Notes from the Levy Library

Donation Ideas!

– column updated 7/18/25

A Baby Naming Donation to the Library

On 7/12 the Mizrahi and Arom families celebrated the naming of Naava Seraphina Arom at the Temple. She is the first daughter for parents Erin and Eitan and sister to big brother Isaiah Arom. Proud grandmother Sue Mizrahi wanted the centerpieces for the event to be meaningful, so she planned for a few books in a basket for each table with the books to be donated afterwards to our library. I was thrilled with this donation! We decided on board books because this is an area of the collection I have been wanting to grow. I compiled a list of books from which she could choose her favorites to purchase. Thanks to Sue, we now have a wide selection of board books in brightly colored baskets for you to enjoy with your little ones when you visit.

The library would be happy to help you celebrate other simchas, too! For example, you could donate a new book in honor of a Bat or Bar Mitzvah. Birthday presents could include donating a book to the library. Tell me about the occasion and individuals involved and I can recommend books that are a good match and needed. It’s your library, so I invite you to contribute!

Summer Reading from the Second Sunday Book Club

The Second Sunday Book Club, our no-stress monthly online book club for STTI adults and friends, is now on summer break. How does the book club work? We meet in Zoom and talk about whatever we are reading, Jewish or not, for an hour or two, depending on how many people attend. The regulars really enjoy it – you should try it out when we reconvene on Sunday, September 14, at 1:00 pm.

I always share some of our favorite reading in this column but first I want to tell you about an exceptional video one of our members raved about and that I love, too. The Ladino Ladies’ Club is a 2015 26-minute film from Bulgaria that will knock your socks off! Watch nine older women, possibly the last Ladino speakers in Bulgaria, share Sephardic songs, stories, and food: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4DqvLR9dGc Then watch it again!

Summer at the Library

Now that Hebrew School has ended, I will come in occasionally during the summer to work on our collection and bring a library table to events.

If you want to borrow books over the summer, ask me for recommendations, or do research in the library, just email me so we can arrange it.

Shabbat Shalom and happy reading!

Your Librarian, Annette

Do visit our online catalog http://stti.hl.scoolaid.net/bin/home. You can also get there via the Temple web site https://sephardictemple.org/ — click on the “Learning” tab and choose “Temple Library.” Get to know your Levy Library – there’s lots to discover!

Librarian: Annette Goldsmith. Email: library@sephardictemple.org