A Letter from the Chairs

Whether you have been drawn to the Center by reading an article in Pakn Treger, attending a summer program, or ordering a newly reprinted Yiddish book from the Steven Spielberg Digital Yiddish Library, we know you share our sense of pride. Ours is a mission unlike any other, and our goal now is to ensure that this mission continues with energy, vitality, and without interruption.

We believe that the work of the Book Center is critical to Jewish culture – not merely as a historic preservation project, but as an evolving force in modern Jewish life. We are already witnessing the culmination of years of work as the first translated volumes in the New Yiddish Library – works by Itzik Manger, I.L. Peretz and Sholem Aleichem – appear in bookstores and libraries everywhere. The translation effort is but one example of projects designed to illuminate a world destroyed and nearly forgotten. Thanks to the National Yiddish Book Center, this world of our fathers and mothers, of our grandparents and great-grandparents, remains an integral, vital part of contemporary Jewish culture. And the work has only just begun!

This is a critical moment in the Book Center’s history. As members of the board, our daily commitment is to support the creativity and energy of Aaron Lansky and his dedicated staff. At the same time, our long-term hopes for the Center encompass everything from its permanent financial health to its potential to strengthen Jewish identity and creativity worldwide. But we cannot support this amazing organization alone; we need the help of the loyal members and friends whose generosity, since the beginning, has made all the difference.

And we wouldn’t ask for your support without first investing in the future of the Book Center ourselves. That is why, at the outset of this campaign, board chair Lief Rosenblatt offered a challenge grant of $1.2 million to retire the $2.4 million mortgage that remained on the Book Center’s building. We’re happy to report that the Board of Directors, along with every Book Center staff member and a small group of donors, have matched Lief’s challenge dollar for dollar, and the Book Center enters into this campaign debt-free.

The 25th anniversary of this marvelous, one-of-a-kind organization is indeed something to celebrate. Please join us as we applaud, cheer, and congratulate each other on being part of this remarkable community! Join us as well in securing the past, endowing the future and supporting the Book Center’s next quarter-century of history-making achievement.

Lief Rosenblatt, Chairman, Board of Directors
Eugene Driker, Chairman, Development Committee