Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on June 6, 2012

Los Angeles

June 6, 2012

by Rebekah Blume, Contributing Writer

Naomi Western, who works with the Jewish Agency for Israel, worries that her two young children may lose the connection to their Israeli heritage once they start attending local public schools.

Joining more than 2,000 other families nationwide, Western has enrolled her family in Sifriyat Pijama BAmerica to keep her children connected to the Hebrew-speaking culture she grew up with.

I want my children to feel connected to something bigger than themselves, she said. Jewish culture is very rich and full of good values.

The Sifriyat Pijama program, modeled after PJ Library, mails one Hebrew-language childrens book, or sometimes a music CD, per month to families with at least one Hebrew-speaking parent or guardian. The books and CDs are intended for children between the ages of 3 and 6. The program is free, and the families keep the books.

Sifriyat Pijama BAmerica is sponsored by the Israeli-American Leadership Council, the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and the Avi Chai Foundation.

In the past months, Sifriyat Pijama BAmerica began a new initiative to add readings and book-related activities to its program. These events will take place at Jewish schools and are meant to get families more involved in the schools through the reading program. The school initiative will continue next year, and the program founders hope to reach 6,000 families in the 2012-2013 school year with the help of the new initiative.

In late May, Yavneh Day School in Los Gatos and Kadima Day School in West Hills each hosted registration events for families to enroll in the program. More such events will be occurring over the next month at various Jewish Days schools in Southern California; all are open to members of the wider community or by signing up online at sp-ba.org.

Go here to read the rest:
Hebrew books to help Israeli-Americans preserve their heritage

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month
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