A Hip Hop’n Havdalah!

One great program, two convenient locations

The Foundation invites PJ Library families and friends to celebrate Havdalah, a beautiful ritual marking the end of Shabbat.  Join us for activities, stories, a special Havdalah learning service and more!  Dessert will be served.  The program is free.

RSVP by January 27 to swyner@rilcf.org or 978-565-4450

All are welcome to attend!

Contact Susan Feinstein at 978-740-4431 or sfeintstein@rilcf.org for more information.

Children and adults are invited to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month (May) at a very special PJ Library Story Hour featuring author Heidi Smith Hyde, who will read her book Mendel’s Accordion, and accordion player Barry Shapiro, who will entertain with klezmer music.  Klezmer and Kids will take place on Friday, May 18, 3:30 p.m. at Cohen Hillel Academy, 6 Community Road in Marblehead

Children will delight in this coming – to – America story, while learning about klezmer music, its place in Jewish culture and its modern-day revival.  Children will form a klezmer band from instruments they will make, and will dance and play along with Barry the accordion player.

 Klezmer and Kids Story Hour, a free program of the Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation in partnership with Cohen Hillel Academy and the Jewish Heritage Center of the North Shore, is open to all who want to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month.  PJ Library Klezmer and Kids Story Hour is made possible by a generous allocation from the Jewish Federation of the North Shore.

 Reservations requested by May 11 to Phyllis Osher at 978-740-4404 or email posher@rilcf.org.

PJ Library Celebrates Grandparent’s Day
Sunday, September 9, 2012

PJ Library Sunshine Strollers

Babies and Tots of the PJ Library are invited to meet-up and stroll (with an adult, of course!) on Wednesdays, from April 25 – June 6, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. at scenic Forest River Park in Salem, weather permitting.

Forest River Park is located off of Lafayette St. at the end of West Ave. in Salem.  West Ave. is at the intersection on Lafayette St. where Salem State University is located.

There is ample free parking.  We will meet at the entrance to the beach at the top of the parking lot and stroll around the paved road, which goes in a circle around the park.
If you have questions, contact Phyllis Osher, Program Associate, at 978-740-4404 or posher@rilcf.org.

PJ Library Sunshine Strollers is a free program of the Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation, which sponsors programs that are helping to keep our children Jewish.

Journey of Faith is an engaging 10-minute trigger film, available free of charge, which discusses the importance of conversion to Judaism of a non-Jewish spouse in an interfaith family. It tells the true story of Douglas and Jodi Smith’s conversion from an interfaith family to a Jewish family. Parents of two young children, Douglas converted to Judaism in 2005 and later that year, Douglas and Jodi were married in the Jewish tradition by a rabbi on their tenth wedding anniversary.

This short film is appropriate for teens and adults and can be used in a variety of settings including conversion classes; interfaith outreach programs; Introduction to Judaism classes; teen dialogue about dating, marriage and family; premarital counseling and training for clergy and Jewish communal workers.

Topics addressed in the film include:

Upbringing in their respective faiths
Expectations before and during marriage
Raising children
Challenges faced as an interfaith couple
Parents’ reaction to conversion
Factors in Douglas’ decision to convert

Journey of Faith comes with a free User’s Guide, which has a list of discussion questions to trigger conversation. It is produced and distributed by the Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation.

To order a free copy of Journey of Faith and free screener’s guide, call the Foundation at 978-740-4431 or email sfeinstein@rilcf.org and provide your name, mailing address, and email.

Children ages 6 months through 8  years old, are eligible for the PJ Library, a program that provides free Jewish books and music every month to children from Jewish and interfaith families.

The program, designed to help keep our children Jewish by promoting a sense of Jewish pride in young children, is provided free by the Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation, Cohen Hillel Academy and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation of Western Massachusetts.  The books are mostly soft covered with beautiful illustrations.  A monthly newsletter is sent to families with helpful information about The PJ Library books, Jewish holidays, and related arts and crafts activities.

The Lappin Foundation service area is one of more than 160 communities nationally to be part of this growing program that sends out more than 90,000 books every month.

To date, the Lappin Foundation has enrolled more than 1,125 children from  725  families in the program and plans to reach many more.

The PJ Library is free and open to Jewish and interfaith families who live in or affiliate with a Jewish institution in the Lappin Foundation service area.

Visit The PJ Library website at www.pjlibrary.org for a wealth of resources for parents and families.

For more information about The PJ Library or to enroll your child, please call Phyllis Osher, at 978-740-4404, email posher@rilcf.org, or click here to register online.

