PJ Library Monterey County

08/31/2022

We're in the Hebrew month of Elul, the month leading up to the Jewish New Year, "Rosh Hashanah".
It is traditional to listen to (or blow) the shofar (a ram's horn) being blown each day of Elul. The sound of the shofar symbolically "wakes us up", calling us to reflect on the last year, and start the process of repair and renewal.

PJ Library has a complete guide to the High Holidays. Be sure to check it out:
https://pjlibrary.org/high-holidays-at-home/rosh-hashanah

07/12/2022

06/18/2022

Shabbat Shalom friends and families!
May we all gather peacefully and welcome everyone around our tables this Shabbat and always ❤💛💚

Image appreciation and credit to Keshet

06/01/2022

05/31/2022

Does your community have a local food pantry or food donation program you've contributed to?

Shavuot is a great time to help your children practice the mitzvah of feeding the hungry. In ancient times, during the springtime holiday of Shavuot, the first fruits of the harvest were offered up to God in the Temple in Jerusalem. Farmers selected the first fruits, called bikurim in Hebrew, from a group of seven species: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates.

When wheat was harvested, as the stalks were cut a few pieces of grain would fall to the ground. These pieces are called gleanings, and were to be left for the poor. This is an example of the Jewish value ma’akhil re’evim, Hebrew for “feeding the hungry.”

While most of us no longer harvest fields ourselves, we can still help address hunger by buying extra food to bring to a community fridge or food pantry, volunteering at a soup kitchen, or donating to organizations that feed the hungry.

05/15/2022

For the first time in history, a story will be read from the International Space Station in Hebrew to all of the kindergarten children in Israel. The story w...

04/28/2022

Keeping Jewish history alive for the next generation is central to PJ Our Way’s mission. Middle-grade readers are developmentally ready to grapple with the stories of the Holocaust. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, students in 6th grade and older often demonstrate the ability to empathize with individual stories while also holding them in larger cultural and historical contexts—a skill that is crucial to reading and understanding Holocaust stories.

PJ Library only offers books with Holocaust content to our PJ Our Way subscribers, keeping in mind what is age and developmentally appropriate, accurate and authentic, and representative of individual, familial, and communal growth, healing, and resilience.

Each of the following middle-grade books in this list put together by PJ Our Way educators and the Book Selection Committee has been offered through the PJ Our Way program; please review our parent page for detailed information about each title, including age recommendations, content warnings, and conversation starters. For more information, you can browse the related tags at pjourway.org.

The Bicycle Spy, by Yona Zeldis McDonough
Gottika, by Helaine Becker
Hidden, by Loic Dauvillier
When Hi**er Stole Pink Rabbit, by Judith Kerr
The Length of a String, by Elissa Brent Weissman
Now, by Morris Gleitzman

04/08/2022

Are you hosting your first seder? Are there some very young guests at your table? We have a 15-minute version of our family Haggadah that can help keep things moving along for little kids. You can even click special callouts on the PDF to open videos that go along with certain sections. Or simply use the video playlist on its own. Links for both are in the comments.

Access the 15-minute Haggadah:https://pjlibrary.org/getmedia/94231962-56fd-4702-8601-8123d12e98f3/PJ-Library-15-Minute-Haggadah.pdf

Use the 15-minute seder playlist: https://pjlibrary.org/Beyond-Books/PJBlog/February-2021/15-Minute-Seder-For-Young-Children

03/28/2022

Puppets, Mad Libs, recipes and more!

03/06/2022

Classic French Toast gets a Royal upgrade! Queen Esther's Toast, also called Purim fritters, is a sweet and festive Springtime treat.

02/27/2022

It's hamantaschen time! Whether you like prune, poppy seed, chocolate, prune, nut butter, gluten free, dairy free, or prune, there's a recipe for you. Here's a roundup of just a few of variations your family can try.

Have you already started baking these Purim treats? Show off your results in the comments.

Straightforward scratch dough:
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/the-nosher/how-to-make-the-perfect-hamantaschen-with-videos

Vegan hamantaschen:
https://pjlibrary.org/beyond-books/pjblog/march-2020/dairy-egg-free-hamantaschen

Gluten-free hamantaschen:
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/the-nosher/yummy-gluten-free-hamantaschen

The popular yellow cake mix hack:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/27203/working-moms-hamentashen

Next-level flavors (like "pumpkin chai" and "baklava")"
https://www.foodandwine.com/news/8-recipes-prove-hamantaschen-are-best-kind-cookie