Why do we read?

We read for pleasure. We read to find an expression of our own experience. We read to better understand ourselves. We read to learn about far away lands and peoples, lives unfamiliar to ours, experiences wholly different. We read to feel less alone.

And, “we read because we’re a people of the book,” adds Lynne Avadenka, a visual artist and recent Covenant Foundation grantee. “The fact is, what keeps Jewish people together is a book that we read every week. And every week you can find something new in this book,” she asserts.

“Reading is a radical act,” Avadenka continues. “Think about it…letters are these squiggly things that our eyes and brains have figured out how decode. Our familiarity with words breaks down the wall that might otherwise keep people from getting up close to art.”

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