NMAJH E-newsletter

Enews November 2009

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:15:00 +0000

Become Founding Member of New Museum

Join more than 2,200 people who have recently become a Founding Member of the National Museum of American Jewish History.

Founding Members of the new Museum are supporting what will be an iconic institution on Independence Mall as well as a leading national education and cultural center. The Museum will include unique exhibitions, lecture series and films, as well as online initiatives, distance learning and outreach programs for students of all ages across the country. Founding members who make a minimum gift of $90 will receive a limited edition print depicting world-renowned architect James Polshek's design of the new Museum, seen above.

Founding Memberships are valid for 18 months, allowing participants to be a part of the opening celebrations and to visit the NMAJH for free whenever they choose throughout the membership term. Founding Members' names will also be permanently listed in the Museum along with other Jewish Americans who have played important roles in shaping the history of this country.

Visit the Museum's website for information on becoming a Founding Member and about the benefits provided at each level of donation or call the development office at 215.923.3811 x 104. For information on ways to participate in the Museum's Capital Campaign, contact Irv Hurwitz, the Museum's Director of Institutional Advancement, at 215.923.3811 x133.

Hanukkah Shopping Provides Discount for E-Newsletter Readers

Start Hanukkah shopping early at the Museum Shop and receive a 20 percent discount on holiday items such as this handcrafted menorah pictured below by artist Gary Rosenthal.

The uniquely structured menorah is made of woven copper strips of metal and has a brass vine climbing the wall and holding up the shamash. Among the other Hanukkah items sold at the Museum Shop are children's gifts, both collectable and plastic dreidels, Hanukkah books, and a wide assortment of other menorahs for children and families.

Visit the Museum Shop to browse the Hanukkah items online at www.judaicashop.net. For more information e-mail Eva Schlanger or Elaine Silverman, or call the Museum Shop at 215.923.0262. The Museum Shop is open Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Sunday 12 noon - 5 p.m. Proceeds from the Museum Shop support the National Museum of American Jewish History.

Family Day of Fun is December 25

Jon Nelson's Rockin' Kids Review is returning to rock the house at this year's annual "Being Jewish at Christmas" program of family fun at the National Museum of American Jewish History. "Being Jewish at Christmas," which features music, comedy, refreshments and more, will be held Friday, Dec. 25, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Nelson is a mainstay on the national children's music scene, both as a solo artist, and with his Jon Nelson's Rockin' Kids Review. His unique performances for kids and their families are rooted in his love of rock & roll and his desire to teach children through fun and interactive music. Jon Nelson's Rockin' Kids Review treats audiences to a rip roaring, hand clapping, foot stomping, educational and interactive concert that every child, parent and grandparent will love.

Joining Jon Nelson's Rockin' Kids' Review is returning BJAC entertainer Michael Rosman, whose amazing feats of all-ages comedy has been seen on "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," and who has performed numerous times in Atlantic City. All children will receive a "goodie bag."

"Being Jewish at Christmas" is held Friday, Dec. 25 at the National Museum of American Jewish History, Independence Mall East, 55 North 5th Street, from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $5 per person (children three and under admitted free). BJAC is free to Museum members and members of the military. Tickets are available only at the door. For more information call 215-923-3811 x 148.

"Being Jewish at Christmas" is made possible by the generous support of the Robert Saligman Jewish Heritage Fund.

Exhibit Renderings on View at Museum

"Shaping Space, Making Meaning," the Museum's current exhibition, offers visitors the opportunity to learn how a museum creates a major exhibition and at the same time have input into developing the show prior to opening.

Design sketches, video and text offer an insider's look at the process of developing a landmark exhibition about more than 350 years of American Jewish life.

The NMAJH's exhibition design team is in the process of creating the 22,000-square-foot exhibition for the new Museum.

Rockin' Book Offer

The Museum is teaming up with author Scott Benarde to offer four free copies of his book, "Stars of David: Rock 'n' Roll's Jewish Stories." The book chronicles the contribution of Jewish singers, songwriters and musicians during the rock era. The book also sheds light on the surprising influence and impact Judaism has had on the music and those who made it and still make it. It includes not only household names like Bob Dylan and Billy Joel, or fabled songwriters such as Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, but many of the most sought after studio musicians; unsung but vital musicians who back-up rock's superstars, and members of some of rock's most beloved and influential bands.

"These stories needed to be told. These people deserved credit for their accomplishments. The Jewish influence on the musicians and the music had to be revealed and stated for the historical record," Benarde said.

Scott Benarde served as the pop music columnist for the "Fort Lauderdale News/Sun Sentinel" in the 80's and later for the "Palm Beach Post." Throughout his tenures at both publications, Benarde freelanced for a variety of music and general interest publications, including "Rolling Stone" and "Billboard." In 1996, he began writing about Jewish rock stars for Jewish publications. He is currently media relations director in theMarketing Department of the JCC of the Greater Palm Beaches in Palm Beach County, Florida, and also gives his "Jews and Blues and Rock n' Roll: A Musical History Tour" presentation to Jewish groups around the country.

To receive an autographed copy of the "Stars of David: Rock 'n' Roll's Jewish Stories,"be one of the first four people to contact the Museum at info@nmajh.org. Please put "Stars of David" in the subject line and include your name and address in the body. Only winners will be notified.

To purchase a copy of the book, please contact Eva Schlanger or Elaine Silverman, or call the Museum Shop at 215.923.0262.

Enews October 2009

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Designers Take Historic Angle On Walls

Like at any construction site, the unfinished walls appear to be just that: walls. But appearances can be deceiving. When the exhibition designers laid out the plan for the exhibition walls in the new Museum, they specifically designed each floor to have a different layout and feel. Although each floorplan follows a similar visitor circulation pattern, they were carefully designed down to the walls to create specific environments.

"They may now appear to be simply walls," said Dr. Josh Perelman, the Museum's Historian and Deputy Director of Programming, "but like every element of the exhibition we are creating, much thought has gone into them. The walls and the spaces they create reflect the history and events covered on each floor."

For example, the third floor exhibit walls (pictured) are angled and create cramped spaces. The time period covered on this floor is between 1880 and 1945, a time which saw immense population growth and significant challenges both for individuals and for the nation as a whole. In some instances, the spaces echo the overcrowded streets of the urban environment. Similar thought has gone into the other floors, according to Perelman.

The core exhibition is designed to begin on the fourth floor and covers the arrival of Jews in America in 1654 through the period after the Civil War. The second floor covers the post-World War II period through contemporary Jewish life. The new Museum is scheduled to be completed in fall 2010.

For an up-to-date picture of the construction site that refreshes every 15 minutes, view our Museum-Cam. To see additional photos of the Museum's construction like those above, click here. For information on ways to participate in the Museum's Capital Campaign, contact Irv Hurwitz, the Museum's Director of Institutional Advancement, at 215.923.3811 x133 or via email at ihurwitz@nmajh.org.

Founding Memberships Now Available

Join more than 1,300 people who have recently become a Founding Member of the National Museum of American Jewish History.

Founding Members of the new Museum are supporting what will be an iconic institution on Independence Mall as well as a leading national education and cultural center. The Museum will include unique exhibitions, lecture series and films, as well as online initiatives, distance learning and outreach programs for students of all ages across the country.

Founding Memberships are valid for 18 months, allowing participants to be a part of the opening celebrations and to visit the NMAJH whenever they choose throughout the membership term. Founding Members' names will also be permanently listed in the Museum along with other Jewish Americans who have played important roles in shaping the history of this country.

Visit the Museum's website for information on becoming a Founding Member and about the benefits provided at each level of donation or call the Development office at 215.923.3811 x 104.

Visitors Choose How They Want Stories To Be Told In New Museum

In the current exhibition, "Shaping Space, Making Meaning," visitors are given the opportunity to voice their opinions on how they prefer to hear stories told in the new Museum. One of six stories featured in the "Can We Talk" exhibit, pictured above, is about the program Jacob Schiff funded to encourage Eastern European Jews to enter America through the port of Galveston, Texas and settle in the country's interior.

Visitors may choose between a formal or conversational caption by sliding an image back and forth to reveal a short text. Using voting slips, each visitor selects his or her choice.

These stories are the type that will be included in future NMAJH exhibitions. Museum Historian and Deputy Director of Programming Josh Perelman said, "Storytelling plays such an important role in the new Museum. The feedback we receive from our visitors has proven to be a great resource for the Museum's designers."

The NMAJH's exhibition design team is in the process of creating the 22,000-square-foot exhibition for the new Museum opening November 2010. "Shaping Space, Making Meaning" offers an insider's look at the process of creating an exhibition about more than 350 years of the American Jewish experience. To learn more about the current exhibition please visit the Museum's website.

Collection Of Hand-Crafted Israeli Jewelry For Sale At Museum Shop
The Museum Shop is now carrying a variety of jewelry from the Israeli company Stefans,whose sterling silver line is hand-made on a kibbutz in the Judean Hills of the northern Negev Desert.

Many pieces are accented with gold and semi-precious stones. The studio where these pieces are crafted has been in operation for more than 40 years. The designers are inspired by their surroundings and by Israeli history and culture.The necklace pictured above is constructed from both polished and hammered metal and features a single white pearl. The unique designs and lines combine modern elegance and traditional motifs. It is only one of of many hand crafted pieces of jewelry found at the Museum Shop and its online store.

Visit the Museum Shop to browse the collection or view items online at www.judaicashop.net. For more information email Eva Schlanger or Elaine Silverman, or call the Museum Shop at 215.923.0262. The Museum Shop is open Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Sunday 12 noon - 5 p.m. All proceeds from the Museum Shop support the National Museum of American Jewish History.

Museum Sponsors Author's Talk
Program To Take Place October 27

The National Museum of American Jewish History is partnering with area institutions to present "An Evening with Bruce Feiler," featuring the best-selling author of "America's Prophet: Moses and the American Story."

In "America's Prophet: Moses and the American Story," Feiler tells the remarkable, untold story of how Moses inspired everyone from George Washington to Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King, the Statue of Liberty to Superman, and Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama.

One part adventure story, one part literary detective story, one part exploration of faith in contemporary life, America's Prophet takes readers through the landmarks of America's narrative, from Gettysburg to Selma, and the Silver Screen to the Oval Office, to show how Moses has helped to shape the nation's character.

Bruce Feiler is the "New York Times" bestselling author of eight books, including "Walking the Bible," "Abraham," and "Where God was Born," as well as the host of the PBS series also titled "Walking the Bible." An award-winning journalist and speaker, Feiler has written for numerous publications, including "The New Yorker," "The New York Times Magazine," and "Gourmet," where he won three James Beard Awards. He is also a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, CNN, and Fox News.

The program is taking place Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 7:30 p.m. at Christ Church located on 2nd Street between Market and Arch streets, Philadelphia.

The free event is open to the public. Signed books will be available during the program and from the Museum Shop.

Other partners of the program include Historic Philadelphia, Inc, Cari Feiler Bender and Rodd Bender, Christ Church and the Friends of Independence National Historical Park.

Warner Brothers Film Offer
DVD Offer for E-Newsletter Subscribers

The Museum is joining with Cass Warner Sperling to offer a free copy of her 94-minute documentary, "The Brothers Warner," to five E-Newsletters subscribers.

The Brothers Warner film and book are an intimate portrait and saga of the four Hollywood pioneers: the strategic general, Harry Warner; honest Abe; visionary Sam; and volatile Jack. An intimate portrait of the four film pioneers who founded and ran Warner Bros. studios for over 50 years. This epic story is written, directed and told in the voice of Harry Warner's granddaughter, Cass Warner Sperling. It's a tale of a band of brothers who rose from immigrant poverty through personal tragedies persevering to create a major studio with a social conscience.

For more information on the film click on filmmaker Cass Warner's site. The book and film can be purchased from the Museum Shop for $25 each. To make a purchase, email Eva Schlanger or Elaine Silverman with "The Brothers Warner" in the subject line and in the body of the email indicate which item you want. Purchases can also be placed by phoning the Museum Shop at 215.923.0262.

Proceeds from the the Museum's shop support the National Museum of American Jewish History. To receive a free copy of the DVD, be one of the first five subscribers to email enews@nmajh.org. Please put "The Brothers Warner" in the subject line.

Only In America Results Edition

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:06:00 +0000

__________________________________

Eighteen Jewish Americans Chosen

Gallery to Feature Remarkable Individuals

Aided by a public vote and its esteemed panel of academic historians, the National Museum of American Jewish History has selected 18 distinguished Jewish Americans to be the first to be included in the Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame, which will be a signature component of the core exhibition when the new Museum opens in November 2010.

The 18 individuals who will be featured in the gallery are Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Louis Brandeis, Albert Einstein, Mordecai Kaplan, Sandy Koufax, Estée Lauder, Emma Lazarus, Isaac Leeser, Golda Meir, Jonas Salk, Rose Schneiderman, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Henrietta Szold, and Isaac Mayer Wise.

During a one-month period, July 8 through August 6, 2009, the Museum invited the public to vote on the 18 to be included in the Gallery from a list of 218 possible candidates. More than 209,000 votes were cast from 56 countries on the Museum's Only in America® website, which can be accessed at www.nmajh.org.

The 218 candidates were drawn from eight categories: Arts & Entertainment; Business & Philanthropy; Literature; Performance; Politics, Law & Activism; Religion & Thought; Science & Medicine; and Sports. The Museum selected for inclusion in the Gallery the person who received the most votes in each category.

