A House Full of Books

What's the first thing you see when you walk into a person's house or apartment?
That depends, of course, on how the house is decorated as well as their own personal taste and style.

Sometimes the first thing you'll see are flowers.

Sometimes it's artwork.

Sometimes it's the dining room table, the sofa, a rug or an accent piece.

And sometimes it's the books.

There's something impressive, even awe-inspiring, about walking into a house full of books. Not just any set of books. Jewish books. Even if it's your own home. The mood changes, if only for an instant. Seeing the books, gives one pause.

You can observe this effect on anyone, no matter who. When they walk into a Jewish home and see shelves and shelves of Jewish books.

Why is this? What is it about books?

In this age of the computer and the iPad and the e-readers, books still carry within them a spark of the ancient, the valuable, the enduring. And they ignite a similar spark in us - a sense that as modern as we are, we are connected with something quite ancient; as insignificant as we sometimes feel, we have inherited something priceless; and as finite as we are, we are yet part of the eternal.

That is what a book, a Jewish book does for us. And for others who enter our home.

Thirty-five years ago, the Lubavitcher Rebbe started a campaign to transform Jewish homes, all Jewish homes, into places of holiness. There was the mezuza campaign, to put mezuzos up on one's doors; the kosher campaign - transforming the kitchen; and the home-full-of-books campaign.

Because a home is not the four walls, the roof, the food processor, the drapes or the garden furniture. The home is who lives there, and how they live there.

And books live. Especially Jewish books. They create an environment, provide balance, offer wisdom. They help the home become a place of tranquility and holiness.

You don't have to start with big expensive sets. Buy one book. A Chumash: the Five Books of Moses. In English. Then buy another. A Siddur - prayer book. And another, Tehilim - the Psalms of King David. Buy another.

Clear off a shelf for them. If you don't have a bookcase, buy one - just for those three (or five - or even one, to start with). When you see them sitting there, you'll want to provide them company. You can fill the empty spaces slowly.

Check online. Join a Jewish bookclub. (See Kehotonline, for example.)

And of course, read the books. Or even better, start a study group, so others can read them, too.

A house full of books. A house full of holiness. One book at a time. One spark at a time.