NMAJH E-newsletter
March 21, 2008
Enews March 2008
Welcome to the electronic newsletter of the National Museum of American Jewish History. This newsletter is designed to keep you informed of exhibitions, programs and other activities of the NMAJH, the only Museum in the country exclusively presenting educational programs and experiences that preserve, explore and celebrate the history of the Jews in America.
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MUSEUM GRATEFUL FOR GRANTS
The Museum recently received a grant from the Philadelphia Cultural Fund - one of a number of awards given to the NMAJH in support of its operations, programs and exhibitions.
The Museum was one of 220 arts and cultural organizations in Philadelphia to receive a grant. The Museum received $14,024, one of the highest awards in the competitive peer-review process for 2008.
"This grant is important to the Museum because it is one of the hardest to come by," said Gwen Goodman, the Museum's Executive Director/CEO. "It's an unrestricted grant, which we can use for any aspect of our operations or programs."
The Museum receives similar operating support from funders including Independence Foundation and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and it receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
"What these grants tell us is that funders understand that the Museum's mission is important, to invite visitors to discover what they have in common with the Jewish experience in America, and to explore the features that make this history distinctive," Goodman said. "The Philadelphia Cultural Fund grant is especially gratifying because the Museum was reviewed by its peers, other museums, that gave our institution the highest scores and consequently one of the largest several grants across all categories of arts and cultural organizations this year. That recognition reflects the good job we are doing in carrying out our mission and serving the Museum's audiences"
The Museum is constructing a new 100,000-square-foot, five-story building on Independence Mall that will stand directly across from the Liberty Bell, two blocks south of the National Constitution Center, and one block north of the birthplace of American liberty, Independence Hall.
For more information on how to support the Museum, contact Irv Hurwitz, the Museum's director of institutional advancement at 215.923.3811 x 133.
DON'T PASS UP THIS PASSOVER SALE
E-newsletter Subscribers Receive Discount
While children may not know where to find the afikoman at this year's seder, the Museum Shop's online store is where you can find this fused glass matzah plate (pictured) designed by artist Tamara Baskin. It is featured in time for the holiday at a 20 percent discount to E-newsletter subscribers.
Tamara Baskin was raised in Israel and is a self taught artist with 20 years experience working in several mediums. For the past several years she has been working with fused glass where her emphasis is creative elegant yet functional designs to celebrate Jewish life. Each piece is signed and dated. The technique of fusing glass goes back to biblical times. Layers of glass are cut and then arranged in a kiln to be fired to a temperature of 1550 degrees, at which point they meld and become one piece of glass. A second firing is required to form the piece into a bowl or platter.
This matzah plate is one of a variety of Passover-related items for both adults and children being sold at the Museum Shop and at its online store. Other items include a huge selection of seder plates, afikoman gifts, matzah plates, Elijah cups, Miriam cups, and matzah juggling balls. To receive the 20 percent discount on Passover items online, please write "Passover" in the coupon section when checking out.
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MUSEUM GRATEFUL FOR GRANTS
The Museum recently received a grant from the Philadelphia Cultural Fund - one of a number of awards given to the NMAJH in support of its operations, programs and exhibitions.
The Museum was one of 220 arts and cultural organizations in Philadelphia to receive a grant. The Museum received $14,024, one of the highest awards in the competitive peer-review process for 2008.
"This grant is important to the Museum because it is one of the hardest to come by," said Gwen Goodman, the Museum's Executive Director/CEO. "It's an unrestricted grant, which we can use for any aspect of our operations or programs."
The Museum receives similar operating support from funders including Independence Foundation and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and it receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
"What these grants tell us is that funders understand that the Museum's mission is important, to invite visitors to discover what they have in common with the Jewish experience in America, and to explore the features that make this history distinctive," Goodman said. "The Philadelphia Cultural Fund grant is especially gratifying because the Museum was reviewed by its peers, other museums, that gave our institution the highest scores and consequently one of the largest several grants across all categories of arts and cultural organizations this year. That recognition reflects the good job we are doing in carrying out our mission and serving the Museum's audiences"
The Museum is constructing a new 100,000-square-foot, five-story building on Independence Mall that will stand directly across from the Liberty Bell, two blocks south of the National Constitution Center, and one block north of the birthplace of American liberty, Independence Hall.
For more information on how to support the Museum, contact Irv Hurwitz, the Museum's director of institutional advancement at 215.923.3811 x 133.