In addition to the public's recommendations, the Museum's historians and curators worked to ensure that the group reflected Jews' 350 years of history in the United States and the diverse fields in which they have been involved.

"The public played a significant role in how the Museum chose the first group of individuals we are honoring in our Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame," said Michael Rosenzweig, the Museum's president and CEO. "The 18 finalists represent a consensus between the public vote and the Museum's historians and curatorial staff. We wanted the public's input on who should be recognized for their accomplishments in a major museum exhibition and they made excellent choices."

"In addition to the public response to the voting, we're very pleased with the educational aspects of the poll," Rosenzweig said. "Thousands of people came to the site and learned about the contributions of 218 distinguished American Jews to our society. There were debates about the merits of some of the candidates and the inclusion or exclusion of others, and that's exactly the kind of dialogue we plan to encourage in our new Museum.

"The Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame will be a space that inspires visitors," Rosenzweig continued. "It will celebrate the lives and achievements of 18 individuals who exemplify a central theme of the Museum: that a hallmark of the American experience has been an unparalleled opportunity to aspire, achieve, and possibly change the world."

To be located on the first floor of the Museum's future home on Independence Mall, the Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame will be a landmark museum experience, featuring major film productions, original artifacts, and an interactive database.

Additional individuals will be added to the Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame in the coming years. All 218 individuals included in the public vote will be included in the interactive database that will be available to all Museum visitors as well as on its website. Representing individuals from diverse backgrounds and areas of activity, the Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame database will provide access to hundreds of compelling stories that underscore the Museum's primary themes and offer significant opportunities for educational activities. The Only in America® website will remain live for visitors to use and explore. Visitors to the site can continue submitting names of people that they believe should be included in the Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame database.

The Museum's academic historians are led by Dr. Jonathan Sarna, the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University, and include Dr. Pamela S. Nadell, the inaugural Patrick Clendenen Professor of History and Director of the Jewish Studies Program at American University; Dr. Beth S. Wenger, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania; Dr. Michael Berenbaum, a writer, lecturer, and teacher consulting in the conceptual development of museums and Director of the Sigi Ziering Institute at the American Jewish University: and Dr. Josh Perelman who serves as the Museum's Historian and Deputy Director of Programming.

Museum Board Member Ed Snider, who is chairman of Comcast-Spectacor, one of the preeminent sports and entertainment organizations in the world, is the major benefactor of the Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame.

The National Museum of American Jewish History is constructing a new 100,000-square-foot, five-story building on Independence Mall that will stand directly across from the Liberty Bell, one block south of the National Constitution Center, and one block north of the birthplace of American liberty, Independence Hall.

Enews September 2009

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:29:00 +0000

Instillation of the terracotta framework as well as the terracotta panels on the new Museum building being constructed on Independence Mall began last week. The panels and framework are being installed on the west and north sides of the new building.

According the the building's architect, James S. Polshek, the terracotta that will front Market and 5th streets will express the strength of Jewish survival and the protective shelter of American freedom. He added that the warm tones of the terracotta complement the adjacent Bourse building at Independence Mall and the brick structures of Philadelphia's historic center.

Additionally, the instillation of glass windows is ongoing on the north and west facades. The glass instillation that began two weeks ago and the terracotta panel placement both contribute to the construction company's goal of sealing up the structure for the upcoming winter.

Work is also taking place inside the structure as workers build internal exhibition walls. The new Museum is scheduled to be completed in fall 2010. For an up-to-date picture of the construction site that refreshes every 15 minutes, view our Museum-Cam. To see additional photos of the Museum's construction like those above, click here.

Visitors Have Voices Heard In Exhibit

During a recent visit to the Museum a man from Israel was having trouble with his English. He sought out Museum docent Beth Goldman to ask her how to spell each and every word correctly as he thoughtfully answered a question posed by the Draw the Line exhibit. "He wanted to make sure that his voice was heard," Goldman said.

Goldman had taken the visitor through Shaping Space, Making Meaning, the Museum's current exhibition featuring hand-drawn sketches, scale models, computer-generated renderings and the Draw The Line exhibit. The Draw The Line exhibit asks visitors controversial questions surrounding issues that deal with American Jewish life today.

"What I observe most often is that people are very eager to give their opinions on the controversial issues and questions posed in the exhibit. Visitors put a lot of thought into their answers because they feel that they are being a part of something. Someone wants to hear what they think no matter where they are from or who they are."

Goldman guides visitors of varied religions, ages, and cultures through the exhibition multiple times per week.

Shaping Space, Making Meaning offers an insider's look at the process of creating an exhibition about more than 350 years of the American Jewish experience.

The NMAJH's exhibition design team is in the process of creating the 22,000-square-foot exhibition for the new Museum.

Rosh Hashanah Items For Sale At Museum Shop

Celebrate the Jewish New Year with this Rosh Hashanah kiddish cup and pair of candle sticks (pictured below) both designed and hand etched by artist Steven Resnick. They are only two of the many holiday items that the Museum Shop carries.

The flared kiddush cup features a frosted, carved base and the traditional blessing for wine circles the goblet. Jerusalem's Old City is carved into the base of the candlesticks.

"We at the Museum Shop would like to help you celebrate the hope for a peaceful and sweet new year with your family and friends through the Judaica we sell," Museum Co-Manager Elaine Silverman says. "Resnick's work is a beautiful addition to anyone's home."

Resnick is the world's preeminent Judaic glass artist. His work is exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States, Europe and Israel.

Resnick sculptures have been presented to dignitaries worldwide including Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Shamir, Congressman Charles Schumer,Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and President Bill Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Along with the kiddish cup and candlesticks, the Museum Shop offers apple and honey dishes, challah covers, and challah plates also perfect for the holidays.

Visit the Museum Shop to browse the collection or view items online at www.judaicashop.net. For more information e-mail Eva Schlanger or Elaine Silverman, or call the Museum Shop at 215.923.0262.

The Museum Shop is open Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-
5 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Sunday 12 noon - 5 p.m. Proceeds from the Museum Shop support the National Museum of American Jewish History.

Museum and JPS Offer Illustrated Children's Bible
Special Offer for E-Newsletter Subscribers

The Museum is teaming up with the Jewish Publication Society to offer 10 E-Newsletter subscribers 10 free copies of the JPS Illustrated Children's Bible (change link to shop?)

Acclaimed storyteller and Jewish scholar Ellen Frankel has masterfully tailored 53 Bible stories that will both delight and educate today's young readers. Using the 1985 JPS translation of the Hebrew Bible as her foundation, Frankel retains much of the Bible's original wording and simple narrative style as she incorporates her own storytelling technique, free of personal interpretation or commentary.

Included in the volume is an "Author's Notebook," in which Frankel shares with rabbis, parents, and educators the challenges she faced in translating and adapting these stories for children. With full-page color illustrations of each Bible story, award-winning artist Avi Katz ignites readers' imaginations.

Ellen Frankel is the CEO and editor-in-chief of The Jewish Publication Society. A scholar of Jewish midrash and folklore, Frankel has published a number of books including The Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols and The Jewish Spirit. Frankel also travels widely as a storyteller and lecturer.

Illustrator Avi Katz was born in Philadelphia and moved to Israel at age 20, where he graduated from the Bezalel Art Academy. He has illustrated more than 150 books in Israel and the U.S. and has received both the IBBY Hans Christian Andersen Honors and Israel's Ze'ev Prize multiple times.

To receive a copy of the JPS Illustrated Children's Bible, be one of the first 10 people to contact JPS at Lschlesinger@jewishpub.org. Please put NMAJH E-Newsletter subscriber in the subject line and include your name and address in the body.

To purchase a copy of the book, please contact

Eva Schlanger or Elaine Silverman, or call the Museum Shop at 215.923.0262.

Enews August 2009

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:39:00 +0000

major film productions, original artifacts and an interactive database. The 18 selected individuals will be featured in the films prepared for the gallery and projected on two large curved glass surfaces at its center. The films will explore their incredible work and the impact of their efforts on the world.

"The public's vote is providing us with a barometer of who has had a lasting influence on our world, and the 18 individuals selected for the Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame will reflect a consensus between the public and the Museum's historians," Rosenzweig said. "The list is not meant to be comprehensive. It's a representative sample and a starting point for the public to think about major themes in American and American Jewish life during the past 355 years."

All 218 names included in the public vote will also be included in the interactive database that will be available to all Museum visitors as well as on its website.

Representing individuals from diverse backgrounds and areas of activity, the Only in America®Gallery/Hall of Fame database will provide access to hundreds of compelling stories that underscore the Museum's primary themes and offer significant opportunities for educational activities.

Museum Board Member Ed Snider, who is Chairman of Comcast-Spectacor, one of the preeminent sports and entertainment organizations in the world, is the major benefactor of the Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame.

MUSEUM INTERIOR WILL SOON SEE THE LIGHT

The new Museum's roof skylight, which is now filled with a temporary wood covering, will soon be put into place, a critical step in the creation of the building's 85-foot high light-filled atrium. The atrium, according to architect James Polshek, spatially connects the ground level to the education center and auditorium below and to the exhibition floors above.

"This dramatic device allows the visitor to readily comprehend the organization of the Museum, emphasizing the immediacy of the invitation to see, share and to learn freely," Polshek said.

Once the skylight is completed, workers will go down each level of scaffolding filling the atrium, completing work on such finishes as the glass stairs traversing the atrium and the stainless steel handrails. Skylights will also be added on the fourth floor ceiling.

Robert Young, an Associate Partner at Polshek Partnership, said the light-filled atrium and the glass bridges across the atrium symbolizes the stitching together of the American Jewish community over time and distance.

The Museum is in the midst of a $150 million Capital Campaign for construction of the 100,000-square-foot, five-story building. Nearly $118 million has been raised for the Campaign.

The new Museum is scheduled to be completed in fall 2010.

For information on how to support the Museum, contact Irv Hurwitz, the Museum's director of institutional advancement at 215.923.3811 x 133 or by e-mail.

For an up-to-date picture of the construction site that refreshes every 15 minutes, view our Museum-Cam. To see additional photos of the Museum's construction like those above, click here.

Sketch Studies Featured In Exhibition

Once curators have decided on a theme for a section of an exhibition, designers begin to sketch out ideas about how to represent that theme in a physical environment. In the Museum's current changing exhibition, Shaping Space, Making Meaning, visitors can see how that process takes place, such as in the study (pictured above) of the future exhibit, Anxiety, Alarm and Confusion.

The sketch above shows how designers created a gallery on the Museum's third floor that documents the parallel trajectories of American and German Jewry during the 1930s. Using a unique layered wall design, the gallery will explore the reactions of American Jews to the rise of Nazism and the challenges they faced in advocating for intervention on behalf of their brethren. The American story will be told on an exterior wall of the exhibit, now being created for the Museum's new core exhibition, and the rear wall will feature images of 1930s Germany.

"The hand-drawn sketches, scale models, and computer-generated renderings in Shaping Space, Making Meaning offer a portrait of how we are working to create a compelling exhibition about more than 350 years of American Jewish life," said Josh Perelman NMAJH Deputy Director of Programs and Museum Historian. "The museum experience that we are creating will include captivating stories, original objects, and interactive experiences that will resonate with visitors."

Shaping Space, Making Meaning offers an insider's look at the process of creating an exhibition about more than 350 years of the American Jewish experience. The exhibition also provides an opportunity for visitors to offer feedback to the NMAJH design team through interactive experiences.

The NMAJH's exhibition design team is in the process of creating the 22,000-square-foot exhibition for the new Museum.

HAND PAINTED WOMEN'S TALLITOT SOLD AT MUSEUM SHOP

This beautiful silk tallit (pictured at right) depicts the four Matriarchs of Israel: Rachel, Leah, Sarah and Rebecca. It is one of many women's tallitot that the Museum Shop carries both in the store and on its website.

The Matriarch's talllit is hand painted using fine liquid French dyes on medium weight crepe de chine silk. Each item begins as white silk. After the dyes are set, gold or silver accents are applied by hand. The unique process ensures that no two pieces are alike.

A matching tallit bag is also available.

Along with hand crafted tallitot, the Museum Shop offers other Judaica including kippot, tallit clips, and tallit bags.

Visit the Museum Shop to browse the collection or look at items online at www.judaicashop.net. For more information email Eva Schlanger or Elaine Silverman, or call the Museum Shop at 215.923.0262.

The Museum Shop is open Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-
5 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Sunday 12 noon - 5 p.m.

Proceeds from the Museum Shop support the National Museum of American Jewish History.

AMERICAN JEWISH HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR AUTOBIOGRAPHY OFFER

The Museum is joining with author Rita Ross to offer E-Newsletter subscribers three signed copies of her new autobiography, Running From Home.

Running from Home chronicles Rita's flight from the Nazis as it was perceived by a young child. The sense of bewilderment, loss of home, and suffering from hunger and cold create an indelible mark upon her and does not leave when she eventually comes to America. Her youth and adolescence are assaulted by the demons that have been imprinted on her young brain.

Rita Ross was born in Vienna, Austria two years before Hitler's troops stormed the country. She spent the war years hiding her Jewish identity and came to America in 1945 where she met the father she hadn't seen in six years. She went from a convent environment in Germany to Orthodox Jewish surroundings, where she was expected to know how to read Hebrew and recite prayers from memory. Eventually Rita was accepted to the High School of Music and Art in New York providing her with many oportunities.

To receive one of the three complimentary copies of Running From Home, e-mail ritabrossmemoir@aol.com ritabrossmemoir@aol.com with the subject line "NMAJH Book Promotion."

