The Life of a Jewish Bookseller

Entries from The Diary of a Jewish Bookseller Jan 2021

A visibly Irritated man calls insisting I tell him why he is receiving unsolicited books from my store.  Turns out that someone was purchasing books on controlling your anger and sending them at regular intervals to this man’s address.
A Non-profit whose aim is stated as preserving the history and literature of Syrian Jews called my store and requested, or rather insisted that I don’t sell copies of their publication which I acquire second-hand as they want to be the exclusive source for their publications

A customer from rural Texas sends me this message after our lengthy call was disconnected. “Sorry about the interference.   I am curious myself about it.   I was left with a fuzzy brain as I hung up –  interesting. But I can break their power over me by speaking in tongues to God, so I did and the fuzzy is clearing…..   They never went that far before!   I don’t know who ‘they’ are but as long as I am on the Lord’s side, I can stay in the Spirit of God….   I have learned a lot about what warfare is in the Spirit….   speaking in tongues (I do it loudly!)  is the most powerful.    They can’t fight against it.”

A response to an email I sent to a customer telling him that the book he requested arrived: “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you regarding this book.  Unfortunately, Mr. Lipman passed away around 5:30 p.m. on Monday, September 16.  I never had a chance to even ask him about the book.  His death was very unexpected and we are all in shock.  Thank you for all of your help obtaining the books.”

A response from a customer who received a book in the mail from me. “I am interested in the newspaper you used to pack my books. I would like to get a subscription to it . I would call them if I had the phone number of their office and see about having it sent to me. ! Please, will you send the number? Thank you in advance……”


A visit to a local home to acquire books turned in to a two hour lecture and overview of the lady of the house’s stand on vaccination. They were in the process of emigrating to avoid the forced vaccination of their children with the Covid-vaccine. 
A bride to be called to order a Meam Loez in the original Ladino, as per the ancient Turkish Jewish tradition where a groom would receive a Meam Loez on his wedding day
An order came through for a set of Zohar in English going to a Japanese woman incarcerated in Rikers. It was explained to me how the Japanese are descended from the lost tribes of Israel and how their literatures complement each other.
A local slightly confused customer asked if I was planning on being closed on both days of Tishah Be’av

A traditional Syrian Jew requested to view a manuscript in the handwriting of the Ben Ish Hai, but insisted I find him a head-covering beforehand in respect of the sanctity of the writing. 

A noted CNN TV anchor inquired from my store who was sending her books on Anti-Semitism from my store, she was impressed when I explained that it was most likely someone who thought she can use some insights in to the topic and was buying them and sending them to her address.


Just got a rundown and comparison of the Artscroll Sephardic Siddur vs the Moroccan English translation of the Siddur from a African-American convert to Judaism

A purchase of 10 Yom Kippur Machzorim was returned after the holiday by a lady from California as she explained to me that she no longer needed them as the holiday was now over

An order for a copy of the “Sanctity of the Mechitzah” by Baruch Litvin came with a note that it was intended as a gift for a great-granddaughter’s wedding and the wedding will indeed sport a mechitzah
A walk-in who claimed to be a professional graphologist spent an extended amount of time analyzing the handwriting of manuscripts of the Chafetz Chaim and Ben In Hai in my possession, showing me how their differing personalities are evident in the handwriting styles
A regular customer currently in a Florida Jail requested I write to his parole board advocating for his release. 
An mail came in from an author with a request to pay for space in store for titles such as “Living For Higher Purpose: Story of a City Boy Who Survived the Vietnam War by Living for Jesus and Others”
The widow of a rabbi whose extensive and all-encompassing library I acquired told me how she served for decades as her husbands librarian, retrieving and shelving books as needed.
A customer from the rural mid-west, hearing of the hard-hit areas in Brooklyn due to covid, sent me $300 to be distributed to a needy family locally
A caller insisted I arranged to have books picked up from his home immediately as he wanted his house tidy in the expectation of guests

Continue reading…

From Musings of a Jewish Bookseller, here.

Some other articles:

  1. The Other Yiddish Books
  2. Spanish Inquisition Denial?
  3. Q: Why Doesn’t Hyehudi Quote 1984 and Brave New World?
  4. We Need More GOOFY ANIMALS in Frumly-Frumpy Jewish Children’s Books!
  5. Here’s Your Hauptwerk

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