Jewish Community Library

05/11/2026

We were honored to host a portion of today's Song of Songs Conference organized by The Kitchen, which brought together extraordinary musicians, scholars, and singers from throughout the Jewish world. Here is a panel including (from left to right) Neta Elkayam, Samuel Torjman Thomas, Mark Kligman, Yair Dalal, Galeet Dardashti, Shir Ifrah, Ariel Lazarus, and (cut off) Amit Hai Cohen. What an inspiration!

05/04/2026

Library director Howard Freedman's most recent column in J. The Jewish News of Northern California focuses on Daniela Gerson's powerful family memoir, The Wanderers: A Story of Exile, Survival, and Unexpected Love in the Shadow of World War II, which traces her and her wife's Polish Jewish families' experiences during and after World War II, which included deportation to Siberia, settling in Central Asia, and attempting to reestablish themselves in Poland. Gerson will present the book online for the Library on June 2 (see link in Comments).

“For our families, the legacy of exile and forced labor in Siberia would always be a most brutal salvation,” writes author Daniela Gerson.

04/26/2026

J. The Jewish News of Northern California ran a lovely piece on Nesi Altaras, the Stanford graduate student from Istanbul who will be offering a presentation on Ladino this Thursday at the Library. Information about the event is in the Comments below.

Ladino was once spoken by Jews expelled from Spain. Stanford scholar Nesi Altaras is immersed in the language of that lost diaspora.

04/20/2026

With Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha'Atzma'ut upon us this week, consider this excellent selection of works by contemporary Israeli authors posted by the Jewish Book Council. All of these titles are available to borrow from the Library, with many available as ebooks and audiobooks.

Explore contemporary Israeli culture and society through these engaging and thought-provoking works of literature.

04/20/2026

Drawing on archives housed at Cornell, Elissa Sampson will tell the little-known story of the International Workers Order. Founded in 1930 by leftist Yiddish-speaking garment workers, the organization became a uniquely in*******al and multiethnic one, fighting for civil rights, labor unions, and a variety of social causes.
We hope you'll join us online for this event, co-sponsored by the Workers Circle/Arbeter Ring Northern California.

Please register for this free online program, co-sponsored by the Workers Circle/Arbeter Ring of Northern California.

01/14/2026

The shortlist for the Jewish Book Council's National Jewish Book Awards is out. We were delighted to see some of the books that have been at the center of Library programs this year, including The Jew­ish South: An Amer­i­can His­to­ry by Shari Rabin; PRO­TO­COLS: An Era­sure by Daniela Nao­mi Mol­nar; Courtyard: A Memoir by Ben­jamin Par­ket and Alexa Mor­ris; Dog by Yishay Ishi Ron; and Fagin the Thief by Allison Epstein. We look forward to the announcement of the awards in February!

Click here to purchase tickets to the 75th National Jewish Book Awards Ga

01/07/2026

We hope to see you online this Sunday as Vivi Lachs joins us from across the pond to share the world of London's East End when it was a haven for Yiddish-speaking immigrant Jews. Co-presented by KlezCalifornia and the Workers Circle/Arbeter Ring Northern California.

Click here to register for this free online program, co-presented by KlezCalifornia and the Workers Circle / Arbeter Ring of Northern...

01/01/2026

Library director Howard Freedman's most recent review in J. The Jewish News of Northern California highlights Samantha Ellis's splendid memoir recording her efforts to come to terms with the legacy of her parents, who left Baghdad as refugees. The Library will also host an online program with Ellis (see link in comments).

Samantha Ellis’ memoir, "Always Carry Salt," explores struggling to come to terms with her lack of access to her family’s rich heritage.