PJ Library is a free Jewish-book-of-the-month-club for Jewish children, ages newborn through 8. The beautiful books engage children in learning about their Jewish heritage and culture while transmitting timeless Jewish values. PJ Our Way continues the journey for children ages 9-12.
Lappin Foundation is the local implementing organization for PJ Library, which it has funded for more than a decade. Its current North Shore funding partners are Epstein Hillel School and CJP; the Janet & David Polak Foundation is its Merrimack Valley funding partner. The program is open to Jewish children who live on the North Shore or in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts, or whose family is a member of a temple or JCC on the North Shore or in the Merrimack Valley.
More than 700 children receive PJ Library and PJ Our Way books every month, year-round. Steeped in Jewish values, they spark conversations around Jewish identity. The books serve as precious learning opportunities for interfaith families where there is a parent who is of a faith other than Judaism. PJ Library programs build community by bringing families with young children together to learn and to celebrate.
In addition to a website with a wealth of resources for parents and relatives, families receive the PJ Library monthly newsletter, chockful of information about books, local programs, Jewish holidays and related arts and crafts activities. In keeping with modern Jewish values of inclusion, PJ Library books feature diverse characters, inter-cultural friendships and stories about learning from and welcoming others, and respecting differences.
Amanda and Robert Campbell of Marblehead anticipate their monthly PJ Library book as eagerly as their daughter, almost three-year-old Thea May. “We are either learning something new or able to gain a new tool to assist us in teaching our daughter about our culture through reading,” Amanda said.
The Campbells grew up in Marblehead, where they relocated one year ago. They became friends at age 10 (they are both in their early 30s) and shared everything, from B’nei Mitzvah to Hebrew high school to their Israel experience on Lappin Foundation’s Youth to Israel Adventure. “My Jewish identity is very important to me. Jewish education is key so our heritage will be reinforced in the present and transmitted to the future in the hearts and minds of our children. PJ Library is one way for a Jewish family to feel connected to their heritage on a daily basis,” Amanda explained.
Debbie and Isaac Pourati agree. They and their sons, Benjamin (8) and Sammy (6), live in Newburyport, where Debbie is president of Congregation Ahavas Achim. She first heard about PJ Library when she was working at CJP and signed up when her children were born.
Isaac, whose family moved from Iran to Brookline when he was 13, and Debbie, who grew up in Newburyport, share a strong sense of pride in their Jewish heritage and connection to Israel. “It is very important to us to instill the same feeling in our children,” Debbie said. “In a community like Newburyport, where there’s not a large Jewish presence, I use the books as a tool to teach my children about Israel and Jewish holidays and customs. Without these tools at my fingertips, I’d be less likely to teach our children about Judaism.”
The Pouratis were lucky to go on the first PJ Library Parents Trip to Israel, where they strengthened their friendship with several local couples. Although Covid-19 has prevented the Campbells from meeting many other young families, Amanda has used the PJ Library books to create her family’s own special traditions.
Last month’s PJ Library book, Tea with Zayde by Barney Saltzberg, was “especially special” because everyone in the Campbell family loves tea. The story inspired a new family tradition: Shabbat Poetry Tea Time. Every Friday, Amanda and her daughter read different poems and books together. “Tea and Shabbat pair so nicely. Sharing the tea experience helps create a psychological closeness and Shabbat is a time to stop and reflect on what we are thankful for and to actively slow down. It's an inviting environment that helps facilitate closeness among family members and those you are sharing Shabbat with,” she said.
Amanda particularly looks forward to sharing with her children (daughter Natalie is due soon) PJ Library books that incorporate themes of inclusion (race, gender, sexual orientation and different cultures). “It is very important for our future generation to read about all types of people so they are able to better their own future. Books are knowledge. Books are their future. Books fill our homes, and children's books are more important and influential than people might realize.
“That is why I love PJ Library so much,” she said.
Sign-up for PJ Library or PJ Our Way at LappinFoundation.org.
