Read-a-Thon at Cheder Library

By Dina Goldenberg

“Is this a new book?”

“Can you check if I ever borrowed this book before?”

“Can you help me find a book that’s not too scary but it’s interesting and I won’t finish it in one day?”

These are questions that I am asked on a typical Tuesday afternoon in Cheder Menachem – NJ. The students are congregated in the lunchroom which also serves as the Cheder Menachem library. Two large bookcases standing against the wall are filled from top to bottom with Jewish books for all ages.

I usually have an answer to their questions (Yes! I just bought this book. No, you haven’t borrowed this book yet. I don’t think there is a book in this library that’s not too scary and that you won’t finish in one day that you haven’t read.) I’m the librarian and that’s my job. But it’s more than my job; it’s my pleasure and privilege to do it, as it has been since the library opened some 3+ years ago.

There’s one question that I try especially hard to be able to respond to: When will you be getting more books? Honestly, that’s my biggest challenge (Baruch Hashem!) – attempting to keep up with the students’ ever growing appetite for more books.

To that end, Cheder Menachem Library is launching its very first Read-a-thon!
From Hey Teves until Hey Shvat, students will be asked to find people who will sponsor them for a given amount of time that they will spend reading. In this way, the children get to read the books they love, the sponsors support their chinuch and the library can grow! It’s a win-win all the way around.
When we consider the importance of encouraging our children to immerse themselves in material that add value to their Chassidishe upbringing, we can then appreciate the significance that a Jewish library contributes to our Cheder.

I hope you will be encouraged to support this endeavor and participate in the read-a-thon.

To donate or sponsor a child simply click on the link chedernj.org/books
If you have any questions you can email [email protected]