Have you heard the one about the Rosh Hashanah taiglach? Ask a member of the Weiss family on Friday evening, November 6 for the details.
At the oneg after Shabbat evening services. we will be celebrating Helen Weiss and her wonderful sense of humor by dedicating the Helen S. Weiss Humor Collection in the Alan Lampert Memorial Library.
The Weiss family thought that supporting the library’s collection with an emphasis on Jewish humor would be a fitting memorial at Shomrei for Helen who was important in every facet of Shomrei’s life for many, many years. The Lampert Library is now the repository of much of Helen’s personal collection of books on humor.
Sisterhood, MESH, and Kiddush were only a few of the activities that Helen was involved in.
For years Helen served as secretary for the Library, sending out acknowledgements for donations.
And who can forget Helen in so many different roles in the annual Purim Shpiel? While never the star, Helen often stole the show with her enthusiasm and charm.
Helen’s way with words and ability to add humor to almost any occasion led to her being asked to give lots of speeches around Shomrei. She was never mean spirited and her sparkling smile could disarm anyone.
Helen loved books. With Jerry, who is an expert on literature for young readers-especially teenagers, Helen traveled the country attending literary and library conferences, meeting and befriending the luminaries of the children’s literature world, and preaching the gospel of books.
Helen was also an author. She collaborated with Jerry on several anthologies for both adults and young adults including the riveting collection From One Experience to Another: Award-Winning Authors Sharing Real-life Experiences through Fiction and The American Way of Laughter: A Collection of Humor from Benjamin Franklin to Woody Allen, unfortunately now out-of-print.
The Lampert Library is fortunate to be able to celebrate this remarkable woman not only on November 6 but also long after.
Visit the Lampert Library, look for the books with the smiley face and chuckle, guffaw or just simply smile when you pick up one of the books to read yourself or share with a child.
And remember for a moment, the kind, generous, humble, funny lady who inspired the collection.
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