To purchase the book on Amazon please click here.

Yoo-Hoo, E-Newsletter Subscriber

The Museum is offering E-Newsletter subscibers tickets to Yoo-Hoo Mrs. Goldberg. From Aviva Kempner, maker of The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, comes this humorous and eye-opening film about television pioneer Gertrude Berg. She was the creator, principal writer, and star of The Goldbergs, a popular radio show for 17 years, which became television's very first character-driven domestic sitcom in 1949. Berg received the first Best Actress Emmy in history, and paved the way for women in the entertainment industry. The film includes interviews with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, actor Ed Asner, producers Norman Lear and Gary David Goldberg (Family Ties), and NPR correspondent Susan Stamberg.

To receive a pair of tickets, be one of the first five subscribers to email movie.tickets@verizon.net with the subject line "NMAJH Promotion."

Yoo-Hoo Mrs. Goldberg opens Friday August 14 at Ritz at the Bourse Theatre, 400 Ranstead Street Philadelphia. Call 215.440.1181 for ticket purchases and special group sales rates.

Enews July 2009

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:51:00 +0000

Gallery to Feature Notable Jewish Americans

Irving Berlin. Levi Strauss. Henrietta Szold. Steven Spielberg. Albert Einstein. Rebecca Gratz. Sandy Koufax. Which of these Jewish Americans achievements should be recognized in a major exhibition in the NMAJH's new museum? We want you to help us make the determination.

Today the Museum has launched a new website found at http://onlyinamerica.nmajh.org/ that asks the public to help select who will be included in the Museum's Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame. The Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame will be a signature component of the core exhibition when the new Museum opens in November 2010. Situated on the first floor of the Museum, the gallery will examine the choices, challenges and opportunities that have been faced by a remarkable group of American Jews on their paths to accomplishment.

Visitors to the website will have the opportunity to vote from a list of 218 candidates in the fields of Arts and Entertainment; Business and Philanthropy; Literature; Performance; Politics, Law and Activism; Religion and Thought; Science and Medicine; and Sports. Participants will also have the opportunity to cast write-in votes.
Voting ends Thursday, Aug. 6.

"The Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame will be a space that inspires visitors," said Michael Rosenzweig, the Museum's president and CEO. "It will celebrate the lives and achievements of eighteen individuals who exemplify a central theme of the Museum: that a hallmark of the American experience has been an unparalleled opportunity to aspire, achieve, and possibly change the world.

"The public vote will help provide us with a barometer of who has had a lasting influence on our world, and the 18 individuals selected for the Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame will reflect a consensus between the public and the Museum's historians," Rosenzweig continued. "The list is not meant to be comprehensive. It's a representative sample and starting point for the public to think about major themes in American and American Jewish life during the past 355 years."

"This is a rare opportunity for the public to have input on what is going to be featured in a major museum exhibition," said Dr. Josh Perelman, the Museum's deputy director of programming, historian and chief curator of the core exhibition in the new Museum.

Visitors to the Museum will also be able to vote using a computer installed in the Museum's changing exhibition, Shaping Space, Making Meaning. The exhibition offers visitors an opportunity to learn how a museum creates a major exhibition and invites them to make their opinions known prior to its opening, as does the Only in America initiative.

The Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame will be a landmark museum experience, featuring major film productions, original artifacts, and an interactive database. The 18 selected individuals will be featured in the films prepared for the gallery and projected on two large curved glass surfaces at its center. The films will explore those who have made incredible work and the implications of their efforts for our world.

All 218 names included in the public vote will also be included in the interactive database that will be available to all Museum visitors as well as on its website. Representing individuals from diverse backgrounds and areas of activity, the Only in America®Gallery/Hall of Fame database will provide access to hundreds of compelling stories that underscore the Museum's primary themes and offer significant opportunities for educational activities.

Museum Board Member Ed Snider, who is chairman of Comcast-Spectacor, one of the preeminent sports and entertainment organizations in the world, is the major benefactor of the Only in America® Gallery/Hall of Fame.

Museum Launches Improved Site
Surf's Up at New Site

The first phase of the Museum's website redesign has been completed, and it offers visitors easier navigation and new content, among its many new features.

In addition to a newly-designed homepage, the site includes: comprehensive information about the Museum's Capital Campaign, including video clips; an image gallery; and information about how to become a Founding Member of the Museum.

"I hope people will visit the site often in the months ahead as we add content and make it more interactive. It's also, of course, an excellent way to stay abreast of the progress of our new Museum," said Museum president and CEO Michael Rosenzweig. "We welcome your input on ways to make the site better and more user-friendly, so please email us with your suggestions."

Museum's Walls Rising High

The east facade of the new Museum is nearly finished, with grey metal panels forming the wall of the back of the building. As the east facade nears completion, the same material is starting to be placed on the building's south side. Workers are also making preparations for the terracotta wall that will cover the Museum's north and west sides. The west side of the Museum will also contain a glass prism facade. By the end of November, the walls will be almost entirely up.

The new National Museum of American Jewish History will be the first and only major museum dedicated to chronicling the American Jewish experience. Through intriguing exhibits, rare artifacts and interactive displays, the Museum will mark the trials and triumphs of American Jews through every phase of the country's history. It will explore the challenges of identity and assimilation they faced and will celebrate the contributions they made to every facet of American life. And since other immigrant ethnic groups have faced similar challenges, the Museum will ultimately be a place for all Americans to explore, offering an experience that is thought-provoking and informative.

The Museum is in the midst of a $150 million Capital Campaign for construction of the 100,000-square-foot, five-story building. To date, $118 million has been raised for the campaign.

The new Museum is scheduled to be completed in fall 2010.

For information on how to support the Museum, contact Irv Hurwitz, the Museum's director of institutional advancement, at 215.923.3811 x 133 or by e-mail.

NMAJH Docent and Volunteer Application Deadline Extended Into July

The Museum continues to recruit docents to enroll in a comprehensive training program in order to conduct tours and educational programs for the new Museum scheduled to open on Independence Mall in fall 2010. The extended deadline for application is Friday, July 17, 2009.

Docents in training will learn to lead visitors toward a fuller understanding of museum artifacts and the history, people, and stories behind them through interpretations and other experiential activities.

Among the requirements of the training program, the docents will attend a weekly course for one year on American Jewish history. They also will be required to conduct independent research and volunteer for at least eight hours a month guiding tours and walk-in visitors.

In addition, the new Museum is seeking volunteers for research, administration, visitor services, the Museum Shop, special events, and translation and interpretation.

"We look forward to having volunteers play a vital role in the only museum dedicated to chronicling the American Jewish experience," said Gwen Goodman, Museum Executive Director Emerita.

To apply to be a docent or a volunteer please first go to the website to see a more detailed description of the program and then e-mail the Education Department expressing your interest at education@nmajh.org. Please do not call the Museum's Education Department.

Enews June 2009

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:55:00 +0000

The Museum Shop is offering a ten percent discount to visitors who purchase a featured hat (pictured) for Father's Day. The hats display designs such as "Chai 5" (left), "He'Brew" (below), and "Pop Pop." Each hat is sold for $18.

Along with these Jewish-themed hats, the Museum Shop sells other Judaica perfect for the holiday including books such as Great Jewish Men, also at a ten percent discount, and money clips with the words "gelt" and "mensch" on them.

Visit the Museum Shop to purchase these items or visit the online shop to find more Father's Day gifts at www.judaicashop.net. For more information email Eva Schlanger or Elaine Silverman, or call the Museum Shop at 215.923.0262.

The Museum Shop is open Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-
5 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Sunday 12 noon - 5 p.m.

Proceeds from the Museum Shop support the National Museum of American Jewish History.

American Jewish Fiction Guide Offered to Museum E-Newsletter Subscribers

The Museum is teaming up with the Jewish Publication Society to offer E-Newsletter subscribers ten free copies of American Jewish Fiction: A JPS Guide, the newest volume of the JPS Guide series.

The 125 works of fiction selected for this book include a wide range of classic American Jewish novels and story collections, from 1867 to the present, selected by the author, Josh Lambert in consultation with a panel of literary scholars and book industry professionals.

Roth, Mailer, Kellerman, Chabon, Ozick, Heller, and dozens of other celebrated and lesser-known writers are included with their most notable works. Each entry includes a book summary with historical context, background on the author and suggestions for further reading.

Lambert led the redesign and relaunch of JBooks.com, an online book review magazine, in 2003, and served as its editor until 2004. He now contributes book reviews and essays to the Forward, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the two national daily newspapers in Canada, The Jerusalem Post and Nextbook.org.

To receive a copy of American Jewish Fiction: A JPS Guide, be one of the first 10 people to contact JPS at Lschlesinger@jewishpub.org. Please put NMAJH E-Newsletter subscriber in the subject line and include your name and address in the body.

___________________________________

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

Enews May 2009

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:24:00 +0000

When creating a new museum the three elements that must first be taken into account are planning, implementation and sustainability. Gwen Goodman offered this first-hand knowledge to 35 people attending the American Association of Museum's Annual Meeting held recently in Philadelphia.
"You must always get buy-in from your local, state and national communities when taking on a project of this size. You will need their support," she shared with the group at the "On-Site Insights" program held as part of the AAM Meeting.

The "On-Site Insights" program, "If You Build It, Will They Come?" also featured opening remarks by NMAJH president and CEO Michael Rosenzweig, Executive Director Emerita Goodman, and exhibit designer Patrick Gallagher of Gallagher & Associates.

"Some people will come to the museum whose families have been American Jews for generations. Some people who visit will never have met a Jewish person. You have to adapt your storytelling to surprise those who think they know the whole story," said Gallagher.

The presentation also included a hard hat tour of the new Museum building. The Museum is in the midst of a $150 million Capital Campaign for construction of the 100,000-square-foot, five-story building. Approximately $120 million has been raised for the Campaign.

The new Museum is scheduled to open in fall 2010. For information on how to support the Museum, contact Irv Hurwitz, the Museum's director of institutional advancement at 215.923.3811 x 133 or by e-mail. About 5,000 people attended AAM Meeting.

The American Association of Museums is dedicated to ensuring that museums remain a vital part of the American landscape, connecting people with the greatest achievements of the human experience, past, present and future.

Museum Gala Celebrates the Contributions of American Jews to the Fashion Industry

The Museum's 2009 Only in America Gala, "Threads," will highlight and celebrate the contributions of American Jews to the fashion and garment industries.

Jill and Jon Powell are serving as Gala chairs and Ron Caplan and I Michael Coslov are serving as Gala Album co-chairs.

The Gala will take place on May 14, 5:30 p.m. at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue. The Eddie Bruce Orchestra will perform at the Gala, which will also feature a runway show sponsored by Neimen Marcus, highlighting the clothing of American Jewish fashion designers.

All guests will receive a Gala Album and "goody bag" sponsored by Saks Fifth Avenue filled with fashion related items.

Boyds Philadelphia hosted the 2009 Gala Patrons Party and Peter Olster of Betty the Caterer provided the food and beverages.

For additional information about the Gala, to make a reservation or a contribution, contact Jannine Medrana, at jmedrana@nmajh.org or 215.923.2811 x111.

The Gala supports the Museum's programs, exhibitions, and collection.

MUSEUM CELEBRATES JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

Gwen Goodman, the Museum's executive director emerita, will lead a panel discussion on the creation of the new National Museum of American Jewish History. The program, being held at the National Archives, is a part of Jewish American Heritage Month.

JAHM pays tribute to the generations of Jewish Americans who have helped form the fabric of American history, culture and society.

Goodman will moderate a panel that includes Patrick Gallagher, president of Gallagher & Associates, which is planning the exhibition design at the new NMAJH; Robert Young of Polshek Partnerships Architects, which was responsible for the building design; and Jonathan Sarna, the Museum's chief historian and Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University.

The program will take place in Washington, D.C. May 21, at 7 p.m. The panel discussion is titled, "Exhibiting the American Jewish Experience." Also in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month, the Museum will be host a Birthright Israel Next event, Philly: Drawing the Line. Birthright will use the Museum's Shaping Space, Making Meaning exhibit that promotes dialogue by presenting questions surrounding the current American Jewish experience, such as "Does antisemitism really exist in the United State?" and "Are Jews white?"

The program, taking place Wednesday, May 20 from 7-9 p.m., will include a discussion on the multiple roles, rights and responsibilities that Jews share in today's diverse and complex America. Participants will also learn of the challenges encountered in creating an exhibition that attempts to represent all of the American Jewish experience. This event is open to alumni and friends. A light dinner will be served. Please visit the Birthright Israel Next website above to RSVP.

The Museum also encourages visitors to the Museum's table at the Israel Independence Day celebration on May 17 at Penn's Landing from 2-5 p.m. The program celebrates the 61st anniversary of the State of Israel.

Historians To Speak At Conferences

Museum historians Josh Perelman and Dr. Jonathan Sarna will be making presentations to the Jewish Outreach Institute and the International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, respectively, during the organizations' upcoming meetings in Philadelphia. The Museum is serving as a sponsor of the genealogy conference.

Perelman will be speaking on "The Desire for Emigration: Rethinking Jewish Migration to America in the 19th Century" during the Jewish Outreach Institute's North American Conference. The conference is being held on June 7 - 9.

The JOI conference is for Jewish communal professionals and volunteer leaders to learn skills to create a more welcoming Jewish community and help secure a vibrant Jewish future. To register please visit the JOI page online.

