Sefer ve Sefel

Sefer ve Sefel is an independent secondhand bookshop in downtown Jerusalem, Israel. Its name, ספר וספל, translates approximately as “Book and Mug,” reflecting the store’s original combination of bookselling and café service. Established in August 1981 by American immigrants Shai and Judy Robkin, it was described as Israel’s first bookstore-and-coffee-shop combination. The business initially offered books alongside coffee and ice cream from a small balcony café, creating a social setting for English-speaking residents, travelers, and readers. The café’s noticeboard also served as a place for announcements concerning Anglo-Israeli events and services. The Robkins sold the shop in August 1984, when they returned to the United States. Uri Rucham subsequently managed the business for several decades and operated it until 2015. That year, Rucham sold Sefer ve Sefel to Michael and Zia Rose, who are identified as its present owners in the available reference material. The store occupies the second floor of a stone building at 2 Ya'avets Street and is arranged across two floors. Its inventory has been described as containing more than 26,000 titles, principally in English and primarily secondhand. The collection covers a wide range of subjects, including fiction, English literature, science fiction, New Age writing, Middle Eastern history and politics, philosophy, Jewish literature, reference books, children's literature, self-help, cookbooks, and travel-related material. Stock has been replenished partly through customers selling books to the shop—among them volumes bought online or brought to Israel from overseas. The store offers store credit for qualifying books purchased from it, rather than presenting itself solely as a conventional cash-based bookseller. Staff assistance and recommendations are part of the customer experience, and descriptions of the shop commonly emphasize its compact, informal, and welcoming atmosphere. The café closed in 2002, after which the former outdoor café area was used for discounted books. Although the hospitality element ended, the bookstore continued operating as a specialist retail destination. During Rucham’s tenure, the business also maintained a small publishing activity, reissuing out-of-print works and books that retained reader demand. Its publications included historical, religious, and cultural titles such as works associated with Zev Vilnay, Judah Halevi, Ernst Mueller, and Ahad Ha'am. Sefer ve Sefel has gained recognition beyond its local customer base because guidebooks and travel publications repeatedly recommend it as one of Jerusalem’s leading secondhand English-language bookshops, and in some descriptions as the best of its kind in Jerusalem or the wider Middle East. Its reputation rests on the breadth of its used-book selection, its concentration on English-language material in a multilingual city, its historic location, and the distinctive character created by decades of bookselling. It remains best understood as a specialist independent retailer and cultural destination rather than a chain, publishing conglomerate, or publicly listed company.

Sefer ve Sefel was founded in August 1981 by Shai and Judy Robkin, American immigrants who established the business in downtown Jerusalem. The shop was conceived as a combined bookstore and café and was described as the first such combination in Israel. Its original café served coffee and ice cream on a small balcony, while the shop developed an identity around English-language books and a social environment for readers and English-speaking residents. A noticeboard at the café became a venue for announcements about Anglo-oriented events and services. The café’s kosher certification became a subject of concern in 1982 after a joke about the reading preferences of different groups of customers was interpreted as potentially problematic. The matter was resolved when the owner assured the rabbinate in writing that the premises would not sell genuine pornography. This episode belongs to the shop’s early café history but did not define its later retail identity. In August 1984, the Robkins sold Sefer ve Sefel as they returned to the United States. Uri Rucham managed the store after the sale and ultimately remained associated with it until 2015. Under his tenure, the shop expanded and maintained a substantial collection of used English-language books. The store’s stock grew in part through customers offering books they had acquired online or brought from abroad. Its range came to include fiction, English literature, science fiction, philosophy, Jewish literature, Middle Eastern history and politics, New Age titles, reference books, children's books, self-help, cookbooks, travel guides, and other miscellaneous categories. The shop is located on the second floor of a stone building at 2 Ya'avets Street in central Jerusalem. Its books are displayed over two floors, and reference descriptions have estimated the collection at more than 26,000 titles. The business developed a reputation for offering personal assistance and recommendations, while its store-credit policy gave customers a way to exchange eligible purchased books for credit. The atmosphere has often been characterized as intimate, informal, and inviting. In 2002, the café closed. The former outdoor café space was subsequently used for discounted books, allowing the premises to retain a visible connection to its earlier hospitality format while focusing operations on bookselling. During Rucham’s period, Sefer ve Sefel also operated a small publishing activity. It reprinted out-of-print works and titles that continued to have demand, including books on Jerusalem and the surrounding region, Jewish history and belief, Jewish mysticism, and modern Jewish thought. The listed publications included works by or associated with Zev Vilnay, Judah Halevi, Ernst Mueller, and Ahad Ha'am. In 2015, Rucham sold the shop to Michael and Zia Rose. The Roses are identified as the present owners in the available account. No evidence in the supplied material indicates that the business became part of a chain, a large corporate group, or a publicly traded company. Its operating model remains that of a local independent specialist retailer. Sefer ve Sefel’s wider recognition has come largely through travel literature and guidebooks. Publications describing Jerusalem and Israel have highlighted its extensive secondhand English-language selection, especially its holdings in Middle Eastern history, politics, Judaism, literature, and travel. The shop is frequently presented as one of Jerusalem’s leading used English-language bookstores and is sometimes described as the best secondhand English bookshop in Jerusalem or the Middle East. Its significance therefore combines retail specialization, cultural tourism, and continuity as a long-running English-language book destination in Jerusalem.

