About Beth El - Library Hours

The Max Shapiro Library offers a wide variety of resources to Beth El congregants and the wider Minneapolis Jewish community. With a collection of over 6,000 books and periodicals, information on every aspect of Jewish life is available. A card catalogue or the librarian can help you easily locate material on Jewish history, halakha (Jewish law), holidays, theology, literature, arts, food, children’s stories, the State of Israel and much more. Whether you are working on a school report or just feel like browsing, whether you are interested modern Jewish fiction or Talmudic debate, the library has resources available to you.

Library Hours are:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday - 1:30-4:30 pm
Sunday- 9:30 am-12:00pm

To find the library:
When entering the building from the main entrance, walk past the social hall and the gift shop. Go down the stairs. The library is on the left.

Selected Reading / Book Suggestions

Fiction Books
Bearing Witness by Michael Kahn
The Pursuit of Alice Trift by Elinor Lipman
Street Dreams by Faye Kellerman
A Palestine Affair by Jonathanf Wilson
An Hour in Paradise by Joan Leegant
Dream House by Rochelle Krich
In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner
Saul and patsy by Charles Baxter

Non-Fiction Books
The Lord is My Shepherd by Harold S. Kushner
The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz
What I Saw at the Fair by Ann Birstein
The Ten Commandments of Character by Joseph Telushkin
Charlotte and Lionel by Stanley Weintraub

Do not forget the library when:

you are writing a paper and need research material
you are looking for an English or Hebrew name for your child
you are writing a d’var torah and need a book or commentary
your child needs more in-depth information on their Bar or Bat Mitzvah Haftarah
there is an article you remember reading in a Jewish newspaper and can no longer find the paper at home
you need some books and information on Jewish holidays for your children
you need a good book to read
you need a good Jewish recipe for a holiday

We have an excellent reference section.

Book by Murray Brandys on Website
A book - My Name was 133909 and I Sang - by Murray Brandys, longtime Beth El Choir member, has been added to the website of the center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota. If you are interested in reading it, look it up at www.chgsumn.edu then click on Histories and Narratives. It is listed under the title My Name was 133909.

Shabbat Book Cart
In addition to the Max Shapiro library, congregants are invited to take advantage of the Shabbat book cart. Located in the Ring lobby during Shabbat and holiday services, the book cart contains resources on the siddur (prayer book) and Torah reading. This material is intended for use during services. Please be sure to return books to the cart at the conclusion of services.

Resources on Grief and Healing
Congregants who have suffered a loss, who are seeking comfort and healing are invited to explore resources which are available in the Fitterman Chapel. Articles on the meaning of the mourner’s kaddish, pamphlets on grief and healing and books on mourning can be found by the front of the chapel (near the door leading outside). Pamphlets and articles are for the taking. Books must be checked out.