Guy that binds

Extending life of old books for fraction of replacement cost

By Judah S. Harris Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769 As the Yomim Tovim approach, Jewish souls aren’t the only things being tested. Worn and torn, yellowed pages, pages missing, and cracked spines; seforim are being given their last shot. “I have found that about 80 to 90 percent of books that are deemed ‘shaimos’ can be instead fixed and returned to proper use,” says Mark Sommer, founder of a book repair and reinforcement service called Restorim’ Seforim. “In our throw-away society, I’m proud to see that prayer books, many of which were donated in memory or in honor of someone, can be brought back to life.” Shuls invest tens of thousands of dollars on Siddurim (prayer books) and Chumashim (bibles), depending on the size of the shul, Sommer estimates; bindery has become a big business. Sommer, 51, is a New Jersey resident and a professor of humanities and social sciences at West Point and at the Stevens Institute of Technology; bookbinding is  a side business. Ripped books are “not conducive for prayer or learning, and not befitting the image of something that should be part of a House of G-d,” asserted Sommer. He began binding books for his own shul, Congregation Beth Aaron, in Teaneck, NJ, some 20 years ago; he has become increasingly busy as the replacement costs of seforim have risen. A new Siddur can cost over $30; Chumashim, Machzorim, and tractates of Gemara are even more costly. “Synagogues and yeshivas are spending more and more money to constantly replace older and damaged books with new ones. It’s worth their while to try and save what they can,” advised Sommer, who said he can restore and reinforce about 250 books a day, on average. He does the work on premises, usually completing a shul or yeshiva in a week or two. Sommer uses a composite of glues and adhesives, a technique of pressure dynamics, and a keen eye for detail — and charges just $3.00 per book, regardless of size, condition, or work required. “I also include a one-year written guarantee on my work — something even new book publishers can’t do!” laughed Sommer. Publishers have addressed concerns about durability and have made improvements in recent years. Mesorah Publications, publisher of the ArtScroll series, has been using a side-sewing technique “since 2002 or 2003,” according to Benjamin Seror, the company’s binding manager for the past nine years. Side-sewing uses drilling and thick thread, usually of nylon, to bind together sections of a book. The cost for the added reinforcement is a loss of flexibility; getting the book to lay flat is challenging. Seror maintains that rebinding of books prepared with the side-sewing technique is not needed and that further drilling will only damage the original holes. Sommer doesn’t limit his work to shuls and yeshivas. He also does book binding for churches under a different company name: Book Savior. “Same price, same service, same guarantee... just a different Testament,” he quipped. Sommer’s favorite story involves a job at a Greek Orthodox church about ten years ago. After fixing up the church’s regular prayer books, he was approached by a “high ranking individual” of the Greek Orthodox Church, who asked if he could repair a book of “true historical significance.” “He told me, through an interpreter, how this Bible was saved by Greek partisans during WWII. It was smuggled out to avoid it being seized by advancing Nazi forces that wanted it only for the valuable jewels that adorned it. It was obviously their most cherished possession, and it needed to be reinforced to be used again,” Sommer recalled. He said he could fix it for the same price as the other books, $3.00. After the repair was completed and the official inspected the Bible closely, the official returned to Sommer and asked him to clasp his hands. The official then blessed him in Greek, which his assistant translated. “As this young man is of ‘The People of The Book,’” the assistant explained, “so he should be blessed with his gifted hands to continue to supply this service to all people of faith!” The church has recommended business to Sommer over the years. Restorim’ Seforim offers a trial binding session, where Sommer will do a few books as a free sample of his work. He can be reached at (201) 837-0489. Judah S. Harris is a photographer, filmmaker, speaker and writer. His work can be seen at www.judahsharris.com/visit.