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Anybody get PJ Library books?
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bigsis144




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, May 25 2017, 4:16 pm
http://mosaicmagazine.com/obse.....-bad/
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OOTforlife




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, May 25 2017, 5:20 pm
amother wrote:
I am so sad to read public libraries are tossing out books. I have been donating lots of books my kids have outgrown or simply not wanted. So where can I donate old books (mostly kids books) that will make use of them?
Some apartment buildings or subdivisions will have bookshelves in common areas where residents can leave books or take books with no oversight. That's usually more for adult-aimed books, like random airport paperback novels. For children's books, you can see if a local daycare or playgroup wants some of them.
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amother
Coral


 

Post Thu, May 25 2017, 5:41 pm
What's a PJ library book?
I'm thinking maybe it stands for Progressive Judaism?
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tryinghard




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, May 25 2017, 6:47 pm
amother wrote:
What's a PJ library book?
I'm thinking maybe it stands for Progressive Judaism?


Pajama

or maybe Pajama Jewish
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amother
Slateblue


 

Post Thu, May 25 2017, 6:50 pm
Just "Pajama"
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cbsp




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, May 25 2017, 11:41 pm
I have no problem with presenting my children diverse families of various levels of observance. I do have a problem with these books being used as a platform for non Jewish ideals.
Such as taking what could have been a beautiful story about an immigrant girl finding her way in America and turning it into an "intermarriage is ok as long as you're happy" theme. Yes, I threw that one out. And no, even the hoarder that I am, I can't donate such books. I like FF's approach to use them in an art project...

Or the one taking the Medrash of the two brothers with adjacent fields who each provided the other with wheat, the actions of whom prompted Dovid Hamelech to purchase their land as the spot for the Bais Hamikdash - and turning it into a story about two neighbors, one named Fatima and the other a Jewish lady. Seriously?? That one got tossed as well. I am still undecided about the one with Ben Yehuda...

The ones that aren't quite right for my family but have nothing overtly anti Torah we do donate. We've given some to CHoP (children's hospital of Philadelphia) and CSH (children's specialized hospital). These include the Shavuos art book (something didn't sit right with us that Matan Torah was listed as a second reason for the Yom Tov of Shavuos), the cowboy Pesach seder, and a few others.

We really enjoy Yael Mermelstein's Pesach book (Izzy the Whiz and Passover McClean), the Sammy the Spider Purim book, the mountain of blintzes book (but I do object to the way the husband /wife (mother /father) interactions are portrayed, not a religious objection), the Shalom Everybodeee Grover in Israel book.

I'm just curious why it's ok to be respectful of other "streams" of Judaism in terms of the population being served, but the Orthodox stream gets told that they're not the target audience. Not every Orthodox family has the resources to purchase Jewish books for their family... My kids are so happy to get books and we are grateful for receiving them...
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, May 25 2017, 11:54 pm
OOTforlife wrote:
Some apartment buildings or subdivisions will have bookshelves in common areas where residents can leave books or take books with no oversight. That's usually more for adult-aimed books, like random airport paperback novels. For children's books, you can see if a local daycare or playgroup wants some of them.

Apartment buildings in my neighborhood have a lot of children's book swapping going on that way, not just adult. However I suspect a lot of the books do ultimately end up in the garbage when no one takes them for a while; it just makes it easier on the owner who has some kind of reservation about throwing out, say, their guide to stock trading from the 90's. But for normal books there seems to be a good amount of movement.

We also have a donation drive a couple of times a year coordinated by another mom in the neighborhood but I'm not sure where they get donated to. Some organization that helps underprivileged kids. There must be something like that everywhere.
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amother
Rose


 

Post Fri, May 26 2017, 1:01 am
cbsp wrote:

The ones that aren't quite right for my family but have nothing overtly anti Torah we do donate. We've given some to CHoP (children's hospital of Philadelphia) and CSH (children's specialized hospital). These include the Shavuos art book (something didn't sit right with us that Matan Torah was listed as a second reason for the Yom Tov of Shavuos), the cowboy Pesach seder, and a few others.

We really enjoy Yael Mermelstein's Pesach book (Izzy the Whiz and Passover McClean), the Sammy the Spider Purim book, the mountain of blintzes book (but I do object to the way the husband /wife (mother /father) interactions are portrayed, not a religious objection), the Shalom Everybodeee Grover in Israel book.

I'm just curious why it's ok to be respectful of other "streams" of Judaism in terms of the population being served, but the Orthodox stream gets told that they're not the target audience. Not every Orthodox family has the resources to purchase Jewish books for their family... My kids are so happy to get books and we are grateful for receiving them...


Two observations:

In Chumash, Matan Torah isn't mentioned at all as a reason for Shavuos. How does that sit with you?

The aim of the PJ Library isn't to give books to families that can't afford them, it's to bring Jewish content to families with no other exposure. That's why Orthodox Jews are not the target audience. These books are not written for a frum crowd.
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cbsp




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 26 2017, 1:31 am
amother rose wrote:
Two observations:

In Chumash, Matan Torah isn't mentioned at all as a reason for Shavuos. How does that sit with you?


That's why I was ok with donating it. The overall message of the book and the artwork was not a good match for our family but there wasn't anything anti-Torah in it.

amother rose wrote:

The aim of the PJ Library isn't to give books to families that can't afford them, it's to bring Jewish content to families with no other exposure. That's why Orthodox Jews are not the target audience. These books are not written for a frum crowd.


