The books arriving in the mail in recent weeks have been about the birthday of the world, the sweet taste of apples and honey, and the importance of reconciliation. All are themes and symbols of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, which began Wednesday at sundown.For more than 200 local Jewish families with young children, the books about the values and customs of their faith are another way to teach a new generation and to offer a refresher to parents who may have forgotten the lessons they learned in Sunday school as youth.
"It's a great way for us to introduce the holidays to our kids," said Karen Rothbaum, a Northside mother of three whose family has been receiving the free books provided by the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis. "It's extremely important that they know the history and where they came from and why we celebrate what we do."
For Annie Klapper, a 2006 convert to Judaism, the books have not only been great for reading time with two preschool children, they've also helped her in her personal understanding of Jewish traditions and customs. "For a convert, I think it is a fabulous thing," she said. "Since I didn't grow up Jewish, I don't have the background that I might have in the holidays had I grown up that way.
Sponsored locally by the Cohen Family Foundation, the books come through a partnership with The PJ Library, an international Jewish family engagement program that provides books to 63,000 children a year. The program aims to strengthen the Jewish identity of families and their ties to local Jewish communities -- important matters at a time when interfaith marriages are becoming increasingly common and young Jewish families may not connect with religious institutions.
About 1 percent of Indiana's population is Jewish, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. An estimated 10,000 Jews live in Central Indiana. Lauren Edmundson, a member of the Cohen family, said she has not only watched the project take off locally with other families, she also has become a participant, receiving the books, which she shares with her twin sons each month. Aside from what the books offer her children, Edmundson said, she's enjoyed learning again about some of the Jewish festivals whose symbolism she may have forgotten about since her days in Sunday school.
"Getting it from a kid's perspective is an easy way to get back acquainted ourselves."For Rothbaum, the "Apples and Honey" book was an easy way to talk with her three sons about Rosh Hashana, a two-day festival. In fact, her 8-year-old reads the book -- a story about going to temple, hearing the sound of the shofar and dipping apples in honey as a traditional hope for a sweet new year -- to his younger brothers.
"They get to share the stories together, and we talk about it," Rothbaum said. "As a family, we love it."