• 2015

  The Roses acquire the shop

  [1]Sefer ve Sefelen.wikipedia.org

  Uri Rucham sells the business to Michael and Zia Rose, who become its present owners.

• 2002

  Café closes

  [1]Sefer ve Sefelen.wikipedia.org

  The café operation ends and the outdoor space is repurposed for discounted books.

• 1984

  The Robkins sell the shop

  [1]Sefer ve Sefelen.wikipedia.org

  The founders sell Sefer ve Sefel when they return to the United States, after which Uri Rucham manages the store.

• 1982

  Early kosher-certification dispute is resolved

  [1]Sefer ve Sefelen.wikipedia.org

  A joke concerning customer reading preferences creates concern over the café's kosher certification; the issue is addressed through a written assurance to the rabbinate.

• 1981

  Sefer ve Sefel is founded

  [1]Sefer ve Sefelen.wikipedia.org

  Shai and Judy Robkin establish the shop in Jerusalem as a combined bookstore and café, described as Israel's first bookstore-café combination.

An independent, destination secondhand bookstore for English-language readers in Jerusalem, distinguished by a broad and eclectic inventory, long local history, personal recommendations, and strong visibility in international travel guides.

• Used books · 1981

  Secondhand English-language books

  The store's core offering is a broad collection of used books in English, displayed across two floors and estimated in the available reference material at more than 26,000 titles. The range includes both popular and specialist reading, with inventory shaped partly by customer trade-ins and books brought from overseas.

• Books · 1981

  Specialist subject collections

  Sefer ve Sefel is particularly associated with books on Middle Eastern history and politics, Jewish literature and religion, philosophy, English literature, science fiction, New Age subjects, children's literature, reference, self-help, cookery, and travel. These categories support its reputation as a destination shop rather than a narrowly focused genre retailer.

• Used books · 2002

  Discounted books

  After the café closed in 2002, the former outdoor café area was used to display discounted books. This created a lower-price section within the shop while preserving part of the premises' earlier public-facing character.

• Independent publishing

  Sefer ve Sefel reprints

  During Uri Rucham's tenure, the business operated a small publishing activity that reprinted out-of-print books and titles that remained in demand. Listed publications covered Jerusalem and regional legends, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Jewish faith, Jewish mysticism, and essays by important Jewish thinkers.

• 2015

  Transfer ownership to Michael and Zia RoseOther

  Background

  Uri Rucham had managed the shop for many years after the founders' departure.

  Action taken

  Rucham sold Sefer ve Sefel to Michael and Zia Rose.

  Aftermath

  The Roses became the identified present owners of the independent Jerusalem bookstore.

  Source

• 2002

  End the café operation and expand discounted-book spaceStrategy

  Background

  The shop had originally combined bookselling with a small balcony café offering coffee and ice cream.

  Action taken

  The café was closed and the outdoor area was converted to space for discounted books.

  Aftermath

  Sefer ve Sefel continued as a specialist bookstore, with the former café area incorporated into its retail use.

  Source

1. 1Sefer ve Sefelen.wikipedia.org