DON'T PASS UP THIS PASSOVER SALE
E-newsletter Subscribers Receive Discount
While children may not know where to find the afikoman at this year's seder, the Museum Shop's online store is where you can find this fused glass matzah plate (pictured) designed by artist Tamara Baskin. It is featured in time for the holiday at a 20 percent discount to E-newsletter subscribers.Tamara Baskin was raised in Israel and is a self taught artist with 20 years experience working in several mediums. For the past several years she has been working with fused glass where her emphasis is creative elegant yet functional designs to celebrate Jewish life. Each piece is signed and dated. The technique of fusing glass goes back to biblical times. Layers of glass are cut and then arranged in a kiln to be fired to a temperature of 1550 degrees, at which point they meld and become one piece of glass. A second firing is required to form the piece into a bowl or platter.
This matzah plate is one of a variety of Passover-related items for both adults and children being sold at the Museum Shop and at its online store. Other items include a huge selection of seder plates, afikoman gifts, matzah plates, Elijah cups, Miriam cups, and matzah juggling balls. To receive the 20 percent discount on Passover items online, please write "Passover" in the coupon section when checking out.
The Museum Shop carries Judaica from a variety of artists. Visit the Museum Shop to browse the large assortment of items in all price ranges. For more information contact Museum Shop Managers Eva Schlanger, or Elaine Silverman, or call the Museum Shop at 215.923.0262.
The Museum Shop is open Mondays-Thursdays 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Fridays 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and Sundays 12 noon - 5 p.m.
Proceeds from the Museum Shop support the National Museum of American Jewish History.
MUSEUM SPONSORS JEWISH FESTIVAL FILM ON SPIELBERG
New Filmmakers Weekend In March
A documentary about Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg being screened at the end of March by the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival is one of many sponsored by the Museum.
As part of the festival's Documentary and Dialogue series, the Museum is sponsoring Spielberg on Spielberg, being screened Monday, March 31 at 7:00 p.m. The man who made Jaws, Schindler's List and Munich, and who founded the Shoah Foundation, talks about his noteworthy 40-year career with energy and insight. The film is interspersed with valuable clips from his first to his most recent films as a relaxed 60-year-old Spielberg (pictured) addresses the audience and Richard Schickel, the highly respected critic and documentary filmmaker.
Following the screening will be guest speaker Carrie Rickey, a film critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Museum is also sponsoring West Bank Story (pictured), which is kicking off the New Filmmakers Weekend, Saturday, March 22, 8:30 p.m. This 21-minute long Oscar-winning musical short revolves around a fast food feud/love affair between the Palestinian Hummus Hut and Israeli Kosher King. The film includes singing, dancing, and hummable tunes.
On Monday, March 24, 7:00 p.m. the Sally Mitlas- directed, A Hero in Heaven (pictured) will close the weekend of screenings. The film revolves around Michael Levin, who after being born and raised near Philadelphia in a traditional Jewish home, makes aliyah at 16 and joins a front-line unit in the Israeli Defense Forces. Killed soon after in a clash with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Michael personified a Jewish hero. The film memorializes him through music, songs, poems and the words of all who loved him dearly.
Among other films sponsored by the Museum as part of New Filmmakers Weekend include Making Trouble:Three Generations of Funny Jewish Women, a film in which four of today's funniest women, Judy Gold, Cory Kahaney, Jessica Kirson and Jackie Hoffman, sit in a kosher deli and talk about what it means to be female, funny and Jewish, and Enough, a film which tells the story of five young people from different backgrounds who confront the taboo subjects of wealth, poverty, and class. Other films being shown and sponsored by the Museum are Unsettled and Ilona, Upstairs.
Admission prices range from $10 to $12. Seniors and students with ID receive $3 off the single ticket price.
For tickets and times of these or other films in the series call 215-446-3019 or visit the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival's website.
All films will be shown at the Gershman Y, 401 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival screens some of the most acclaimed feature films and documentaries of the year, by some of the finest filmmakers from around the world, including Brazil, Israel, France, Germany, Mexico and the USA.
MUSEUM JOINS WITH NASHIRAH IN CHORALE CONCERT OFFER
The Museum is joining with Nashirah, The Jewish Chorale of Greater Philadelphia, to offer five free pairs of tickets to their 4th annual spring concert celebrating Israel's 60th birthday. The performance will take place on Sunday, March 30, 3:00 p.m. at Congregation Rodeph Shalom.
