Dr. Ron Wolfson is Fingerhut Professor of Education, American Jewish University. His new book, The Best Boy in the United States of America: A Memoir of Blessings and Kisses, is now available in print and audiobook from Jewish Lights Publishing .
No, this is not a question I expect from my preschool grandchildren Ellie Brooklyn and Gabriel Elijah, although they are most definitely digital natives. Their parents — and Bubbie and Zaydie— have made sure that they love to cuddle up with a printed book, eager to hear the words and look at the pictures of a great children’s title.
I am not totally worried that ebooks will transplant print books as the way we read literature. A recent New York Times article reports that ebook sales are down 10% and bookstores are breathing a bit easier these days.
Instead, permit me to share two insights about the purpose of a book.
I once heard my friend Rabbi David Wolpe say the most remarkable thing about books. He was a fresh-out-of-seminary rabbi, recruited by Dr. David Lieber, to join the University of Judaism (now American Jewish University). Rabbi Lieber of blessed memory, then President of the University, wanted this bright young rabbi and budding author on staff, but the only suitable job available was “Librarian.” Did David Wolpe know anything about being a librarian? I once asked David this question in front of a group at his congregation, Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. His answer: “I knew as much about being a librarian as I know about the flora and fauna of Papua, New Guinea.” Nevertheless, Rabbi Wolpe was a great advocate for our library, the largest collection of Judaica in the western United States of America. It was at a fundraising event for the library when I heard David say this: “When I walk through the stacks in the library, I don’t see books. I hear the voices of the authors saying: ‘Come, now. Pick me up. Let me share with you what I have learned.“I thought about this as I set about writing my new book, The Best Boy in the United States of America: A Memoir of Blessings and Kisses. For years, I have wanted to write down the stories I tell — many of them very funny (and all true!)— tales I share to illustrate my educational points when I teach seminars at AJU and during my travels as a scholar in residence. I wondered if the oral words could become written words and retain their impact. Although the book has been out for only a few weeks, I’m thrilled that early readers have indeed reported that the stories are resonating deeply, eliciting many laughs, some tears, and warm feelings of memory and identity. And, with David’s stirring words in my mind, I decided to narrate an unabridged audiobook of Best Boy so readers can literally hear my voice!
Here’s the other amazing thing about a book. For someone like me who loves teaching, a book is an extension of my classroom. It enables me to share what I’ve learned with thousands of people I will most likely never encounter in person, but eagerly meet in the pages of the text. This is why I write the stories in easy prose, a narrative that goes down, I hope, like sweet honey in a glazele tay. It is why I am tickled when a reader reports “I laughed out loud on a plane,” or “I had to stop to read a story to my spouse,” or “your stories are my stories.” It is why, when I meet someone with a copy of Relational Judaism with pages that are dogeared, underlined, and ridden with sticky notes, I am elated, for my “student” has indeed heard my words. It is why I included a Discussion Guide for book clubs in Best Boy,because sharing a good book with friends is like convening a class.
So, what is a book? It’s a voice. It’s a classroom. It’s the sharing of life lessons that resonate. It’s a vehicle for sharing relatable stories that reveal the author/teacher’s experiences and unveil the soul.
Dr. Ron Wolfson is Fingerhut Professor of Education, American Jewish University. His new book, The Best Boy in the United States of America: A Memoir of Blessings and Kisses, is now available in print and audiobook from Jewish Lights Publishing .
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Ron Wolfson, Ph.D., is Fingerhut Professor of Education at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles. He is the author of The Spirituality of Welcoming: How to Transform Your Congregation into a Sacred Community and God’s To-Do List: 103 Ways to Be an Angel and Do God’s Work on Earth (both Jewish Lights Publishing). Ron is also co-founder and president of Synagogue 3000, a national institute for catalyzing excellence in synagogue life.