Special free programs are held throughout the year for families of The PJ Library, such as Jewish Holiday Story Hours, Jewish holiday celebrations, speakers, and more.

Gather Us Together is a traveling exhibit about the Ethiopian Jewish experience.  Through images, music, artifact, DVD, oral histories, learning activities, and a scripted presentation, students will encounter an extraordinary story of faith, courage and homecoming as they follow the Beta Israel journey back to Israel.

Jewish schools, camps and organizations may borrow the exhibit free of charge for up to one week.  For more information or to reserve the exhibit, call Phyllis Osher at 978-740-4404 or email posher@rilcf.org.

“I felt connected to a tradition and it made me think that it is important to carry on the traditions of the Jews.” Daniel Katz, Wenham

Tefillin are described as the “ties that bind” and learning to use them is part of the curriculum in many of the seventh grade Hebrew school classes on the North Shore. Seventh grade is the year when most children celebrate becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah and learn many of the traditions that tie them to their great and unique Jewish family, both in the past and the future.

Tefillin for Teens provides B’nai Mitzvah students, boys and girls, with a free set of tefillin and a tefillin bag, valued at $150 per child. Students who wear them say they feel more connected to prayers such, as Sh’ma Yisrael, and to a Jewish tradition started thousands of years ago.  Students receive instruction on how to put on tefillin and the meaning of tefillin.

For more information, call Phyllis Osher, at 978-740-4404
or email posher@rilcf.org.

“Teaching about Israel using the Israel Land Map is a multi-sensory experience for kids of all ages and encourages play with a purpose.  Students have a great time on the floor map learning about Israel through touch, play, stories, games, puzzles and much more. It’s fun and engaging.” – Dina Davidyan, Beverly

The giant 30’ x 15’ Israel floor map and enrichment materials make learning about Israel fun and interactive.  The map can be used to teach all aspects of Israel, including geography, history and religion.

For more information or to borrow the Israel map, please call Phyllis Osher at 978-740-4404 or email posher@rilcf.org.

The movie will be shown on Monday, May 23, 7 p.m. at Temple B’nai Abraham in Beverly. Free ballpark snacks will be served. Children ages 10 and older are welcome. Contact Susan Feinstein at 978-740-4431 or email sfeinstein@rilcf.org to make a reservation or for more information.

This documentary is available from the Foundation for educational programs.

Producers write “JEWS AND BASEBALL: AN AMERICAN LOVE STORY explores the connection between Jewish Americans and baseball, our nation’s most iconic institution. More than a film about sports, it is a story of immigration, assimilation, bigotry, heroism, the passing on of traditions, and the shattering of stereotypes.

Interviews include fans, writers, executives, and especially players – including Al Rosen, Kevin Youkilis, Shawn Green, Norm Sherry, Ron Blomberg, Bob Feller, Yogi Berra, and a rare interview with the legendary Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax. Fans Ron Howard and Larry King speak of the meaning of Jewish ballplayers in their own lives, while historians and even two baseball-loving rabbis relate the stories of Jewish players to the turbulent history of the last century. These powerful personal and historical stories are interwoven with an extraordinary collection of rare archival footage and photos, and a musical score ranging from Benny Goodman to Yo-Yo Ma to Rush.

Dustin Hoffman narrates this engaging story of great drama, unforgettable games, and the broad sweep of American history.”

Visit the website at www.jewsandbaseball.com for more information about the documentary.

For information about scheduling an educational screening, call Susan Feinstein at 978-740-4431 or email sfeinstein@rilcf.org.

Using the Time Tents is inspirational Jewish teaching at its best! Bring Torah to life or take students back in history by using the Time Tent, a 10’ x 10’ easy-open structure that makes learning fun.  The Time Tent uses the creativity and imagination of teachers and students, transporting them to the past to meet Biblical or historical personalities and engage them in creative learning.

The Time Tent has been successfully used to introduce students to Abraham, Sarah and baby Isaac, and to Moses and Pharoah,  bringing biblical stories to life and allowing students to actively participate in them, using storytelling and bibliodrama.

The Time Tent may be borrowed, free of charge, for up to a week.  The kit comes with the aluminum frame and fabric sides.  Additional props are available, including:

• Camel
• Dress-up clothes for dessert
• Abraham and Sarah costumes
• Cardboard palm trees
• Decorations for inside the tent
• And more!

For more information about the Time Tent, contact Phyllis Osher at 978-740-4404 or email posher@rilcf.org.