Meet the Slovik Family of Lafayette
PJ Library® Family of the Month
Elsa and Joshua Slovik, along with their children, Ethan (13), Theo (11), and Tom (5), live in Lafayette in Contra Costa County. The Sloviks bring Judaism into their home by celebrating Shabbat and other Jewish holidays as a family. Elsa and Joshua love raising their family in the Bay Area and are actively involved with several Jewish communal organizations.
L to R: Tom (front), Joshua, Ethan, Elsa, and Theo
The Slovik family belongs to Temple Isaiah where they are members of a Chavurah and join in several family programs. Ethan and Theo attend Camp Ramah of Northern California each summer. The East Bay Jewish Film Festival is one of the family’s favorite annual events. They are closely connected to the special needs inclusion work done by Jewish LearningWorks.
PJ Library has been a staple of the Slovik family’s life for more than a decade. All their children began receiving PJ Library books when they were very young. Their youngest, Tom, is still receiving them, and Theo, who is 11, now enjoys choosing his PJ Our Way chapter book every month.
PJ Library books are like close friends in the family. Elsa shared, “We read one almost every night and reread our favorites often. We have quite the collection and they are sorted by both holidays and by topic.” Elsa describes Ethan, who is autistic, as living in a world that “is full of stories and music.” In fact, the family utilizes the many PJ Library books about camp to help him get excited for Camp Ramah each summer. Tom is now hooked on Listen podcasts, PJ Library’s new audio hub.
In November, the Sloviks celebrated Ethan’s Bar Mitzvah, where he chanted from the Torah and lead the prayers. Elsa told us of the family’s pride in Ethan’s enthusiasm for his Bar Mitzvah that highlighted his uniqueness. “For his D’var Torah, Ethan retold the story of his portion, Parashat Toldot, using puppets. It was beautiful, like him.”
PJ Library® sends free Jewish books on a monthly basis to children ages 6 months through 8 years of age throughout the Bay Area. Learn More
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