From the CEO

Happy Mother’s Day!

When it comes to Hallmark Holidays, I’ve always been a bit of a curmudgeon. I recognize that puts me in the minority—and I don’t mean to offend—but birthdays, anniversaries, Father’s Day, and the like feel overrated and unnecessary. Why should a greeting-card company, often rooted …

Happy Independence Day!

Two of our children and a grandchild live in Israel. One of them visited for Passover, and yesterday, I brought him to EWR Terminal B for his flight home.

 

People often ask how I feel about having kids in Israel. I always say, with pride, “if you raise Zionists, you can’t be surprise…

Registration

If you’ve ever hosted a wedding, you know the frustration of RSVP deadlines. It’s a week before the event, the caterer is breathing down your neck, and you still have no idea how many people are coming. So, you start calling relatives: “Hey, are you coming?” You think you finally hav…

Passover Greetings

Passover begins Saturday night. Reform Jews and Jews in Israel celebrate for seven days with the first and last days as holy days. The days in the middle are referred to as Chol HaMoed or the weekdays of the festival. Conservative and Orthodox Jews outside of Israel celebrate eight days with…

TANSTAAFL

I first encountered the concept of "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch" (TANSTAAFL) in high school economics. The phrase originated in the 1800s when saloons would offer a "free" lunch buffet as a loss leader to attract drinking patrons.

PJ Library is a “free” program of the Haro…