The Yivo Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe

"The Standard on Eastern Europe for the Next 50 Years"

Richard and Lea Rubenstein, longtime library patrons, generously donated a magnificent reference source to our collection. Whether or not your family history originates from Eastern Europe, you will want to hold and touch and browse through this unprecendented work. It is a rich resource that took over seven years to complete and had more than 450 contributors. The Encyclopedia covers the region between Germany and the Ural Mountains (roughly covering today's Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Poland, the Baltic States, Finland, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia), from which more than 2.5 million Jews emigrated to the United States between 1870 and 1920. The alphabetical entries encompass a vast range of topics, including religion, folklore, politics, art, music, theater, language and literature, places, organizations, intellectual movements, important figures-all describing a world largely lost during the Holocaust. It is definitely worth a trip to the Learning Center just to browse through the gorgeous illustrations and graphics. This is a true work of art, and we are deeply grateful to the Rubensteins for donating it.

Encyclopedia Judaica

Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2007 edition
Donated by Morton Fine

Morton Fine is 91 years old and has been around Beth Israel's library for a long time. In the late 1960s, he was chairman of the Building Committee that designed our current space. He made the decision (bless him!) to move the library from the second floor to the first floor, thus giving the library more visibility within our synagogue and also a lot more room. The leadership he gave during this critical time set a strong foundation for our library that our community has been building upon ever since.

In fact, we have been building and adding so much to our library that we have run out of space. Bookshelves were even added in front of the windows, so the library now has no natural light. So while this space is filled with so many wonderful memories and stories, it is also time for a redesign. Thanks to the generosity of so many supporters of the Generations Capital Campaign, the redesign is about to begin.

Mort is not one to live in the past. Nor is he one to say "I've done enough." Yes, he did design the current space, but he understands, and applauds, the move forward. Yes, he has made financial donations to the library for all these years, but he still wanted to donate something special, an important resource that would be used regularly in the new Learning Center.
After careful thought and some discussion, Mort chose to donate a complete set, second edition, of the Encyclopaedia Judaica. It's a great choice, because the 1971 edition, despite its age, is the most used resource in our library. At least one volume is opened up every day, by students and scholars researching a topic, or by congregants just checking a fact. The new edition will likely get more use, and will be the centerpiece of our reference collection. Mort donated this valuable resource in memory of his wife, Frances.

Mort is visionary and generous. How blessed we are to have him among us.