During the concert, entitled, Im Tir'tzu ... If You Will It, Nashirah will present Charles Davidson's oratorio Dialogue with Destiny, which tells the story of the founding of the State of Israel in song and narration, as well as works by Yehezkiel Braun, Odeon Partos and others in commemoration of the modern miracle of the state of Israel.
Nashirah, now in its sixth year, is the only auditioned, community-based chorale in the Greater Philadelphia area that performs exclusively Jewish and Jewish-themed music. By complementing classic Hebrew, Yiddish and Ladino repertoire with its own distinctive musical programming, Nashirah brings choral music of many lands, languages and cultures together with diverse performances of seldom-heard Jewish music dating from the earliest known conveyances to the modern day.
The first five E-newsletter subscribers to email Nashirah at nashirah@nashirah.org will receive free pairs of tickets.
General Addmision to Im Tir'tzu ... If You Will It is $25. To purchase tickets online visit the Nashirah site.
NMAJH AND PTC GIVE TICKETS TO THIRD TO FIRST 10 WHO RESPOND
Special Ticket Offer for Subscribers
The Museum and Philadelphia Theatre Company are offering 10 pairs of tickets to the Philadelphia premiere of Third, Wendy Wassertein's final play, running at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre from March 21 - April 20.
Wasserstein won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award, and a Drama Desk Award for The Heidi Chronicles.
Third tells the story of Laurie Jameson, a well-established professor at a New England college, against the backdrop of academic plagiarism and a polarized America. Laurie finds herself unhinged by wrestler Woodson Bull III, who embodies everything she deplores. As Professor Jameson's life spirals out of control, she is forced to re-evaluate her liberal convictions.
Numerous play readings, panels, and other events in celebration of Wendy Wasserstein will be presented throughout the run of Third. Philadelphia Theatre Company is dedicated to presenting Philadelphia and world premieres of major works by contemporary American playwrights. For more than 30 years, they have put the spotlight on established and emerging American playwrights, emphasizing the rich tradition, unique perspective, and cultural diversity of the American experience.
To receive two tickets to a performance, be one of the first ten subscribers to email JAmadio@philadelphiatheatrecompany.org putting "NMAJH E-newsletter subscriber" in the subject line. For dates, prices and times of the performances, visit the Philadelphia Theatre Company website.
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On April 15, 1912 Millionaire industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim (b. 1865) was among the passengers who died when the Titantic struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage. Benjamin was the son of Meyer Guggenheim, a merchant and mining magnate. He worked with his father in the mining business and supervised the building of the Guggenheim Copper and Lead Refinery at Perth Amboy, N.J. Benjamin Guggenheim was a flamboyant personality who, it is said, donned formal evening wear after turning down a seat on a lifeboat.
National Museum of American Jewish History
Independence Mall East
55 North 5th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106-2197
Tel: 215.923.3811 Fax: 215.923.0763
www.nmajh.org
The Museum Shop is open Mondays-Thursdays 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Fridays 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and Sundays 12 noon - 5 p.m.
Proceeds from the Museum Shop support the National Museum of American Jewish History.
MUSEUM SPONSORS JEWISH FESTIVAL FILM ON SPIELBERG
New Filmmakers Weekend In March
A documentary about Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg being screened at the end of March by the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival is one of many sponsored by the Museum.As part of the festival's Documentary and Dialogue series, the Museum is sponsoring Spielberg on Spielberg, being screened Monday, March 31 at 7:00 p.m. The man who made Jaws, Schindler's List and Munich, and who founded the Shoah Foundation, talks about his noteworthy 40-year career with energy and insight. The film is interspersed with valuable clips from his first to his most recent films as a relaxed 60-year-old Spielberg (pictured) addresses the audience and Richard Schickel, the highly respected critic and documentary filmmaker.
Following the screening will be guest speaker Carrie Rickey, a film critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Museum is also sponsoring West Bank Story (pictured), which is kicking off the New Filmmakers Weekend, Saturday, March 22, 8:30 p.m. This 21-minute long Oscar-winning musical short revolves around a fast food feud/love affair between the Palestinian Hummus Hut and Israeli Kosher King. The film includes singing, dancing, and hummable tunes.