Dr. Sarna, who serves as the chief historian of the Museum, will speak at two sessions at the genealogy conference, being held Aug. 2 - 7.

On Monday, Aug. 3, Sarna will speak on ""Jewish Settlement Patterns in the U.S., Why Jews Ended Up Where They Did." Later in the evening, at 7:30 p.m., he will speak on "An Old Faith in the New World: 350 Years of American Judaism."

Sarna is the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University and author of "American Judaism: A History" which won the Jewish Book Council's "Jewish Book of the Year Award" in 2004. The book, which is in the Museum Shop has been praised as being "the single best description of American Judaism during its 350 years on American soil."

The 29th annual conference of the International Association of Jewish Genealogy Societies was created in the late 1980s to advance genealogical research and to plan the annual conference. Approximately 1,000 people are expected to attend the conference. Click here to register for the conference.

Mother's Day Special At Museum Shop

This Mother's Day, May 10, bring your mother to the Museum Shop and get an extra 10 percent off the gifts you buy for her. The Shop is carrying hand crafted jewelry pieces such as this sterling silver limited edition Pin/Pendant by Henryk Winograd.

Born in Poland, Winograd traveled throughout Eastern Europe studying every possible method and technique of silver-smithing. In 1972 he immigrated to the United States where he set up a workshop and began producing jewelry and Judaic items. The fine details, painstakingly executed by his artistically trained eye and the hand of a master silversmith, reveal the meshing of art and silver craft. Now deceased, his one of a kind enamel, jewelry, and Judaica continue to have their place in museums and collections all over the world.

This pin is only one of a variety of jewelry pieces perfect for Mother's Day currently on sale at the Museum Shop and at its online store. Gift certificates can also be purchased.

The Museum Shop carries Judaica from a variety of artists. Visit the Museum Shop or its online shop at www.judaicashop.net to browse the large assortment of items in all price ranges. For more information 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.

American Jewish Civil War Novel Offer

The Museum is partnering with award-winning author Dara Horn to offer E-Newsletter subscribers three free signed copies of her newly released book, "All Other Nights."

Based on real personalities like Judah Benjamin, the Confederacy's Jewish Secretary of State and spymaster, and on historical facts and events, "All Other Nights" is a suspenseful story of men and women driven to the extreme limits of loyalty and betrayal. The story surrounds Jacob Rappaport, a Jewish soldier in the Union army who is ordered on Passover in 1862 to murder his own uncle, who is plotting to assassinate President Lincoln.

"Publisher's Weekly" says the book is "A Civil War spy page-turner meets an exploration of race and religion in 19th-century America in Horn's enthralling latest. . . . Horn propels the story at a thriller's pace; the mix of love and loyalty played out in a divided America is sublime."

Dara Horn 's first two novels "In the Image" and "The World to Come" have won such awards as the National Jewish Book Award, the Edward Lewis Wallant Award, and the Reform Judaism Fiction Prize and have been selected as an Editor's Choice in "The New York Times Book Review." Her last novel was translated into eleven languages.

To receive one of the three free copies of "All Other Nights," e-mail enews@nmajh.org writing "NMAJH E-Newsletter Subscriber" in the subject line and your name and address in the body. To purchase a copy of the book go to Dara Horn's site and follow the links.

Last Call For Docents And Volunteers

Applications to become a docent or volunteer for the new Museum are being accepted until Friday, May 15. Docents will be chosen to enroll in a comprehensive training program in order to conduct tours and educational programs. "We look forward to having volunteers play a vital role in the only museum dedicated to chronicling the American Jewish experience," said Gwen Goodman, Museum Executive Director Emerita.

Docents in training will learn to lead visitors toward a fuller understanding of museum artifacts and the history, people, and stories behind them through interpretations and other experiential activities. Among the requirements of the training program, the docents will attend a weekly, one-year course on American Jewish history. They also will be required to conduct independent research and volunteer for at least eight hours a month guiding tours and walk-in visitors. In addition, the new Museum is seeking volunteers for research, administration, visitor services, the Museum Shop, special events, and translation and interpretation. To apply to be a docent or a volunteer please go to the Education tab on the Museum's website for more information and to fill out the online forms. Please do not call the Museum's Education Department.

___________________________________

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

Enews April 2009

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 04:16:00 +0000

The National Museum of American Jewish History has announced the appointment of Michael Rosenzweig as its new President and CEO. The appointment was announced by NMAJH Co-Chairmen George M. Ross and Ronald Rubin.

"Michael Rosenzweig's business and legal background, along with his impressive leadership and fundraising experience in the Jewish world, make him the ideal leader for our Museum," stated Ross, who also serves as the Museum's Campaign Chairman. "He brings both a passion and a deep and abiding commitment to the educational mission of the institution, as well as great practical experience in leading both private and nonprofit institutions."

Rosenzweig served most recently as Senior Vice President for Corporate Development and General Counsel at Johns Manville, a Fortune 500 company in Denver. Prior to that, he was a prominent corporate lawyer in Atlanta. He also brings academic experience to NMAJH, having been a professor on the faculty of the University of Michigan Law School.

His service to the Jewish community includes being the Founding President of The Weber School, one of the nation's first transdenominational Jewish day high schools. He is currently President of the American Pardes Foundation, the American arm of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem.

"I am honored to be joining the Museum at this exciting time in its history," Rosenzweig stated. "I am deeply impressed by the Museum's ambitious educational mission and scholarly agenda, and by its commitment to utilizing the American Jewish experience to illuminate the many universal issues that challenge a country as diverse and inclusive as ours. I am especially excited by the opportunity to lead the Museum in realizing its vision as a truly national institution and a vital center of Jewish cultural life."

The search for the new president was conducted by a search committee organized in June 2008 under the leadership of NMAJH Board Co-Chairmen Ross and Rubin with NMAJH Board Member Mimi Schneirov serving as Committee Chair.

The Museum's current Executive Director, Gwen Goodman, will remain with the Museum as Executive Director Emerita until the opening of the new facility. "I look forward to working closely with Michael Rosenzweig on the grand opening of NMAJH's new home on Independence Mall in late 2010," she said.
The National Museum of American Jewish History has announced the appointment of Michael Rosenzweig as its new President and CEO. The appointment was announced by NMAJH Co-Chairmen George M. Ross and Ronald Rubin.

"Michael Rosenzweig's business and legal background, along with his impressive leadership and fundraising experience in the Jewish world, make him the ideal leader for our Museum," stated Ross, who also serves as the Museum's Campaign Chairman. "He brings both a passion and a deep and abiding commitment to the educational mission of the institution, as well as great practical experience in leading both private and nonprofit institutions."

Rosenzweig served most recently as Senior Vice President for Corporate Development and General Counsel at Johns Manville, a Fortune 500 company in Denver. Prior to that, he was a prominent corporate lawyer in Atlanta. He also brings academic experience to NMAJH, having been a professor on the faculty of the University of Michigan Law School.

His service to the Jewish community includes being the Founding President of The Weber School, one of the nation's first transdenominational Jewish day high schools. He is currently President of the American Pardes Foundation, the American arm of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem.

"I am honored to be joining the Museum at this exciting time in its history," Rosenzweig stated. "I am deeply impressed by the Museum's ambitious educational mission and scholarly agenda, and by its commitment to utilizing the American Jewish experience to illuminate the many universal issues that challenge a country as diverse and inclusive as ours. I am especially excited by the opportunity to lead the Museum in realizing its vision as a truly national institution and a vital center of Jewish cultural life."

The search for the new president was conducted by a search committee organized in June 2008 under the leadership of NMAJH Board Co-Chairmen Ross and Rubin with NMAJH Board Member Mimi Schneirov serving as Committee Chair.

The Museum's current Executive Director, Gwen Goodman, will remain with the Museum as Executive Director Emerita until the opening of the new facility. "I look forward to working closely with Michael Rosenzweig on the grand opening of NMAJH's new home on Independence Mall in late 2010," she said.

Museum Exhibition Inquires About Visitor Backgrounds

In addition to the Museum's current exhibition Shaping Space, Making Meaning asking visitors what they would like to see in the new Museum, visitors are asked about themselves. On interactive touch screens information is requested on their age, gender, ethnicity, and religious affiliation, if any. This information will help exhibition designers understand the way previous questions were answered. It also gives them an idea of what kinds of people are interested in American Jewish history and who might visit the new Museum.

The new Museum will tell the still unfolding story of more than 350 years of American Jewish life. The Museum envisions its new home as a place that welcomes all people, inviting them to discover what they have in common with the Jewish experience in America, and to explore the features that make this history distinctive. The touch screens also feature a short quiz to help the Museum learn about its audience's knowledge of American Jewish history.

Shaping Space, Making Meaning also has design sketches, computer-generated images, video and text that offer an insider's look at the process of developing a landmark exhibition. The NMAJH's exhibition design team is in the process of creating the 22,000-square-foot exhibition for the new Museum.

Museum Shop Ready For Last-Minute Passover Shoppers

Don't forget to visit the Museum Shop to purchase Passover items such as the seder plate and wine decanter featured here buy artist Steven Resnick.

Mr. Resnick is a leading authority on glass restoration and has been called upon to participate in restoration projects for the Smithsonian Institution as well as the U.S. Capitol. Borrowing on his experience in stone sculpture, his glass carving is characterized by its wonderful textural quality utilizing intricate organic motifs. His Judaica work can be seen in galleries throughout the United States. The work has been featured in a number of museums.

Along with Resnick's glasswork, the Museum Shop sells other Judaica perfect for Passover. This includes wine cups, matzah plates, haggadahs, and an array of beautifully hand made seder plates.

Visit the Museum Shop to browse the collection or view the items online at www.judaicashop.net. For more information email Eva Schlanger or Elaine Silverman, or call the Museum Shop at 215.923.0262. Expedited shipping available upon request. The Museum Shop is open Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Sunday 12 noon - 5 p.m. Proceeds from the Museum Shop support the National Museum of American Jewish History.

Restored Prison Synagogue Opens to the Public For the First Time

Eastern State Penitentiary is offering Museum E-Newsletter readers a "buy one get one free" ticket offer for Sundays in April. Visitors will be able to visit the historic site's newly-restored synagogue which was opened to the public for the first time in early April 2009. The coupon can be found here.

The Museum has in its collection an artifact representative of Jewish life at the penitentiary. The oil painting (pictured) is of Joe Paull, a prison volunteer who worked with Jewish inmates in Eastern State penitentiary. It was painted by Ben Jacobson, an inmate. The painting was presented to Mr. Paull by Jewish inmates as an expression of gratitude for his volunteer service.

Eastern State's Alfred W. Fleisher Memorial Synagogue completed around 1924 was the first built in an American prison. It was used continuously until the penitentiary closed in 1970 and then fell into near total ruin after the penitentiary's abandonment. The synagogue has been restored to its appearance in 1960, with dark wooden benches, a beautiful ark, reader's table, ornate plaster Star of David, and an eternal flame.The opening celebrates the preservation of Eastern State's unique and historic synagogue and the Jewish life it engendered.

The William Portner Memorial Exhibit on Jewish Life, an exhibit about the synagogue's history and Jewish life inside the institution includes objects recovered from the rubble inside the synagogue and oversized images of the synagogue in use by prisoners. The public can visit www.EasternState.org for information about visiting the site.

Known for its grand architecture and strict discipline, Eastern State Penitentiary was the world's first true "penitentiary," a prison designed to inspire penitence, or true regret, in the hearts of convicts.

NMAJH Continues To Look For Docents and Volunteers

The Museum continues to recruit docents to enroll in a comprehensive training program in order to conduct tours and educational programs for the new Museum scheduled to open on Independence Mall in fall 2010.

"Docents provide all visitors with an exciting and engaging experience that gives them a new understanding of, appreciation for, and continued interest in American Jewish history and everyone's connection to it." said Robert Levin, the Museum's Education Director.

Docents in training will learn to lead visitors toward a fuller understanding of museum artifacts and the history, people, and stories behind them through interpretations and other experiential activities.

Among the requirements of the training program, the docents will attend a weekly course for one year on American Jewish history. They also will be required to conduct independent research and volunteer for at least eight hours a month guiding tours and walk-in visitors.

In addition, the new Museum is seeking volunteers for research, administration, visitor services, the Museum Shop, special events, and translation and interpretation.

"We look forward to having volunteers play a vital role in the only museum dedicated to chronicling the American Jewish experience," said Gwen Goodman, Museum Executive Director/CEO.

To apply to be a docent or a volunteer please go to the Education tab on the Museum's website for more information and to fill out the online forms. Please do not call the Museum's Education Department.

___________________________________

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

Enews March 2009

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:18:00 +0000

The Museum is in the midst of a $150 million Capital Campaign for construction of the 100,000-square-foot, five-story building. Nearly $117 million has been raised for the Campaign. The new Museum is scheduled to be completed in fall 2010. For information on how to support the Museum, contact Irv Hurwitz, the Museum's director of institutional advancement at 215.923.3811 x 133 or by e-mail.

Items For Your Passover Table For Sale At Museum Shop

This single layer seder plate designed by Israeli artist Gad Almaliah is one of the many Passover related items now for sale at the Museum Shop and the online store. The plate, made of anodized brushed aluminum, showcases the Shehechyanu blessing (said in thanks of a new experience) in Hebrew and English. The prayer is embossed on metal and wrapped around the handles.

