One evening a decade ago, Rabbi Nir Yacoby made a discovery that would lead to the birth of a rare Jewish library in the community, at the Shuva Israel Torah Center in Pico-Robertson.
“We are a frum family,” said the Israeli-born Yacoby, a father of eight. “I send my kids to a very religious school. We don’t watch movies and we don’t have a television.”
For those reasons, he was surprised to find Avigail, his oldest, reading Harry Potter.
“This was okay,” he said, “because it had been assigned by her English teacher. Mind you, this is a very religious school.”
On her own, then 13-year-old Avigail went to the public library and borrowed the first Harry Potter book. She found it so interesting, she soon borrowed the second and third books in the series.
Avigail was not alone. Her school friends shared her enthusiasm.
“Before I knew it, she wanted to buy the whole Harry Potter series from Amazon,” Yacoby said, since there would be a waiting list by the time the books reached the library. Next, she wanted to go on the Harry Potter ride at Universal Studios. Then she asked him if she could see the Harry Potter movies.
Meanwhile, books began piling up. The Yacobys built their own home library, but soon, they ran out of room.
“So I told my daughter, ‘Why don’t we find a wall around this city where a rabbi is just going to give us a shelf, and we will put the books there?’” he said.
The task was far more difficult than father and daughter had anticipated. Years went by.
“When I was just a regular member in other communities,” Yacoby said, “I would ask the rabbi, ‘May I borrow a book?’ ‘I’m sorry,’ he would say. ‘They have to stay on the shelf.’”
A little over a year ago, however, things changed. Yacoby entered the virtually unmarked Shuva Israel Torah Center, at the corner of Clark and Pico, for mincha, afternoon prayers.
Two dreams were about to come true.
Yacoby said, “[The] first time I walk in, I see a sign that says ‘Jewish Public Library.’ Rabbi [Shmuel] Laniado had published his vision before there even was a library.”
Then, Yacoby asked Laniado where the library was.
“There wasn’t one, just the idea,” Yacoby said. “So I told Rabbi Laniado, ‘I have the software and I have books, not a lot, maybe two shelves. Let’s do this.’ He and I are both doers. “
Now, Shuva Israel’s library is bursting, and so is Yacoby … with pride. One reason is that Avigail is the head librarian.
The rabbi was sounding like a very proud new father as he surveyed the facing walls of the lengthy, slender walkway.
“In the past year alone, 18,000 books have been checked out.” – Rabbi Nir Yacoby
“We have 3,000 books in the library,” Yacoby said. “In the past year alone, 18,000 have been checked out. That means a book – and each one has a barcode – has changed hands an average of 18 times.”
Reflecting years later on Avigail’s penchant for Harry Potter, Yacoby said, “There is no value in American literature. The value Avigail’s teacher wanted was proper English for her students.”
He said Potter and other English language books for students “are not teaching values, like how to be generous, how to be considerate, how to be giving, how to be loving. In Jewish literature, every book comes with a message.”
To illustrate, Yacoby cited the popular children’s fairy tale “The Ugly Duckling.”
“The ugly duckling was rejected because he was ugly,” said the rabbi. “Then he became a swan, and what happened? Nothing. When you think about it, there is nothing intrinsic in the book. He didn’t learn anything new about himself. He didn’t grow. He didn’t invest in himself. He just let time pass. Now look at our books. Every volume bespeaks a transformation.”
He cited a book in Hebrew titled, coincidentally, “Avigail.” In it, the main character, Avigail, is rejected in her school. Her teacher suggests she create playing cards to make friends. After doing so, Avigail says to another girl, “Let’s play together.” The girl says no and tells her she did not follow the instructions. Avigail realizes the friend is not really rejecting her — she is just rejecting the proposition of playing with the cards.
“Avigail understood she really liked the girl,” said Yacoby. “Her problem had been she was looking at herself. Friends were not rejecting her, but what she was doing. Then she developed a healthy self-esteem. That is phenomenal, [and] a beautiful way of looking at it.”
In the library, sacred volumes are on one side and books specifically for students are on the other, arranged by readers’ ages. The ones for the youngest kids are on the bottom shelves, the ones for the teens are on top.
“[You] know what category interests people the most?” said Yacoby. “Mourning. We have a lot of people who check out books on mourning because they don’t know what it means. How do you deal with death? What does death mean? What does kaddish mean?”
Shuva Israel is a Sephardic shul, but the library crowd is diverse: Ashkenazi, Sephardic, religious and non-religious Jews all gather there. “People come here from as far away as Bakersfield to borrow books,” said Yacoby.
About 600 families have visited the library, according to the rabbi. Shuva Israel is a Sephardic shul, but the library crowd is diverse: Ashkenazi, Sephardic, religious and non-religious Jews all gather there.
“People come here from as far away as Bakersfield to borrow books,” said Yacoby. “They bring shopping bags, too. People can take a book for two weeks, and then renew for another two weeks.”
Smiling, Yacoby said the library was an instant success.
“Within moments [of it opening], kids started showing up each afternoon after school. Don’t credit only Rabbi Laniado and me. It helps that we are so close to Menchie’s.”
Shuva Israel Torah Center, 8853 W. Pico Blvd.
Library hours: Sunday through Thursday, 4-6 p.m. See myjewishlibrary.org.
