The City of Light has given birth to yet another vehicle through which the Torah, talents, and tales of Jewish writers and culture can fulfill their mandate to be a light to the nations … and to themselves!
Menorah Books is a boutique publishing house founded in 2012, specializing in unique books, Jewish in origin and context, which recognize and encourage humanity’s search for spirituality and relationship with God. The books feature inspiring stories of spiritual journeys and transformed lives, collections of Jewish stories from past and present, and practical and esoteric Jewish wisdom for daily life. Topics cover tikkun hanefesh (soul correction) and tikkun haolam (world correction), the history and future of the Temple in Jerusalem, the transformative power of Shabbat observance, the weekly Torah portions, the coming world redemption (may we merit to see it in our day), and much more.
Author J.D. Salinger once said, “What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.” The authors featured by Menorah Books achieve this, and Menorah Books, as a publisher, begins the process by cultivating personal, hands-on, cooperative relationships with its authors. The books published evolve as a labor of love shared jointly between author and publisher.
Taking this relationship a step further, the creative staff at Menorah Books is fully engaged in each project they receive. Page layout includes reading the manuscripts, word by word, line by line. Cover designs also involve reading each book; so that the message being communicated by the author can be captured in the visuals and typography of the cover. One cannot always judge a book by its cover, as the saying goes, but Menorah Books endeavors to create as strong a connection as possible between content and cover.
Ashirah Yosefah, project manager of Menorah Books, has a theory about publishing that undergirds their approach to author-publisher relations: “Books are very much like children to their author. The books have been conceived at the deepest levels of their mind and soul, nurtured within for months and sometimes years. The process of bringing forth a manuscript is lengthy, with highs and lows, times of inspiration and times of struggle. Finally, the manuscript is finished; then the author must share their new creation with others, with the critical eyes of editors and publishers. This is not always a pain-free process; just as a parent becomes defensive when someone criticizes their child. To have the privilege to accompany our authors step-by-step through the publishing process is not taken lightly at Menorah Books. We understand how personal a process it can be.”
The minds behind Menorah Books believe a connection between author and audience is essential. In modern marketing parlance, this is called “building the tribe”, a phrase that will strike a familiar note to Jewish ears. It is for this reason they recommend that their authors take advantage of an online shiurim (classes) and lecture platform that Menorah Books is building into their new website and online store. This webinar platform will enable participating authors to give classes on topics of their choice and to talk about their books or fields of expertise, while taking advantage of the audio and video features built into the webinar software. Cybershoppers and browsers are invited to sign up for these classes in advance, and Menorah Books will notify them of scheduled classes and lectures, sending them individual access codes to enter the online meeting room. Guests to the Menorah Books website are also invited to subscribe for newsletters updating them on new releases and special promotions, excerpts from featured books, and articles by authors from time to time.
Another well-known Jewish author, Philip Roth, sagely observed, “When you publish a book, it’s the world’s book. The world edits it.” In this vein, Menorah Books believes strongly in the power of books reviews and reader comments, providing both as part of the online experience offered to those who visit their website at www.menorah-books.com.
Most books published by Menorah Books begin and complete their journey from manuscript to printed reality in Jerusalem. Copies are shipped to Las Vegas where Menorah Books USA warehouses the books and ships orders throughout North America. Rest-of-world orders are shipped from Israel. Ebook editions of most Menorah Books publications are available in all popular formats.