Building a Home Jewish Library

The essays in this year’s Art/Engagement Calendar won’t give you pointers on how to build bookshelves for your home. They will, however, help you select the books that will fill these shelves and enhance your home Jewish library.

In the pages that follow, we present suggestions from experts in all aspects of Jewish life and literature, from Talmud scholars to students of Mysticism, from teachers of Jewish History to authorities on Children’s Books. The roster of contributors is impressive.

We are also pleased to announce that, wherever possible, the United Synagogue Book Service will make it possible for you to do “one-stop shopping” for the books suggested in the articles. Simply send an e-mail to booksvc@uscj.org containing a list of the books you want to purchase. For older books that are out of print, we suggest you visit a bookstore or website that offers used Jewish books.

While we remain the people of The Book (i.e., the Torah), we have truly become a people of many books. As the philosopher Franz Rosenzweig stated, “Nothing Jewish is foreign to me.” Let us follow his lead. A Jewish journey must include both practice and learning. The books suggested in these essays will serve as valuable “guidebooks” to inform and enhance that journey.

Building a Home Jewish Library

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