This program transforms the solitary act of reading into a communal experience. Participants will get to read three short stories with Jewish themes (winners of Moment Magazine’s annual short fiction contest) and engage with each other by creating and interpreting each other’s commentary on the stories.  

MATERIALS:

• Printed versions of the stories (double-spaced, with wide margins for writing) 
  • The Garden of Evil 
  • The Mark 
  • The Artist 
  • Private 
  • What to Say 
  • The Laugh 
  • Overnight Shift 
  • Goldfader in Full 
  • The Eleventh Happiest Country 
  • The Sound that Turtles Make 
  • What If I’ve Changed my Mind? 
  • The Anniversary Camera 
  • The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land 
• Writing Utensils: Different colored fine-liner pens for each round (e.g., Round 1 is Blue, Round 2 is Red, Round 3 is Green) so the “layers” of commentary are visually distinct. 
• Post-it notes for extra space. 
• Snacks 

PROGRAM OUTLINE (120 minutes):

• Introduction and Framing (15 minutes) 
• Layer One (25 minutes) 
• Palate Cleanser (5 minutes) 
• Layer Two (25 minutes) 
• Palate Cleanser (5 minutes) 
• Layer Three (25 minutes) 
• Palate Cleanser (5 minutes) 
• Closing Reflections (15 minutes) 

Introduction and Framing (15 minutes)

• Before people arrive, lay out all the stories on the table. If you’re expecting more than 12 people, you may want to print more than one copy of each story. 
• Welcome the group by framing the evening. Explain that in Jewish tradition, a text is never “finished.” From the Torah to the Talmud, our most sacred books are surrounded by the voices of those who read them previously.  
• Describe the layout of a page of Talmud: the central “island” of text surrounded by a “sea” of commentary (Rashi, Tosafot, etc.) from different centuries and countries. 
• Explain that tonight, we are creating a modern version of this: a page where voices from the past (the first reader) and the present (you) occupy the same space. 
• The Rules of Engagement 
  • Abandon Politeness! Explicitly give permission to “talk back” to the text. Encourage underlining, circling, doodling, and even writing “NO!” in the margins. 
  • Frame the upcoming quiet reading time not as “individual work,” but as a collective meditation where the “conversation” happens through the pen. 
  • Remind them to switch pen colors between rounds (e.g., Round 1: Blue, Round 2: Red, Round 3: Green) to visualize the “layers of time.” 
  • Have fun! 
• Ask participants to choose a story that “calls to them” from the table. Then go around and share their name and the name of the story they’re starting with. 

Layers (about 25 minutes each)

• Layer 1: Each participant starts with a “clean” story. Read the story at your own pace. As you read, “talk” to the text. Underline phrases that strike you, doodle in the corners to represent the mood, or write in the margins. On the very last page, write one open-ended question you have for the characters, the author, or the next reader. 
• Layer 2: Rotate the stories clockwise. As you read the new story, also notice the comments from the first reader. Do they change what you notice? Add your own thoughts in a new color. You can respond to the first person’s notes (e.g., “I disagree with this doodle!”) or add new reflections. When you finish, read the question at the end and write a brief (1–2 sentence) response. Then add a second, different question underneath the first. 
• Layer 3: Rotate the stories clockwise again. You are now reading a text thick with “generations” of thought, and you get to add your own. When you get to the end, briefly respond to the second question. Then write one word at the top of the first page that summarizes the “collective” energy of this specific copy of the story. 

Palate Cleansers (about 5 minutes each) 

Between rounds, use these 5-minute resets to prevent “reading fatigue”: 

• Physical: A guided 2-minute “shake-out” or stretch to move the body after sitting. 
• Sensory: Eat one specific thing mindfully, play with kinetic sand, give yourself a hand massage, etc. 
• Aural: Play a single, distinct song (perhaps a wordless Niggun or a modern instrumental track) and ask everyone to close their eyes until it ends. 

Closing Reflection 

• To end the program, facilitate a short transition from silence to speaking: 
•  Give the stories back to the original person (the Round 1 reader). Allow them 3 minutes of silence to see how “their” story was transformed by others. 
•  Turn to a neighbor and share: “What is one thing someone else noticed in the margins that you completely missed on your first read?” 
• Invite everyone to lay their annotated stories out on a central table. As people leave, they can walk around and look at the “visual art” of the combined marginalia.