On Monday, March 24, 7:00 p.m. the Sally Mitlas- directed, A Hero in Heaven (pictured) will close the weekend of screenings. The film revolves around Michael Levin, who after being born and raised near Philadelphia in a traditional Jewish home, makes aliyah at 16 and joins a front-line unit in the Israeli Defense Forces. Killed soon after in a clash with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Michael personified a Jewish hero. The film memorializes him through music, songs, poems and the words of all who loved him dearly.Among other films sponsored by the Museum as part of New Filmmakers Weekend include Making Trouble:Three Generations of Funny Jewish Women, a film in which four of today's funniest women, Judy Gold, Cory Kahaney, Jessica Kirson and Jackie Hoffman, sit in a kosher deli and talk about what it means to be female, funny and Jewish, and Enough, a film which tells the story of five young people from different backgrounds who confront the taboo subjects of wealth, poverty, and class. Other films being shown and sponsored by the Museum are Unsettled and Ilona, Upstairs.
Admission prices range from $10 to $12. Seniors and students with ID receive $3 off the single ticket price.
For tickets and times of these or other films in the series call 215-446-3019 or visit the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival's website.
All films will be shown at the Gershman Y, 401 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival screens some of the most acclaimed feature films and documentaries of the year, by some of the finest filmmakers from around the world, including Brazil, Israel, France, Germany, Mexico and the USA.
MUSEUM JOINS WITH NASHIRAH IN CHORALE CONCERT OFFER
The Museum is joining with Nashirah, The Jewish Chorale of Greater Philadelphia, to offer five free pairs of tickets to their 4th annual spring concert celebrating Israel's 60th birthday. The performance will take place on Sunday, March 30, 3:00 p.m. at Congregation Rodeph Shalom.
During the concert, entitled, Im Tir'tzu ... If You Will It, Nashirah will present Charles Davidson's oratorio Dialogue with Destiny, which tells the story of the founding of the State of Israel in song and narration, as well as works by Yehezkiel Braun, Odeon Partos and others in commemoration of the modern miracle of the state of Israel.
Nashirah, now in its sixth year, is the only auditioned, community-based chorale in the Greater Philadelphia area that performs exclusively Jewish and Jewish-themed music. By complementing classic Hebrew, Yiddish and Ladino repertoire with its own distinctive musical programming, Nashirah brings choral music of many lands, languages and cultures together with diverse performances of seldom-heard Jewish music dating from the earliest known conveyances to the modern day.
The first five E-newsletter subscribers to email Nashirah at nashirah@nashirah.org will receive free pairs of tickets.
General Addmision to Im Tir'tzu ... If You Will It is $25. To purchase tickets online visit the Nashirah site.
NMAJH AND PTC GIVE TICKETS TO THIRD TO FIRST 10 WHO RESPOND
Special Ticket Offer for Subscribers
The Museum and Philadelphia Theatre Company are offering 10 pairs of tickets to the Philadelphia premiere of Third, Wendy Wassertein's final play, running at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre from March 21 - April 20.Wasserstein won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award, and a Drama Desk Award for The Heidi Chronicles.
Third tells the story of Laurie Jameson, a well-established professor at a New England college, against the backdrop of academic plagiarism and a polarized America. Laurie finds herself unhinged by wrestler Woodson Bull III, who embodies everything she deplores. As Professor Jameson's life spirals out of control, she is forced to re-evaluate her liberal convictions.
Numerous play readings, panels, and other events in celebration of Wendy Wasserstein will be presented throughout the run of Third. Philadelphia Theatre Company is dedicated to presenting Philadelphia and world premieres of major works by contemporary American playwrights. For more than 30 years, they have put the spotlight on established and emerging American playwrights, emphasizing the rich tradition, unique perspective, and cultural diversity of the American experience.
To receive two tickets to a performance, be one of the first ten subscribers to email JAmadio@philadelphiatheatrecompany.org putting "NMAJH E-newsletter subscriber" in the subject line. For dates, prices and times of the performances, visit the Philadelphia Theatre Company website.
___________________________________
On April 15, 1912 Millionaire industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim (b. 1865) was among the passengers who died when the Titantic struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage. Benjamin was the son of Meyer Guggenheim, a merchant and mining magnate. He worked with his father in the mining business and supervised the building of the Guggenheim Copper and Lead Refinery at Perth Amboy, N.J. Benjamin Guggenheim was a flamboyant personality who, it is said, donned formal evening wear after turning down a seat on a lifeboat.
National Museum of American Jewish History
Independence Mall East
55 North 5th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106-2197
Tel: 215.923.3811 Fax: 215.923.0763
www.nmajh.org
posted by nmajh @ 3/21/2008 
