For the past three years, the PJ Library program has been delivering Jewish culture to the homes of Tucson families in the form of books and CDs.
"The books are received completely free of charge, courtesy of local donors who see the importance of bringing Jewish literature and a love for Jewish learning into homes at a very early age," said Sharon Glassberg, director of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona's Coalition for Jewish Education.
On Sunday, the books "The Kugel Valley Klezmer Band" and "Mendel's Accordion" came to life during a Klezmer and Kugel Pajama Party at the Tucson Hebrew Academy, 3888 E. River Road.
"We like to bring our PJ Library families into the various Jewish locations in town and let them come in and visit and meet the people that are there," said Glassberg.
After dining on kugel, a Jewish delicacy made of noodles, sweet cheese and raisins, children and parents were treated to an energetic reading of the books by professional storyteller and Tucson Hebrew Academy teacher Jordan Hill.
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Hill also leads the Hebrew High Klezmer band "Sodom and Klezmorrah," which performed songs in between stories.
"It's basically traditional Eastern European, Jewish, Yiddish folk music," explains Hill of his 12-year infatuation with the genre. "I just started listening to it and I fell in love with it."
Hill hopes to bring that level of enjoyment to the families when he shares the music.
"For kids who grow up in a Jewish context, and they grow up in synagogue, their ears are tuned to a certain kind of melodic structure which you don't really get in mainstream culture. That's what I found when I started listening to Klezmer. It was so interesting and fun and energetic, but at the same time it was so familiar even though I'd never really consciously listened to Klezmer music before that."
During the final song, kazoos were handed out so the younger audience members could play the music of their ancestors.
"The roots element is powerful," said Hill. "If these are Jewish kids, it's good for them to know where they're coming from, and what is mixed into their backgrounds so they can take it and run with it however they choose to."
Find out more
Visit jewishtucson.org for more information about the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona.
