Tucson Jewish Community Library
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Welcome to Our Community Library!
We hope you enjoy this wonderful resource.
Thank you for visiting our website.
We are proud to provide our Community with the first public Jewish lending library of Southern Arizona.  (photo courtesy Arizona Daily Star) This library has been made possible by the generous donations of private individuals and the support of the Tucson Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. If you are interested in making a contribution, please contact tucsonjewishcommunitylibrary@gmail.com. BOOK SALEOn March 6 we had our annual book sale and we did it again! For the second year in a row, we exceeded the amount we raised last year - $1458. It was just a bit more than last year but in a bad economy, that is good. Additional sales In addition to the funds raised at the book sale, we received two checks from a friend of the library. He is an online book seller who lives on the east coast who took about 50 books home with him when he last visited Tucson. He has sent us two checks for more than $150. All the proceeds from the online sales he sends to us. The library wants to thank him. Storage
Space Our present facility accommodates about 3000 volumes. We have acquired another 1500 volumes and we are always looking for storage space. Another friend of the library heard of our dilemma and volunteered a two-bedroom vacant apartment for storage. We bought 3 bookcases at the Habitat store--for $10 each! We can now keep our future library books in order. All the other books will be placed in boxes awaiting next year’s book sale. With our new storage space, you can bring in your used books all year long for our sale – when it is convenient for you. Just call us in advance, please. IN THE NEAR FUTURE, now that we have our books arranged by categories, we will be able to open our book resources to educators and rabbis. They can come in and find books that they can use in their congregations. We will let you know as to date and place.
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PROGRAMSNovember 10 7:00 p.m. -
Kristallnacht LEARN A NEW SKILL - BOOKBINDING Marty Getraer, a Tucson resident, has been working as a bookbinder for the last decade. In conjunction with the Tucson Jewish Community Library, Marty will conduct a workshop to teach this fine art. The class will include repair and restoration of older books. There will be limited enrollment and will meet when all participants decide. Marty volunteered his services to the library 4 years ago and has since restored many books. The library considers Marty a wonderful addition to our library volunteers. If you are interested in the workshop or want more information, please call Bob Cohen at 320-5494. ISRAEL-TO-GO Are you planning a visit to Israel? Join us in December as we will begin our 2nd year of "Israel to Go" featuring Guy Gelbart, Shaliach. This year we will have 3 sessions focusing on different areas of Israel. WE NEED YOUR UNWANTED BOOKS - FICTION AND NON-FICTION. PLEASE DROP THEM OFF AT THE JCC FRONT ENTRANCE.
Hours of Operation
Register for the LibraryIn order to take full advantage of the books available in the library,please register here. Volunteer Opportunities If you are interested in volunteering at the library,
please contact Marilyn Marcus (577-1975) or by email at
tucsonjewishcommunitylibrary@gmail.com.
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New Reading RoomWe are expanding our library ever so slightly! Over this summer we are adding a reading area to the Tucson Jewish Community Library. The balcony area immediately south of, and outside of, our library which had been used as a storage area will be redesigned as a reading area.We will be installing racks for our Jewish newspapers from hometowns across the country. There will be comfortable chairs, a table and other amenities. Since it is outside of the library, the area will always be available whether there is a meeting in the library or not. Thus far we have subscriptions to the following hometowns: Washington, D.C, New York City, Chicago, IL., etc. If you would like your hometown newspaper on our shelves and we do not have it, you might consider a gift subscription to the paper so you will be able to read it but it will be there for other to enjoy. |
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BIBLIOGRAPHY - CONTEMPORARY JEWISH CULTURES
The Gifts of the Jews
Cahill describes the volume as “how a tribe of desert nomads changed the way everyone thinks and feels.” A great “feel good” book easily read. The implied answer to the question Are the Jews a blessing to the world? is –of course! The world DOES need the Jews.
In Search of American Jewish Culture This is a fascinating tour of the history of the immigrant Jew in America and the contributions to American culture. The author’s challenge relating to Jewish identity is not who is a Jew and what our American Jewish ancestors feared, remembered but what they (the Jews) and their descendants might want to live for.
The Jew Within: Self, Family, and Community in America The story of the detailed study into the patterns and meanings of the activity of sixty American Jews. The authors sought to understand how Jewish identity is formed and how it is transmitted, to shed light on how the Jewish people are faring in the face of societal forces which indicate there should be great concern with the future of Jewry in America.
Why Be Jewish?
Rabbi Wolpe answers the question from a deeply spiritual point of view. He probes the soul and ritual and prayer to help Jews understand the power and the beauty of Judaism. A note of authenticity: Rabbi Wolpe at his Friday night services in Los Angeles normally attracts 800 to a 1000 young Jews!
Finding Each Other in Judaism: Meditations on the Rites of Passage from Birth to Immortality The book grew out of the discussions the rabbi had with his confirmation classes through the years. The discussions about the the brit, bar/bat mitzvah help parents understand what their children are thinking and where they are coming from. The following three books are strongly recommended
to those who are interested in what Judaism offers to the Jew who lives in
America in the 21st century.
A Letter in the Scroll: Understanding our Jewish Identity and Exploring the Legacy of the World’s Oldest Religion Rabbi Sacks writes to his son about God, faith, Purim and so much more. Very readable and most excellent.
Does the World Need the Jews? Rabbi Gordis makes the case that the world needs Judaism but in the present crisis of Jewish identity most Jews are no longer certain why it matters to be a Jew. He examines Jewish life to illustrate where and how the contemporary Jew can regain the passion that tradition, ritual, community and religion matters. A book that you must put down and pick up, even to read sections a second time.
Getting Our Groove Back: How to Energize American Jewry If Judaism is to regain its stature and luster, then the Jewish community must re-educate and rebuild its institutions and its schools. A hard headed look at what it will take to get back in the groove. HISTORY
The Jewish Mind
Written over a quarter century ago, Patai takes us on a journey in search of the Jewish mind. His investigation takes us through the course of Jewish history seeking the connection and relationships between Jewish cultures and the Jewish mind.
Cultures of the Jews: A New History A rich and textured history of the different cultures of the Jews as they lived in many nations from ancient Israel, to Rome, Islam, Christian Europe and America. As several authors examine each of the cultures in which the Jews have lived the layers of identity of the Jews is revealed.
Exclusiveness and Tolerance: Studies in Jewish-Gentile Relations in Medieval and Modern Times A wonderful, small volume which details how the Jews lived in medieval Europe creating their own separate civilization but closely intertwined with their Christian neighbors. And what the transition to “modern times” wrought.
Origins of the Modern Jew: Jewish identity and Europe A small, easily read volume which tells the story of the transformation of the identity of the Jew as we emerged into the modern world. |
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General Search of
Jewish Books at Amazon.com
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Get book recommendations every week, along with the latest news and features!
Jewish Book Council | |
List of Needed Books
We are a small library with just 3000 volumes but we have
a remarkably diverse collection of Jewish books with depth in a
number of areas. As we look through our collection we find there are
a number of books we would be pleased to add to our collection. Can
you help?
This website is maintained by Friends of the TJCL
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Sponsored in part by the
Tucson
Jewish Community Center and by the
Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. Copyright 2009-2011 |