Almaliah was born and raised in Jerusalem. After graduating from the Bezalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem, he studied at the school of Visual Arts in New York City In addition to designing postal stamps for the postal services of Israel, the United States and Mexico, Gad has designed numerous posters and published several books on design. Almaliah designs coins and medals for the Israeli government and he created the emblem for the Six Day War. Currently, he designs and produces Judaic sculpture and ritual objects. Almaliah has several traveling exhibitions and he lectures at museums and universities.

Among the other items for sale during passover are haggadahs for adults and children, matzah boxes, children's toys, and kiddish cups. 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.

Future Museum Visitors Will Have A (Purim) Ball At Exhibit

Visitors to the NMAJH's exhibition Shaping Space, Making Meaning will see exhibit images such as the one pictured above, depicting preliminary ideas for the new Museum.

The "Purim Ball" gallery in the new Museum will illustrate the choices available to American Jews after the Civil War through an immersive experience designed around the Purim Balls, philanthropic galas held by Jews throughout the United States during the latter half of the 19th century. A mixture of multi-media presentation and original artifacts, this gallery will explore how 19th century American Jews looked to philanthropy as an expression of their Jewish identities. At the same time, through the organizations the Purim Balls funded, it highlights the growing political and economic diversity of the American Jewish community even before millions of eastern European Jews made their way to the United States.

The exhibition in which the Purim Ball gallery will be housed will discuss choices and challenges that America Jews faced during the second half of the 19th century. Some of these include their continuing minority status, the preponderance of antisemitism, efforts by some Christian denominations to convert Jews, and the opportunity for Jews to freely choose to no longer identify with or practice Judaism.

Shaping Space, Making Meaning, offers visitors the opportunity to learn how a museum creates a major exhibition and at the same time provide input into developing the show prior to opening. Design sketches, video and text will offer an insider's look at the process of developing a landmark exhibition about more than 350 years of American Jewish life.

The NMAJH's exhibition design team is in the process of creating the 22,000-square-foot exhibition for the new Museum.

New Jewish Filmmakers Weekend Sponsored By Museum

The Museum and the Gershman Y are joining together to offer four sets of tickets to E-newsletter subscribers for the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival's New Filmmakers Weekend taking place March 21 to 23.

Winner of the jury prize for "Best First Film" at the Philadelphia Film Festival,the first film featured as part of New Filmmakers weekend is In A Dream. The film chronicles the life and work of artist Isaiah Zagar, who has spent the last four decades covering more than 50,000 square feet of Philadelphia with stunning mosaic murals.

Directed by his son Jeremiah Zagar, the film presents a personal account of Zagar's tumultuous past, as revealed by a father to his son. Yet in the course of filming the documentary, one of Zagar's revelations threatens to destroy his marriage. This film will be shown on March 21 at 8 p.m.

New Filmmakers Weekend continues on Sunday, March 22 at 2 p.m. with the showing of three shorter films beginning with Anne and the Reverend. Written in French with English subtitles, the film tells the story of Makoto Otsuka, a minister from Hiroshima, who upon meeting Anne Frank's father 30 years ago, has resolved to dedicate his life to building a holocaust museum for Japanese children.

Following Anne and the Reverend is a ten minute long film in Hebrew with subtitles, The Kiddush Man. The film is a sweet, coming-of-age story about 10-year-old Yoni and his attempt to escape Shabbat services every week in order to sneak into the "Kiddush" before everyone else. The afternoon showing finishes off with 888-GO-Kosher, a light-hearted film following a day in the life of New York's only rapid-response kitchen koshering service. Operating out of his office in Brooklyn, Rabbi Lebovic helps those in need. 888-GO-Kosher demonstrates the relationship of kosher laws to Jewish identity.

New Filmmakers Weekend comes to an end with My Father My Lord, Monday, March 23 at 7 p.m. Named best narrative feature at last year's Tribeca Film Festival, this film observes the loving, yet severe family life of Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Abraham and his family. Although the story is loosely based on the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac in which a father agrees to sacrifice his son to the Lord and is given a last-minute reprieve, in this film, there is no reprieve. "For all its criticism of blindly exercised patriarchal authority, the movie is heartbreakingly tender," wrote Stephen Holden of The New York Times.

New Filmmakers Weekend will be hosted by journalist, broadcaster and author Carol Saline. The first four people to e-mail oantsis@gershmany.org at the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival will receive two free tickets to either the screenings on Sunday, 2 p.m. or the one on Monday, 7 p.m. Write "NMAJH E-newsletter Subscriber" in the subject line and include your name and address in the body of the e-mail. Also please include your preferred screening. (If one is filled you will be given tickets to the other screening.)

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.

NMAJH Seeking Docents And Volunteers

The Museum is seeking docents to enroll in a comprehensive training program in order to conduct tours and educational programs for the new Museum scheduled to open on Independence Mall in fall 2010. "Docents provide all visitors with an exciting and engaging experience that gives them a new understanding of, appreciation for, and continued interest in American Jewish history and everyone's connection to it," said Robert Levin, the Museum's Education Director.

Continuing, he said, "docents will lead visitors toward a fuller understanding of museum artifacts and the history, people, and stories behind them through interpretations and other experiential activities." Among the requirements of the training program, the docents will attend a weekly course for one year on American Jewish history. They also will be required to conduct independent research and volunteer for at least eight hours a month guiding tours and walk-in visitors.

In addition, the new Museum is seeking volunteers for research, administration, visitor services, the Museum Shop, special events, and translation and interpretation. "We look forward to having volunteers play a vital role in the only museum dedicated to chronicling the American Jewish experience," said Gwen Goodman, Museum Executive Director/CEO.

To apply to be a docent or a volunteer please visit the Education Department page on the Museum's website and fill out the online forms. Please no phone calls.

___________________________________

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

Enews February 2009

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 02:10:00 +0000

Enews December 2008

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 03:55:00 +0000

Be a part of the Museum's present and its future. As the year is coming to a close, the Museum is seeking gifts for the Annual Fund.Gifts to the Annual Fund support the Museum's collections and educational programs reaching more than 5,000 school children each year, and public programs highlighting the opportunities and challenges one ethnicity encounters when living in freedom.

Your gift will come at an exciting time for the Museum which is creating an expansive destination site that will chronicle the American Jewish experience through intriguing exhibits, rare artifacts, interactive displays and an array of educational and cultural programs for adults and children alike.To make a tax deductible gift to the Annual Fund please visit the Annual Fund Donation Page.

For more information on the Annual Fund or the Museum's Capital Campaign, contact Irv Hurwitz, the Museum's director of institutional advancement, at 215.923.3811 x 133.

WHITE MODELS PLAY ROLE IN SHAPING EXHIBIT SPACES IN NEW MUSEUM

Among the ways the Museum's changing exhibition Shaping Space, Making Meaning offers visitors the opportunity to learn how a museum creates a major exhibition is by exhibiting models used by designers to explore the physical space of gallery that is difficult to sort out on paper. The pictured model was built to show how the Museum might re-create a suburban environment, which will be in the Museum's second floor, in a section of the exhibition that explores postwar America.

The home in the exhibition will be an immersive environment that will provide an opportunity to examine how physical spaces, the things people put in them, and the ways they used them can be a lens into how many American Jews balanced increasing social integration with continuing efforts to define Jewishness in postwar America.

The environment will contain objects related to the foods Jews ate, to the cookbooks they purchased, to the clothes they wore, the games they played, the sports they watched, and the fiction they read. The artifact cases in the suburban home will create a vivid illustration of everyday life in postwar suburbs. There will also be home movies projected on unexpected surfaces. A period television set shows excerpts from The Ed Sullivan Show, The Goldbergs, The Show of Shows, popular culture commercials and the 1947 World Series.

Admission is free to Shaping Space, Making Meaning, which also has design sketches, computer-generated images, video and text that also offer an insider's look at the process of developing a landmark exhibition about more than 350 years of American Jewish life. The NMAJH's exhibition design team is in the process of creating the 22,000-square-foot exhibition for the new Museum.

ASSORTED CHALLAH PLATES FOR SALE AT MUSEUM SHOP

The Museum Shop is offering an array of challah plates perfect for your Shabbat dinner table such as the one pictured here made in Israel by Artist Revital Ginsberg. This handpainted ceramic plate is adorned with a delicate floral pattern in olive and navy. The Hebrew phrase "Shabbat Shalom," meaning "Good Sabbath" is writtenimageacross the center. The bow pictured around the plate is included. The plate sells for $80.

This challah plate is one of a variety of Shabbat related items being sold at the Museum Shop and in its online store. The Museum Shop carries Judaica from artists all over the world. Visit the Shop to browse the large assortment of items in all price ranges. For more information contact the Museum Shop at 215.923.0262.

The Museum Shop is open Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Sunday 12 noon - 5 p.m. Proceeds from the Museum Shop support the National Museum of American Jewish History.

MUSEUM OFFERS COMEDY SPECIAL TO THREE SUBSCRIBERS

The Museum is teaming up with the Gershman Y to offer three E-Newsletter subscribers a special offer to attend the Moo Shu Jew Show, a mishugunah evening of Jewish inspired stand-up comedy along with a five-course Chinese dinner at Ocean City restaurant in Philly's Chinatown. The performance will take place on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24, 6 p.m.

The Moo Shu Jew Show was created by comedian Cory Kahaney (pictured) who
performs regularly for Jewish audiences. She is the creator and star of off-Broadway's The J.A.P. Show: the Princesses of Comedy, Making Trouble, and Heroes of Jewish Comedy and has appeared on such television programs as The View, Last Comic Standing and the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Kahaney has been called "the go to gal for Jewish comedy" by Hadassah magazine. Moo Shu Jew Show also stars comedians Jim David, Lenny Marcus and Brad Trackman.

The first three people to respond to dkatz@gershmany.org will receive the subscriber offer of buy one, get one ticket free. Put "Moo Shu Jew Show" in the subject line and be sure to include your name and address in the body.

Tickets are $55 if purchased in advance and $65 at the door. The price includes the comedy show, dinner, tax & tip.

For more information on the show, other performers and to purchase tickets visit www.mooshujewshow.com or call 215.445.3012.

___________________________________

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

Enews November 2008

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:26:00 +0000

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.
___________________________________

ANNUAL FAMILY DAY OF FUN ON CHRISTMAS DAY AT THE NMAJH

Jon Nelson's Rockin' Kids Review will rock the house at this year's annual "Being Jewish at Christmas" program of family fun at the National Museum of American Jewish History. "Being Jewish at Christmas," which features music, comedy, refreshments and more, will be held Thursday, Dec. 25, noon - 4 p.m.

Jon Nelson is a mainstay on the national children's music scene, both as a solo artist, and with his Jon Nelson's Rockin' Kids' Review. His unique performances for kids and their families are rooted in his love of rock & roll and his desire to teach children through fun and interactive music. Jon's Rockin Kids' Review treats audiences to a rip roaring, hand clapping, foot stomping, educational and interactive concert that every child, parent and grandparent will love.

Jon's fresh, exciting and innovative original songs have appeared on several nationally distributed compilation CDs, and his music is heard on radio stations in the United States and abroad. Joining Jon Nelson's Rockin' Kids' Review are returning BJAC entertainers Michael Rosman, whose amazing feats of all-ages comedy has been seen on The Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and who has performed numerous times in Atlantic City. Also returning is 2006 "Best of Philly" Party Entertainer Ken Fink from Wondergy, who fuels curiosity by making science fun and exciting. All children will receive a "goodie bag."

"Being Jewish at Christmas" is held at the National Museum of American Jewish History, Independence Mall East, 55 North 5th Street, from noon to 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $5 per person (children two and under admitted free). BJAC is free to Museum members and members of the military. Tickets are available only at the door. For more information call 215-923-3811 x 148.

"Being Jewish at Christmas" is made possible by the generous support of the Robert Saligman Jewish Heritage Fund.

MUSEUM SEEKS SUPPORT FOR ITS ANNUAL CAMPAIGN

A "prayer for the country" was written in 1789 by the Richmond, Virginia Jewish congregation following the ratification of the United States Constitution. The prayer said, in part (and pictured in Hebrew below):

We beseech thee O Lord to have the President of the United States ... and all U.S. Senators and Representatives ... grant them such a share of knowledge that will tend to the happiness of the people ... that they may wisely and successfully execute the trust committed to their care, that knowledge, religion, and piety, arts and sciences, may increase, and that agriculture and manufactures, trade and commerce, may flourish.

Supporters of the NMAJH's Annual Campaign have allowed the Museum to preserve and present important artifacts like the Richmond prayer and in so doing tell the inspiring story of the American Jewish experience. The Museum is now seeking gifts for its end-of-year Annual Campaign. Gifts to the Annual Campaign support the Museum's collections, educational programs reaching more than 5,000 school children each year, and public programs highlighting the opportunities and challenges one ethnic encounters when living in freedom.

Your support of our Annual Campaign is more important than ever, as the Museum continues to explore and celebrate how Jews have shaped America and how America has shaped the Jews. Your gift will come at an exciting time for the Museum. We are creating an expansive destination museum that will chronicle the American Jewish experience through intriguing exhibits, rare artifacts, interactive displays and an array of educational and cultural programs for adults and children alike.

To make a tax deductible gift to the Annual Campaign please visit the Annual Fund Donation Page. For more information on the Annual Campaign or the Museum's Capital Campaign, contact Irv Hurwitz, the Museum's director of institutional advancement, at 215.923.3811 x 133 or by e-mail. The Museum is in the midst of a $150 million Capital Campaign for construction of the 100,000-square-foot, five-story building. Nearly $112 million has been raised to date for the Campaign.