So why should that exposure be "krum"? What makes it Jewish if it's anti Torah? One of the books we did keep discussed in the flaps that a mitzvah is something done that makes you feel good. Ok, so how is that a Jewish idea?Isn't doing good deeds a universal concept?

One of the comments above referenced a Mosaic article. A comment on that article led to a Tablet article about "Shmelf the Hanukkah Elf" which led me to this link:

Author Meryl G. Gordon recently spoke about her Keshet award-winning book ‘The Flower Girl Wore Celery’ in Boston
http://www.tabletmag.com/scrol.....dding

So yes, I am grateful for receiving the books. I also reserve the right to make sure that my children are exposed to ideas and messages that are in sync with our values.
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 26 2017, 1:58 am
cbsp wrote:
So why should that exposure be "krum"? What makes it Jewish if it's anti Torah? One of the books we did keep discussed in the flaps that a mitzvah is something done that makes you feel good. Ok, so how is that a Jewish idea?Isn't doing good deeds a universal concept?

...So yes, I am grateful for receiving the books. I also reserve the right to make sure that my children are exposed to ideas and messages that are in sync with our values.

Re. why should the exposure be "krum" - well, because the people running and funding this project are not right wing Orthodox. When you start a foundation then you get to choose its values. Others may disagree or disapprove but that's the way the world works.

Re. doing good deeds being universal - well yes, that's why they're using that idea to make Judaism appealing to a wider audience. "You know that thing that you value? Well, that's actually a Jewish idea! Judaism is compatible with your life and will enrich your ability to pass your values to your children!" Saying that a mitzvah is a biblically prescribed commandment that you need to do even if it is both difficult and makes no sense to you, while true, just doesn't have the same attractive ring to it.

But I support the message that doing good deeds is a Jewish value because sometimes people lose the forest for the trees. Somehow some frum kids grow up with a thorough value for specific mitzvos, but not enough emphasis on overarching values like caring and kindness - surely not because their parents and teachers aren't practicing or preaching that, but just because they lose the forest for the trees somehow. You get kids who sometimes overlook bein adam lechaveiro when they're focused on doing a specific mitzva or minhag. So I am in favor of books that reinforce the message to kids that doing good deeds and being kind to others in general is an important Jewish value.

And yes, I select and sometimes just edit the books to suit my preferences. For example, there have been at least a couple of times when I changed the rabbi in the story from a female to a male character because I generally approved of the story but didn't want to open that can of worms in my young family. But I don't draw skirts over women wearing pants, as some people might - instead I teach my children that there are women in this world who wear pants and even though we believe that skirts are the way to go, that doesn't mean these people are not Jewish and it doesn't mean they can't and don't participate in other mitzvos. I think this is important because it bothers me when my kids say things like "why is that person [eating in the sukkah, e.g.], they aren't Jewish!" and I explain over and over that Jewish isn't just something you "look."
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amother
Rose


 

Post Fri, May 26 2017, 2:37 am
cbsp wrote:

So yes, I am grateful for receiving the books. I also reserve the right to make sure that my children are exposed to ideas and messages that are in sync with our values.


Of course you have the right to choose appropriate reading material for your children. You do not have the right to choose appropriate reading material for other people's children.
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cbsp




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 26 2017, 8:00 am
amother rose wrote:
Of course you have the right to choose appropriate reading material for your children. You do not have the right to choose appropriate reading material for other people's children.


How am I choosing any reading material for other children? Unless you're saying I'm obligated to pass along all books instead of disposing those that are offensive?
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amother
Rose


 

Post Fri, May 26 2017, 8:10 am
cbsp wrote:
How am I choosing any reading material for other children? Unless you're saying I'm obligated to pass along all books instead of disposing those that are offensive?


You're not. But you somehow feel that this foundation has to cater to your (completely reasonable) standards, even though it's not aimed at you. It's like saying that no one has a right to open a treif but kosher style restaurant because you only eat kosher food.

If you think it's valuable to send out religious books, set up a foundation to do that. And by the way, no matter what standards you have, you'll be sure to find that someone doesn't think you are frum enough.
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PinkFridge




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 26 2017, 12:24 pm
amother wrote:
You're not. But you somehow feel that this foundation has to cater to your (completely reasonable) standards, even though it's not aimed at you. It's like saying that no one has a right to open a treif but kosher style restaurant because you only eat kosher food.

If you think it's valuable to send out religious books, set up a foundation to do that. And by the way, no matter what standards you have, you'll be sure to find that someone doesn't think you are frum enough.


Yeah, but the chaval is when people think kosher-style is, in actuality kosher, when it's not. And when the kosher-style is so tenuously connected to kosher, that it has no real connection to kosher.

ETA: I agree with cbsp.
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cbsp




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, May 28 2017, 11:09 am
PinkFridge wrote:
Yeah, but the chaval is when people think kosher-style is, in actuality kosher, when it's not. And when the kosher-style is so tenuously connected to kosher, that it has no real connection to kosher.

ETA: I agree with cbsp.


Wow, I'm honored. You verbalized so eloquently what I was trying to say.
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amother
Slateblue


 

Post Sun, May 28 2017, 12:29 pm
There is no lack in Kiruv organizations in the US who 'counter' the unorthodox representions of Judaism in the PJ books, if that is a concern here.
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cbsp




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, May 28 2017, 12:48 pm
amother Slateblue wrote:
There is no lack in Kiruv organizations in the US who 'counter' the unorthodox representions of Judaism in the PJ books, if that is a concern here.


I was addressing the commenters above who couldn't understand why someone would choose to throw out the books rather than let someone else enjoy them. My concern is that I could not donate such books and spread these unorthodox representations.
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