A Synagogue Just Like Home

Book excerpt: A new rabbi’s efforts to fix up his aging synagogue are a labor of love—and a comedy of errors—until his congregants fondly pool their talents in this lighthearted celebration of community. Rabbi Ruben loves his synagogue. But he doesn’t love the creaking floorboards, leaking sink, or drafty windows. Surely, he thinks, he can fix it up so it feels cared for, like a happy home! But Rabbi Ruben doesn’t know much about home repair, so when his creative fixes—challah dough plugging a drippy faucet, tablecloths blocking a window draft—make things humorously worse, it’ll take his whole congregation banding together to remind him what really makes a place feel like a happy home. Alice Blumenthal McGinty’s warm, inviting text pairs with Laurel Molk’s lively, friendly illustrations for a story about community and coming together—sharing, helping, caring.