MUSEUM SHOP OFFERS HANUKKAH DISCOUNTS

Light up your Hannukah nights with this hanukkiah and dreidel (pictured left) designed by George Gabriel, which can be found in the Museum Shop and online store. Born in Buenos Aires, Gabriel has been designing art and jewelry in metal and glass for more than 20 years. Working from his studio in West Haven, CT, Gabriel creates one of a kind hand-crafted pieces made of copper, brass and iron. The metals are melted together to create artwork symbolizing infinity - bonding the human, the divine, and the spirit. In this piece, the dreidel spins in its holder on the hanukkiah giving movement to the piece.

Gabriel's hanukkiah is only one of many Hanukkah related items being sold in the Museum Shop and its online store. Visit the Museum Shop to browse the collection or look at the items online at http://www.judaicashop.net/. For more information email Eva Schlanger or Elaine Silverman, or call the Museum Shop at 215.923.0262. The Museum Shop is open Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Sunday 12 noon - 5 p.m. All proceeds from the Museum Shop support the National Museum of American Jewish History.

EXHIBITION DISCUSSIONS ON VIEW
Short Film Shown in Exhibition

Visitors to the NMAJH can listen in as Senior Designer Jamie Rains and Creative Director Cybelle Jones of Gallagher & Associates, the new Museum's exhibition design firm, discuss plans for future exhibition spaces in the new Museum now being built.

"I would love it if every person would leave here [the new Museum] knowing that the NMAJH cares about what they are passionate about, what they think is important, what they think is an issue that needs to be dealt with," says Jones in the video, found in the Museum's changing exhibition, Shaping Space, Making Meaning.

The short video Designing An Exhibition For The NMAJH's New Home (pictured above) was created for Shaping Space, Making Meaning, which gives an insider's look at the process of developing a landmark exhibition about more than 350 years of American Jewish life.Shaping Space, Making Meaning also has design sketches, computer-generated images, and interactive elements designed to get visitor feedback. The NMAJH's exhibition design team is in the process of creating the 22,000-square-foot exhibition for the new Museum.

MUSEUM SPONSORS JEWISH BOXING FILMS FOR JEWISH FILM SERIES

Once again the Museum is supporting the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival by sponsoring movies that explore the American Jewish experience. The two films about Jewish boxers are being shown as part of the festival's Sports Weekend, which begins Dec. 7.

In Orthodox Stance directed by Jason Hutt, 24-year-old Russian immigrant Dmitriy Salita shows the world that the "Jewish boxer" can still pack in the punches. The boxing world has never before confronted a Sabbath-observing boxer, and Salita's rabbis and friends have never before rooted for one of their own. Orthodox Stance is a portrait of seemingly incompatible cultures and individuals working together to support Salita's rare and remarkable devotion to both Orthodox Judaism and the pursuit of a professional boxing title. This film is in Hebrew, English, Russian and Spanish, with English subtitles.

Max Baer's Last Right Hook, directed by Avida Livny, is the fictional story of Yaakov Gendelmayer, an unlucky entrepreneur during World War II who comes up with a brilliant publicity stunt. He will arrange a fight in Palestine between Max Baer, a Jewish former heavyweight boxer and Schatzchneider, a German boxer. Under the assumption that Baer with win, Gendelmayer sees the flight as a perfect opportunity to raise Jewish morale and earn him enough money to move to the United States. The fight does not go as planned, and in order to uncover the truth about Max's "last right hook," Gendelmayer's son, Joe, travels to Israel sixty years later. Though this fight never took place, Livny's mockumentary shows viewers what could have happened had the story been true.

Speaking after the screening will be J.Russel Peltz, president of Peltz Boxing Promotions and an international Hall of Fame boxing promoter.Both films will be shown at the Gershman Y, 401 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia on Sunday, Dec. 7. Orthodox Stance is at 2 p.m. and Max Baer's Last Right Hook is at 7 p.m.

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. To purchase tickets to either showing please visit the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival website.

SPECIAL JPS BOOK OFFER FOR E-NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS

Jews created the first comic book, the first graphic novel, the first comic book convention, the first comic book specialty store, and they helped create the underground comics (or "Comix") movement of the late '60s and early '70s. The story of these comic book pioneers is told by Arie Kaplan in the Jewish Publication Society's, From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books.This month, the Museum is teaming up with JPS to offer 10 copies of the book to E-Newsletter subscribers.

From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books tells how the creators of the most famous comic books, such as Superman, Spiderman, X-Men, and Batman, as well as the founders of MAD Magazine, brought a uniquely Jewish perspective to their work and to the comics industry as a whole.Over-sized and in full color, the book is filled with sidebars, cartoon bubbles, comic book graphics, original design sketches, and photographs.

Kaplan is a comedian, MAD Magazine writer, and author of the new comic book miniseries Speed Racer: Chronicles of the Racer. He is the author of Masters of the Comic Book Universe Revealed! and has written for MTV, Cartoon Network, and PBS Kids. Kaplan lectures all over the country about comic books, comedians, and popular culture.

To receive a copy of From Krakow to Krypton, be one of the first 10 people to contact JPS at http://www.jewishpub.org/. Please put NMAJH E-Newsletter subscriber in the subject line and include your name and address in the body.

AWARD-WINNING PIANIST PERFORMS AT KIMMEL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

The Museum is teaming up with the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts to offer E-Newsletter subscribers two pairs of free tickets to a Kimmel Center Presents performance of Daniel Barenboim on piano, Dec. 8.

For one night only, Grammy award-winning conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim returns to thrill audiences with an all-Liszt program-including selections from Années de pèlerinage (Deuxième Année: Italie) Légendes, and Paraphrases on Operas of Guiseppe Verdi for Piano Forte. The Chicago Sun-Times recently wrote, "Barenboim is one of the finest pianists before the public today."

Be one of the first two people to reply to the Public Relations Department at the Kimmel Center with the words, "NMAJH E-Newsletter subscriber" in the subject line for a chance at a pair of tickets. Daniel Barenboim will be performing Monday, December 8, 8 p.m. For ticket prices, please visit the Kimmel Center ticket page.

___________________________________

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
http://www.nmajh.org/

Enews October 2008

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:25:00 +0000

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.
___________________________________

Forward Editor Speaks On Jewish Vote

Jewish Americans are less than two percent of the United States population, but they play an outsized role in politics, according to Jane Eisner, editor of the Forward, the weekly newspaper covering the Jewish world and considered American Jewry's newspaper of record."The number of people who have been elected to office is far beyond our proportion of the population. And frankly, the amount of money that is donated from Jewish donors to political causes is far beyond our two percent. So, the Jewish vote is always very important."

There are four main issues those important Jewish voters will be considering in the upcoming election Eisner said while offering her analysis during "The Jewish Community and the Upcoming Presidential Election," a program recently held for 60 special Museum supporters. Those issues are: the Middle East, the economy, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, and race. Regarding the Middle East she noted, "The discussion about Israel and her future really is framed more about Iran and the Iran question. That is also something the Israeli government is very, very concerned about and, indeed, all Americans are concerned about. But, I think that the questions about Iran and how the United States will treat a potential nuclear Iran are very, very important to Jewish voters."

The dramatic change in the economy in the last few weeks has led to virtually all national polls, and those in the battleground states, going to Obama, she said. However, she added, "I don't know how the economy is going to affect the Jewish vote." Eisner characterized Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as a wild card in the race and took note of the intense interest in her from Jewish voters. "I do wonder whether the attempt that the McCain ticket is creating to exercise the more conservative base of the party is having an affect on Jewish voters. We won't know that until the exit polls."

Eisner concluded by saying there is "no doubt that race will play a part in some of the decisions white voters make. I think it's especially true generationally. "Whether or not that trumps other issues that people have on the economy, on the Middle East, on leadership, how that balances out the Sarah Palin factor I'm not sure, but I do think that is what is part of what is going to be unfolding next month," Eisner said.

Auditorium Has a Role in New Museum

Imagine a heated debate on the role of religion in American politics. Steps away, no less, from Independence Hall, where the role of religion in the United States was first debated. Or, perhaps your tastes run to cutting-edge comedy or theater. Maybe it's a performance of songs by great American Jewish composers like Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Richard Rodgers that you'd like to attend. Or a lecture on assimilation.

The opportunity to attend these types of programs in one place is closer than you think. The auditorium for the new National Museum of American Jewish History being constructed on Independence Mall continues to take shape. Both the concrete perimeter wall of the lower level and the floor where the auditorium will be located has been placed.

The auditorium, a multipurpose venue equipped for films, theater and concerts, was funded by a $5 million gift from Dr. Alexander and Lorraine Dell and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. The theater will seat approximately 200 people, including seats for those with disabilities. The auditorium, part of the Museum's education center located in the building's lower level concourse, will be home to a mix of programs, all geared toward making the Museum the preeminent national educational and cultural center celebrating the American Jewish experience.

"Programming in the new Museum will be second-to-none to any cultural institution in the country," said Gwen Goodman, the Museum's Executive Director/CEO. "We will provide a voice for Jewish Americans in all disciplines, artistic and academic, and enable the exploration of American Jewish heritage and culture." In addition to the auditorium and theater, the concourse includes an education center with two classrooms and a resource center. A sliding partition between the classrooms will enable it to be transformed into one large space. The concourse also includes an expansive public area that will be used for programs and special events.

As work continues on the concourse, construction workers and contractors at the site are working on other elements of the 100,000-square-foot, five-story building. A structural steel frame of the Museum is being erected and work on the building's electrical and plumbing systems is ongoing. The Museum is in the midst of a $150 million Capital Campaign for construction of the 100,000-square-foot, five-story building. Nearly $112 million has been raised for the Campaign.

The new Museum is scheduled to be completed in fall 2010. For information on how to support the Museum, contact Irv Hurwitz, the Museum's director of institutional advancement at 215.923.3811 x 133 or by e-mail.

Shop Offers Smashing Discount

The Jewish wedding, much like Jewish holidays currently being celebrated, is a time filled with celebration, tradition, and ritual objects passed down through generations. This kiddush cup (right) sold at the Museum Shop and designed by Gary Rosenthal is made with a compartment which holds the broken glass from the wedding ceremony. Rosenthal's hand-colored glass goblets (left), sold in the shop, are made for his wedding collection. They are available in blue, green and red as shown.

Rosenthal has been sculpting in welded metals for approximately 30 years. Together with a team of talented craftspeople, he creates one of the most popular and unique lines of Judaic art in the country. Combining copper, brass, and steel with fused glass, the collection has a contemporary style inspired by the rich history of the Jewish people. Work from the Gary Rosenthal Collection has been presented to presidents and to celebrities and can be found throughout the world in many fine galleries and private collections.

These wedding items are just a few of the many that are sold in the Museum Shop and online store. Customers who mention these items in the E-Newsletter will receive a 10 percent discount. Visit the Museum Shop to browse the collection or view the items online at www.judaicashop.net.

The Museum Shop is open Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Sunday 12 noon - 5 p.m. Proceeds from the Museum Shop support the National Museum of American Jewish History.

Museum Sponsors Program With Authors at First Person Arts Festival

Award-winning author and critic Daniel Mendelsohn and journalist and critic Lise Funderburg have devoted years to dissecting the small details of family stories framed by history. They will share their work as part of a First Person Arts' production, Relative History, which is sponsored by the Museum.

Mendelsohn's Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million is a gripping account of six of his own family members, Holocaust victims uncovered through a detective-like search for facts about their lives and deaths. Lise Funderburg's Pig Candy reconstructs the Jim Crow south as she tends to her dying father who is living out his final years in his boyhood home in rural Georgia.

Mendelsohn and Funderburg will read from their works and discuss how family stories personalize the abstractions of history. Funderburg is a journalist, essayist, and critic. She is currently an instructor in creative nonfiction writing at the University of Pennsylvania. Mendelsohn is the author of three books and his essays have been widely anthologized. He teaches at Bard College.

The program will take place on Sunday, Nov. 16, 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m. at the Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street, Philadelphia. First Person Arts, founded in 2000, transforms the drama of real life into memoir and documentary art to foster appreciation for our unique and shared experience. It has showcased the work of more than 100 artists nationwide.

One Book, One Jewish Community Includes Museum as Partner

The Museum is once again partnering with the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia for its annual One Book, One Jewish Community: Connecting People project. As a project partner, the Museum's educational program Memory Keepers is included in a resource guide for teachers, community leaders and others who want to have a program for OBOJC. The program, developed to complement the Museum's current exhibition, Shaping Space, Making Meaning, enables students to create their own exhibit related to American Jewish identity using non-accessioned artifacts. The students take on the roles of curator, registrar, and exhibit designers.

One Book,One Jewish Community is designed to bring Philadelphia's Jewish community together through shared conversations, discussions and events inspired by a selected book. This year's book, My Father's Paradise, is by first-time novelist Ariel Sabar, whose work has appeared in The New York Times, the Washington Monthly, and other publications.

My Father's Paradise tells the story of Yona Sabar, a descendent of a lost tribe of Israel made up of Kurdish Jews who lived in the mountains of northern Iraq, so isolated that they still spoke Aramaic and were mostly illiterate. They were self-made mystics, storytellers, and peddlers who lived in harmony with their Muslim and Christian neighbors. Yona and his family were among the 120,000 Jews who emigrated from Iraq in the 1950s after the founding of the state of Israel. My Father's Paradise explores how Yona dedicates his career to preserving his people's traditions, while he and his son Ariel travel together to today's post-war Iraq to find what's left of his birthplace.

