF THE PROGRAM WERE TO: • Gauge parents’ interest in receiving Jewish books written for adults • Learn more about which genre(s) of books parents found most appealing • Determine parents’ interest in receiving digital and e-books
THE CHOICES A Guide for the Perplexed By Dara Horn Genre: Novel
The Children’s Jewish Holiday Kitchen By Joan Nathan Genre: Cooking
Loving Every Child By Janusz Korczak Genre: Advice
Six-Word Memoirs on Jewish Life Edited by Larry Smith Genre: Humor
THE RESULTS Of the
118,000 SUBSCRIBERS who received an invitation,
45,819 PARENTS CHOSE A BOOK!
79% of parents
59% of parents
who chose a book selected The Children’s Jewish Holiday Cookbook
80% of parents
said they preferred a printed book over an E-book
chose one of the two books about parenting, indicating our adult audience see themselves as parents first, even when making a choice for themselves.
IN THE FUTURE we will continue to engage parents in new ways; up next is an opportunity for families to build their own family tree using reusable wall decals. Visit pjlibrary.org/familytree for more details and to see an example of the decals. 18
“EVERY DAY AT HALF PAST THREE . . . Me and Zayde. Time for tea.” SO BEGINS THE DELIGHTFUL PJ LIBRARY BOOK, TEA WITH ZAYDE, by Barney Saltzberg. With catchy rhymes and whimsical illustrations, Tea with Zayde tells the tale of a very special tea party ritual between a grandfather and his granddaughter. Their relationship is like any other tea party between a grandparent and young child, full of giggles and fun, but as they say their goodbyes, we learn that the tea party takes place across computer screens. Our little narrator and her grandfather don’t get to share actual hugs each day, but the love and bond between them is unmistakably tangible. Like the characters in Tea with Zayde, my children have grown up living at a physical distance from their grandparents. My kids couldn’t visit their grandparents on any given afternoon when they came home from school, as their cousins could, and my parents couldn’t be present at every school event or milestone. When my children were little, we would make the drive every few weeks for a quick weekend or hectic holiday visit. A few years ago, my parents moved in with us while my mother recovered from surgery. For the first time in my teenage kids’ lives, they were able to spend unhurried, sustained time with grandparents. We shared conversation at the dinner table each night, and were able to just hang out on the couch together and chat as Zayde did his crossword puzzle and Bubbe rested. Each of us learned something new about our family. I distinctly recall the moment when my father mentioned an experience he’d had when in the army, and my son lit up in surprise and said, “you’re a Korean War veteran, Zayde? Wow! I never knew that!” My father shared other stories about his military service and also about his childhood dog and about life in Brooklyn in the 30s and 40s. I had heard my dad talk about playing stickball and the neighborhood penny candy store, but during those weeks I heard him tell stories even I’d never heard before. My parents had the chance to enjoy their grandchildren, see their sibling dynamic, and get a sense of their daily lives. Living together under one roof for those few weeks brought us together in a way that only time makes possible. Like many other families, we don’t spend as much time together as we would like, so we rely on technology to keep in touch. My kids’ real-life Zayde has not taken to videoconferencing, like our Tea with Zayde character, but each of our parents has their way. My mom prefers the phone. My dad likes to email cartoons or articles of interest. My in-laws often call or send voicemail texts to the grandchildren when they are in the car or waiting to board a flight. Sometimes things go awry, like when my dad mistakenly used “LOL” in an email to a grandchild who had just received a college rejection, or when Siri sends indecipherable transcriptions of Grampa’s voice messages.Yet even when the shorthand is off or the words are garbled, the message to my children is clear: your grandparents love you. Technology cannot replace a real hug or unhurried time together, but, as we see in our Tea with Zayde tale, it can be a wonderful second best.
WINNIE SANDLER GRINSPOON President
NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID SPRINGFIELD, MA PERMIT NO. 71
A Program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation
67 Hunt Street, Suite 100 Agawam, MA 01001 413-276-0800 www.pjlibrary.org
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THE NEXT CHAPTER GOES NATIONAL PJ Our Way is the next chapter of PJ Library, a program for 9–11 year-olds that gives kids the power of choice. Subscribers choose one of four books each month at pjourway.org. After a 2-year pilot, PJ Our Way launched nationally and is completely free to subscribers, just like PJ Library.
85%
of parents would RECOMMEND THE PROGRAM to friends
18,000
SUBSCRIBERS in the UNITED STATES as of December 2016
“Over the past several years, my daughter has transitioned from PJ Library to PJ Our Way. She LOVES everything about the programs, and so do I. When she was younger, she loved the idea that someone at PJ Library was going to pick out a great book for her. As she’s gotten older, now she loves picking her own book on the PJ Our Way website.” PJ OUR WAY PARENT