New reading room mingles ethnic, secular selections

What was once a stuffy, crowded and paper-strewn architect’s office has been transformed into a light-filled, spacious reading room above a barbershop at 311 Raritan Avenue.

The man responsible for the transformation is  Rabbi Yossi Sirote, who opened People of The Book Jewish Library in October. In little more than a month he has gathered nearly 5,000 books for his Jewish book store and reading room, encouraging people to browse and read and buy if they like.

 

He has carefully taken the thousands of donated books that have been donated from New York and New Jersey libraries, attics, and basements and categorized them. The Jewish Historical Society of Metro West’s Waldor Memorial Library alone donated 700 books to his non profit book store when they had to cut back library hours.;

 

The bookcases are  filled with Jewish History, Israel, Arts and Crafts, Jewish Humor, Holocaust, Fiction, Prayer, and Jewish women. He has children’s book, young adult selections and even a section of Good Reads that are secular with titles like the classic Treasure Island, Harry Potter selections and even the popular self help book Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus.

“I want everyone to feel comfortable browsing,” Rabbi Sirote said.

The comfortable stuffed chairs, the section for children with a puppet theater and toys, and the neat rows of books are all designed to encourage Jewish literacy and awareness. His  book project is only a part of Abraham’s Tent, a Highland Park organization Rabbi Sirote founded in 2008 to give Middlesex County Jews who don’t belong to a synagogue, a center where they can feel comfortable and gather. A place they could enjoy holidays, learn about their history, culture and generally get reconnected to their religion.

“There was a study done last year that stated that 25 percent of Jewish people in Middlesex County were happy to say they were Jewish, but they were not affiliated with any synagogue,” Rabbi Sirote said. “I want to give people the opportunity to learn about all aspects of Judaism.”
Rabbi Sirote, even before opening his Jewish Library, has been organizing Purim and Hannukah parties, workshops to learn about lighting the candles, and observing Kaddish, the Jewish period of mourning. He is also starting an introduction to Judaism and crash course in reading Hebrew. Along with other Jewish members of Highland Park he has organized Lunch N Learn at several local businesses. Rabbi Sirote is adding a Mommy and Me class and an adult book club.
He invites the public to buy books which cost between $4 and $6 or simply do research on Jewish subjects or read for a few hours in his overstuffed chairs.  Rutgers students have already used the room to research papers on Jewish Women in America, and a Comparison of the Lives of Moses and Mohammad.
On a recent afternoon, with quiet music playing and a sunset streaming across the reading room windows, Rabbi Sirote pointed out titles like Kosher By Design, Fifty Years of Jewish Music and a Treasury of Jewish Humor from his Arts and Culture section, clearly amazed and delighted by every book.
“Rashi, the renowned medieval French Rabbi, commenting on a section from The Chapters of the Fathers (Pirkei Avot),  about the suggestion ‘to acquire a friend,’ says that what is really meant is to acquire a book,” Rabbi Sirote said. “Because a book is really a very good friend.”
To find our more about events and hours at People of the Book call 732-745-7080 or email info@abrahamstentnj.org.