Synagogues, agencies and other Jewish institutions will use the novel as a vehicle for conversation, sharing and celebrating not only the book itself, but also the values and issues raised in the story. Ariel Sabar will be at Temple Beth Hillel, Beth El for a OBOJC kick-off conversation on Sunday, Nov. 2 2008. For more information on author Ariel Sabar and One Book, One Jewish Community, visit the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia's website. For more information on Memory Keepers, please visit the education page of the Museum's site.

Museum and Singer Janis Ian Team Up

Kirkus Reviews called legendary songwriter Janis Ian's new autobiography Society's Child "a juicily entertaining look at an unusual life in show business." The book earned a starred review from Booklist, which said, "fans will love this book, of course, but many non-fans, too, should find this painfully candid memoir hard to put down." O magazine called it "hugely readable." People magazine gave it 3½ stars.

The Museum is joining with Ian and her publisher Tarcher/Penguin to offer free copies of her book to the first five E-Newsletter subscribers to respond to enews@nmajh.org with the words "Janis Ian" in the subject line and include your name and address. Included with the book will be Ian's new CD, Best of Janis Ian: The Autobiography Collection, which includes all of her classic songs, remastered and available all in one place for the very first time.

Ian's first album, featuring the breakout hit "Society's Child," was recorded in 1965. The seminal "At Seventeen" from her second album, Between the Lines, garnered five Grammy nominations in 1975 and she opened the first-ever episode of Saturday Night Live in the fall of that year. At the close of the decade her Night Rains album went platinum throughout Europe, Africa and Australia, making Ian an international star.

In 2002, "Society's Child" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, with "At Seventeen" followed in 2008. Ella Fitzgerald once called her "The best young singer in America," while Chet Atkins said, "Singer? You ought to hear that girl play guitar. She gives me a run for my money!" In addition to the autobiography and CD, the Museum is also offering a pair of tickets to Ian's shows at the The Grand Opera House , in Wilmington, DE on Thursday, Nov. 13 and at the Sellersville Theater on Friday, Nov. 14.

___________________________________

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

Enews September 2008

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:42:00 +0000

Enews August 2008

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:48:00 +0000

The Museum Shop and online store carry a variety of gifts perfect for celebrating the significant Jewish life cycle event of the baby naming and bris, and for those first birthdays.

This whimsical print (pictured left) of Noah's Ark by Israeli-American artist Mickie Klugman portrays a dove, day & night, and the Hebrew alphabet all surrounded by a quote from Genesis. Animals for each letter of the English alphabet make up the border. The print is available with a variety of different frame and mat choices.

Klugman is an artist and calligrapher who has been specializing in Judaica since 1980. Among the many sources that inspire her delicate watercolor designs are traditional Jewish motifs, Persian and Arabic illumination, contemporary graphics, as well as art nouveau and art deco. Being an avid gardener, she loves to incorporate the beauty of nature into much of her artwork.

This Noah's Ark print is only one of a variety of Child and baby related items being sold at the Museum Shop and its online store. Others include first curl and tooth boxes, rattles, and baby kippot. In addition to prints and other gifts for children, the Museum Shop carries Judaica by a variety of artists. Visit the Museum Shop in person and online 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.

NEW QUESTIONS POSED BY MUSEUM EXHIBIT ON AMERICAN JEWISH ISSUES

There is a clear difference of opinion between two NMAJH visitors in response to the new exhibit question, "Are opportunities for advancement equally available to all ethnic and racial minorities in the U.S.?" One visitor from Farmingham, MA states that the opportunity exists, and that people should make of it what they will despite the unequal access to it because of ethnicity or race. Another visitor from Santa Cruz, CA gives a firm, succinct, "Of course not."

The visitors are among many who are engaged in a lively debate about equal opportunity for all minorities and with other issues posed by the exhibit, "Drawing the Line," part of the Museum's changing exhibition, Shaping Space, Making Meaning. New questions asked in the exhibit are "Is Israel the homeland for all Jews," and "Should religion play a role in American politics."

The exhibition also offers visitors the opportunity to learn how a museum creates a major exhibition and at the same time allows them to offer feedback through interactive experiences to the design team working on the new Museum.

Other interactive elements in the exhibition include touch screens to engage visitors in a conversation about the Museum's major themes of freedom, immigration, and religious tolerance, and a short quiz to help the Museum learn about its audiences' knowledge of American Jewish history. The exhibition design team uses the answers to these questions to give them a sense of the trends that can be discerned.

In addition to the interactive elements, Shaping Space, Making Meaning has design sketches, computer-generated images, video and text that offer an insider's look at the process of developing a landmark exhibition about more than 350 years of American Jewish life. The NMAJH's exhibition design team is in the process of creating the 22,000-square-foot exhibition for the new Museum under construction and scheduled to open in 2010.

MUSEUM OFFERS LISA LOEB CHILDREN'S CD TO SUBSCRIBERS

The Museum and singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb have joined together to offer E-newsletter subscribers copies of her second CD of children's music celebrating the summer camp tradition.

Camp Lisa is a mix of old favorites ("Home on the Range," "Father Abraham") and a collection of original songs. Listeners will also find celebrity cameos from such artists as Nina Gordon, Jill Sobule and Steve Martin, who plays banjo in a song, "The Disappointing Pancake." Camp Lisa is perfect for camp sing-alongs or music making in your own living room.

Loeb has had success with a multi-dimensional career encompassing music, film, television, voice-over work and children's recordings. Her five acclaimed studio CDs include her major label debut, the gold-selling Tails and its follow-up, the Grammy-nominated, Gold-selling Firecracker. Loeb's television credits include an inspired look at finding love on her show No. 1 Single for E!

To receive your free copy of the CD be one of the first six e-newsletter subscribers to email the Museum at nmajh@nmajh.org with your name and address. Please put "Camp Lisa CD" in the subject line. To purchase a copy of Camp Lisa visit Barnes and Noble.

___________________________________

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

Enews July 2008

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:35:00 +0000

Enews June 2008

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 14:09:00 +0000

The literal foundation for the new Museum is on track as well. Foundations for the five-story building being constructed on Independence Mall are being poured and will be finished in July. The foundations are being put in following excavation and shoring of the site. In the fall steel will be erected on the site and approximately a year later the building envelope will be enclosed.

The Museum is constructing a new 100,000-square-foot building on Independence Mall that will stand directly accross 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 the new Museum contact Irv at 215.923.3811 ex 133.

Photo by Ilana Blumenthal.

2. WEDDING MEZUZAH FOR SALE ONLINE
Mezuzah Hold Glass Shards

The breaking of the glass under the chuppah is one of the most memorable moments at a Jewish wedding. Now, the memories of that moment can be retained, along with the glass shards, in this beautiful mezuzah carried by the Museum Shop. The mezuzah's white glass is sandblasted and kiln fired and blue silvercoat mirror has been added to the back for the letters to appear in the same vibrant blue.The wedding shards are placed in the Plexiglass casing.

The mezuzah, designed and handcrafted as part of artist Susan Fullenbaum's Ahava collection can be found in the Museum Shop's online store. Fullenbaum's current work focuses on themes taken from Jewish life and her own developing awareness of Jewish tradition. She creates handcrafted stained glass art commemorating joyous life cycle events, illustrating Jewish customs, or to be used in ceremonial life, much of it available in the Museum Shop.

Susan's art is represented in juried art shows and exhibitions nationwide and her commissioned art pieces are displayed internationally in galleries, synagogues, and private homes. She is a member of Artsites and the American Guild of Judaic Artists.This Mezuzah is one of a variety of wedding related items for being sold at the Museum Shop.

The Museum Shop carries Judaica from artists all over the country. 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.

3. IDENTITY PROGRAM HELD FOR JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
Panel Discussion Held at Museum

When Andre Key was asked if he felt more African-American or more Jewish, he replied, "I'm just simply both." Key, a graduate fellow at the Institute for the Study of Race and Social Thought and Center for Afro-Jewish Studies at Temple University continued, "We, as black Jews, don't want to be known as black Jews vs. "normal" Jews, so instead we call ourselves Israelites or Hebrews."

Key's remarks came during a provocative panel discussion on Jewish identity held recently at the Museum. "Jewish Peoplehood in the 21st Century and Beyond" was held in conjunction with the Museum's current changing exhibition "Shaping Space, Making Meaning" and Jewish American Heritage Month.

Over the course of the evening panelists, who came from different cultural backgrounds, also addressed the personal and communal challenges, that they faced as multicultural Jews and as Jewish Americans. The program was created as a way to facilitate conversation surrounding the ethnic diversity of Jews in America today. This issue of contemporary Jewish life is addressed throughout the "Shaping Space, Making Meaning" exhibition by asking visitors hotly debated questions such as, "Are Jews White?"

Much like Key, Hannah Lau, a rising senior at the University of Pennsylvania and a curatorial intern at NMAJH is a product of two backgrounds. When she spoke of her Chinese father and Jewish mother, she noted that she had never been conflicted about her own "experience as a 'Jewsian'. Jewish and Chinese cultural values are pretty similar." She went on to say, however, that "the only part that used to trouble me is the sense that I was never Jewish enough and never Chinese enough to really count."

Lau added that she feels children of intermarried families, particularly ones who do not "look Jewish" do not ultimately feel less Jewish. "It just may take them a little longer to understand what that really means. I've never had someone tell me to my face that I'm not Jewish." In response to the experiences related by the panelists, an audience member asked during a question-and-answer session following the panel discussion, "Given that we can be culturally different, what would you say is the core of Judaism, what is the one defining core piece of this religion that all Jews should embrace? What is the common thread?"

"The story we accept of ourselves. That is the thread. Sinai, the covenant, the Diaspora. The history we relate to keeps the community as a community," responded panelist Rabbi Jon Konheim, of Beth Am Synagogue in Baltimore, MD. The program's moderator, Dr. Rebecca T. Alpert, an associate professor of religion and women's studies at Temple University, agreed with Rabbi Konheim, but added that while a common narrative is in fact the core of the Jewish people, Jews do not have to all believe the story to be a religious one. It can just be thought of as the history of the Jewish people.

Rabbi Konheim, who leads the Conservative synagogue described as urban and egalitarian, concluded by saying, "The acceptance [of all types of Jews] has been good. It's a "bend over backwards" acceptance at my congregation. The challenge for us in the Conservative movement is to create a Judaism that is distinct, but not ethnic. I think it's so wonderful to look at the younger generation and see where I've come from. How times have changed. When I was young, Ashkenazis stayed in one group. In this generation Jews all mix together." Following the discussion, audience members were divided into groups to further discuss issues presented during the program.

4. NMAJH RECEIVES COLLECTIONS ASSESSMENT GRANT

A guest conservator will spend two days at the Museum in July evaluating current artifact collections care, thanks to a recently awarded $3,000 grant from Heritage Preservation, formerly the National Institute for Conservation. The conservator will examine storage methods and conditions as well as policies and procedures related to the Museum's collection of approximately 20,000 artifacts. The assessment will include a look at the Museum's security and climate control systems.

The assessment will be a collection-wide survey. Conservators have conducted more limited surveys of paper and textile artifacts in the collection in past years. After the site visit, the conservator will give the Museum a report enabling the institution to evaluate its current collections care policies, procedures, and environmental conditions. The report will also help the Museum make appropriate improvements for the immediate, mid-range, and long-range care of its collections.

The Museum is one of 2,500 that have been chosen to participate in Heritage Preservation's Conservation Assessment Program since its creation in 1990. Heritage Preservation's President Lawrence L. Reger, praised NMAJH for "making the vital work of caring for the collections and sites a priority and helping ensure that they are available to present and future generations." Heritage Preservation's Collections Assessment Program is supported through a cooperative agreement with the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Heritage Preservation is the national organization dedicated to preserving our nation's heritage. Its members include museums, libraries, archives, historic preservation organizations, historical societies, conservation organizations, individual professionals, and other groups concerned with saving the past for the future. To learn more about Heritage Preservation, please visit www.heritagepreservation.org.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services' mission is to grow and sustain a "Nation of Learners". Through its grant making, convening, research and publications, the Institute empowers museum and libraries nationwide to provide leadership and services to enhance learning in families and communities, sustain cultural heritage, build 21st century skills, and provide opportunities for civic participation. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.

5. BOOK OFFER IN CONJUNCTION WITH SHAPING SPACE, MAKING MEANING

The Museum is teaming up with The Jewish Publication Society to offer E-newsletter subscribers one of two books that are part of their new ethics series dealing with some of the most critical moral issues of our time. Each volume in this series presents traditional and contemporary sources on specific topics, followed by hypothetical cases and study questions to provoke discussion. Supplementing these are brief essays written by political figures, journalists, scholars and artists, among others.

The first of the books, "Jewish Choices Jewish Voices: Body " asks such questions as what are our obligations and rights to our own bodies?, what does Judaism say about tattoos?, what does it say about smoking?, and who owns our organs?. The second book, "Jewish Choices Jewish Voices: Money" addresses issues of wealth, and monetary obligations asking the questions, how much are we supposed to give to charity?, can Jewish charitable institutions accept money that may be "tainted"?, and how big a role should income play in our identity, in our life plan, in our pursuit of happiness?

The "Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices" series takes a hard look at important and controversial topics of our time much like the Museum's current exhibition, "Shaping Space, Making Meaning" For example, in the Shaping Space, Making Meaning," "Drawing the Line: A Contemporary Issues Forum," exhibit, information about current issues is presented and provocative questions are asked and visitors respond. Their answers will give the NMAJH's exhibition design team for the new Museum a sense of the range of visitors' opinions and allow team members to see if there are certain trends that can be discerned.

"Shaping Space, Making Meaning" also offers visitors the opportunity to learn how a museum creates a major exhibition and at the same time have input into developing the exhibitions prior to opening.

___________________________________

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

Enews May 2008

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:11:00 +0000

The verdict is in, and it's a split decision regarding the question "Is personal heritage more important than fitting into mainstream society?"

"If being Jewish is a large part of who you are, you shouldn't change yourself just to fit into mainstream society," said a recent visitor from Clinton, N.J. to the Museum's changing exhibition, "Shaping Space, Making Meaning," where the provocative question was asked. Another visitor, from San Francisco, took the opposite tack, writing, "No. Getting oneself far apart from the general culture is a recipe for unhappiness."

Visitors to the exhibition are participating in a lively debate at the Museum by being asked to contribute their thoughts to issues being discussed in the American Jewish community, such as the one about personal heritage, as well as ones about antisemitism and American support for Israel.

In addition, the exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to learn how a museum creates a major exhibition and at the same time allows them to offer feedback through interactive experiences to the design team working on the new Museum. Other interactive elements in the exhibition include touch screens to engage visitors in a conversation about the Museum's major themes of freedom, immigration, and religious tolerance, and a short quiz to help the Museum learn about its audiences' knowledge of American Jewish history. The exhibition design team uses the answers to these questions to give them a sense of the trends that can be discerned.

In addition to the interactive elements, "Shaping Space, Making Meaning" has design sketches, computer-generated images, video and text that offer an insider's look at the process of developing a landmark exhibition about more than 350 years of American Jewish life. The NMAJH's exhibition design team is in the process of creating the 22,000-square-foot exhibition for the new Museum under construction and scheduled to open in 2010.

4. WHY TOUR WITHOUT THE J-TOUR?
Jewish Tours of Philadelphia Offered by Museum

A number of Philadelphia's earliest Jewish settlers lived on Elfreth's Alley, an approximately 300 year old historic still inhabited neighborhood. David Salisbury Franks, a controversial officer in the Continental Army is buried in Christ Church Burial Ground in historic Philadelphia. The history of Elfreth's Alley's early Jewish community and the life of Franks are among the many fascinating stories that groups will hear during the Museum's J-tours.

On the J-tour, groups explore the Colonial Jewish experience with a seasoned guide who tells the story of Philadelphia's Jewish community and the role that Jewish pioneers played in this city as well as in our emerging nation from Colonial times until now. The J-tour also explores how Jewish Philadelphians collaborated with the rest of their diverse community and contributed to the founding, maintenance and growth of the country.

"We designed the tour to be interactive," said Robert Levin, the Museum's education director. "As the tour meanders through the Old City historic district, we want participants to ask questions and engage in discussions about what it meant to be a Jew back then, and what it means to be one now."

The J-tour begins and ends at the Museum. Depending on the time a group has, the J-tour stops at such significant sites as the Statue, Religious Liberty (pictured above), Elfreth's Alley, Christ Church and Cemetery, Franklin Court, as well as other historic places where Jewish connections and contributions are highlighted.

To schedule a J-tour, please call the Museum Education Department at least six weeks in advance of the desired tour date at 215.923.5984 or fill out a group tour request form located online at our website.

5. KETUBAHS FEATURED AT MUSEUM SHOP

Wedding season is here. Visit the Museum Shop, or the Museum Shop's online store, to browse its extensive array of ketubahs such as the one pictured below, "Bashert! Meant to Be," by Michelle Rummel, premier designer, fine artist and owner of Shell Artistree LLC.

Rummel creates wedding products contemporary in design that offer a fresh creative vision.
Well known for her clean style, an artist's eye for color, texture and form, Rummel enjoys a loyal following for her award-winning fine art, which can often be found exhibited at juried shows, as well as in personal and corporate art collections around the world.

This ketubah is only one of a variety of ketubahs being sold at the Museum Shop and its online store.

In addition to ketubahs, 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 , 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.

6. AMERICAN JEWISH PLAY OPENS IN MAY WITH READER DISCOUNT OFFER

The NMAJH and Interact Theatre Company are joining together to offer E-newsletter subscribers a special offer of $18.00 tickets to see "House, Divided," a challenging and timely examination of family, faith and politics, running at The Adrienne theatre from May 23 though June 22.

The play tells the story of the Goldstein family of Philadelphia, torn apart when older brother Louis decides to embrace Jewish Orthodoxy and move to Israel during the height of the Vietnam War. Betrayed and bewildered, his younger brother Douglas builds a life around peace activism. More than 20 later, Louis, now a retired officer of the Israeli army and Douglas, a senior director with Amnesty International, are divided by familial wounds and opposing religious and political beliefs. The brothers are forced to re-engage with one another when their sons make surprising life decisions of their own.

Loebell is a four-time recipient of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Playwriting Fellowship, and a 2006 recipient of a new play commission from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. He is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America, and Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas. He teaches playwriting and dramaturgy at Arcadia University.

"House, Divided" is being performed at The Adrienne Theatre, 2030 Sansom St., Philadelphia.

The $18.00 discount offer is only for performances taking place from Thursday, May 29 through Sunday, June 8. Purchase by phone by calling InterAct Theatre Company's Box Office at 215.568.8079 and mentioning that you are an NMAJH E-newsletter subscriber. Discount tickets are also available by ordering online at www.InterActTheatre.org, by entering promo code "NMAJH18" at check-out. The offer is not applicable toward previously purchased tickets, cannot be combined with any other offers, and is subject to availability.

Founded in 1988, InterAct is now celebrating it's 20th anniversary. Its aim is to educate, as well as entertain its audiences, by producing world-class, thought-provoking productions, and by using theatre as a tool to foster positive social change in the school, the workplace and the community. Through its artistic and educational programs, InterAct seeks to make a significant contribution to the cultural life of Philadelphia and to the American theatre.

___________________________________

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

Enews March 2008

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:14:00 +0000

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.

___________________________________

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

Enews February 2008

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:33:00 +0000

Greeetings!

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.

___________________________________

CONSTRUCTION MOVES FORWARD ON NEW MUSEUM

Following the official groundbreaking for the new Museum in September, construction commenced on the building on Independence Mall that will serve as the Museum's inspiring new home.

With the recent completion of demolition, INTECH, the new Museum's construction manager, began excavating the site and is now shoring up the hole with soil retention systems. The perimeter of the site must be secured otherwise the sides of the hole will give way.

After the perimeter is strengthened, the builder will pour the concrete for the Museum's foundation on which the structure of the building will rest. Soon after, structural steel will be erected and the profile of the Museum will begin to appear.

During construction, there are regular "working group" meetings with construction contractors, architects, exhibition designers, museum officials and various consultants. "These working groups are all working to ensure the Museum captures the history, dreams and visions of the American Jewish community, while ensuring it is relevant to all visitors," said Irv Hurwitz, director of institutional advancement.

For more information on the new Museum contact Irv at 215.923.3811 x133 of by e-mail.

Photo by Jeffrey E. Holder.

YOU TELL US, WE'LL TELL YOU
Visitors Give Storytelling Feedback at New Exhibition

"Can We Talk?," one of the interactive elements included in the Museum's new changing exhibition, Shaping Space, Making Meaning, asks visitors how they prefer to hear stories told.

The exhibit has six images, each with two versions of a story to go with them, one more personable, and one straight facts. These represent stories that will be included in the NMAJH's core exhibition when it opens in 2010, such as those of Emma Goldman, and Irving Berlin. Using voting slips visitors explain their preference. The answers to questions in the exhibition give the NMAJH's exhibition design team a sense of the opinions among visitors, and show if there are certain trends that can be discerned.

Other interactive elements in the exhibition include a forum asking questions having to do with contemporary American Jewish issues, touch screens to engage visitors in a conversation about the Museum's major themes of freedom, immigration, and religious tolerance, and a short quiz to help the Museum learn about its audiences' knowledge of American Jewish history.

In addition to the interactive elements, Shaping Space, Making Meaning has design sketches, computer-generated images, video and text that offer an insider's look at the process of developing a landmark exhibition about more than 350 years of American Jewish life. The NMAJH's exhibition design team is in the process of creating the 22,000-square-foot exhibition for the new Museum under construction and scheduled to open in 2010.

MUSEUM SHOP AND ONLINE SITE DRESSED UP WITH PURIM ITEMS
Holiday Items For Sale

Though it is customary to stamp and rattle gragers whenever the name of Haman is mentioned during Purim, sounds of joy should be heard when visitors purchase these Humentashan plates (pictured), designed and handcrafted by Arlene Ancona. They are now featured in the Museum Shop's online store in time for the holiday that this year falls on March 21-22.

Ms. Ancona received her formal training at Parsons School of Design in New York, where she also taught ceramic design and surface design. After leaving Parsons, she set up her own studio where she designs and produces her pieces. When designing her work, which has been featured in several publications, she tries to combine function without sacrificing aesthetics. The inspiration for her Judaica pieces comes from her cultural background and her modern perspective.

These Purim plates are two of a variety of Purim related items for both adults and children being sold at the Museum Shop and at its online store. 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 AND FILM FESTIVAL OFFER
French Film Weekend Is March 1-2

The Museum and the Gershman Y are joining together to offer five sets of tickets to E-newsletter subscribers for the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival's French Weekend taking place the first weekend in March.

Featured during the French Weekend are two films, "Family Hero (le Heros de la Famille)," and "Bad Faith (Mauvaise Foi)." "Family Hero" tells the story of an assimilated Jewish family with North African roots, who inherit their father's magical cabaret in Nice. Throughout the film, they discover that they never really knew their parents.

Following the screening will be guest speaker Daniele Thomas Easton, director of France-Philadelphie and former honorary consul for France in Philadelphia and Wilmington.

French Weekend continues with "Bad Faith," a spunky comedy about the secret love affair of Clara and Ishmael, a Jew and a Muslim, though both are secular and egalitarian. When Clara becomes pregnant, their affair must be made public and they are suddenly faced with two families and two cultures who share their French Republican values.

Jean-Michel Rabate, professor of English and comparative literature and Penn, will be the guest speaker following the screening.

The Museum is a sponsor of the Jewish Film Festival's films about the American Jewish experience, including the New Filmmakers Weekend taking place this year March 22 through 23.

Among the films being shown are "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 six of the greatest female comic performers, including Molly Picon, Fanny Brice, and Gilda Radner. The clips reveal what it means to be female, funny and Jewish.

Another film, "Enough," created by Zoe Greenberg as her bat mitzvah project, and which won the Princeton Prize in Race Relations for 2007, tells the story of five young people from different backgrounds who confront the taboo subjects of wealth, poverty, and class.

Other films being screened include "West Bank Story," "Unsettled," Ilona, Upstairs," and "A Hero in Heaven."

The first five people to e-mail oantsis@phillyjcc.com at the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival will receive two free tickets to either the Sunday 2 p.m. screening of "Family Hero" or the Sun., 7 p.m. screening of "Bad Faith." Write "French Film Tickets" in the subject line and include your name and address in the body of the e-mail.

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.

NMAJH CO-SPONSORS PLAY READING WITH INTERACT THEATER COMPANY

The Museum will be hosting InterAct Theater Company's reading of Larry Loebell's play "House, Divided," on Mon., March 17, 6 p.m. The reading is free.

The play tells the story of the Goldstein family of Philadelphia, torn apart when older brother Louis decides to embrace Jewish Orthodoxy and move to Israel during the height of the Vietnam War. Betrayed and bewildered, his younger brother Douglas builds a life around peace activism. More than 20 later, Louis, now a retired officer of the Israeli army and Douglas, a senior director with Amnesty International, are divided by familial wounds and opposing religious and political beliefs. The brothers are forced to re-engage with one another when their sons make surprising life decisions of their own.

"House, Divided" is a challenging and timely examination of family, faith and politics, and how the desire to distance ourselves from our past may only bring it closer to home in the future.

Loebell is a four-time recipient of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Playwriting Fellowship, and a 2006 recipient of a new play commission from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. He is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America, and Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas. In addition to writing and teaching playwriting and dramaturgy at Arcadia University, Loebell works as a free-lance dramaturg.

The play reading is being held in conjunction with Shaping Space, Making Meaning, the new temporary exhibition at the Museum offering visitors the opportunity to learn how a museum creates a major exhibition and at the same time have input into developing the show prior to opening, which too allows visitors to explore contemporary Jewish issues/topics. For more information on "House, Divided," InterAct's website.

Founded in 1988, InterAct is now celebrating it's 20th anniversary. Its aim is to educate, as well as entertain its audiences, by producing world-class, thought-provoking productions, and by using theatre as a tool to foster positive social change in the school, the workplace and the community. Through its artistic and educational programs, InterAct seeks to make a significant contribution to the cultural life of Philadelphia and to the American theatre.

NMAJH SPONSORS PROGRESSIVE JEWISH MUSIC FESTIVAL
John Zorn Featured

Ars Nova Workshop is presenting five concerts sponsored by the NMAJH showcasing the progressive side of Jewish music and taking place March 1 through 4. Featured in the festival is the exceptional and dynamic work of composer, innovator, performer and MacArthur Fellow John Zorn (pictured).

Festival performances will be held in venues including International House Philadelphia, Society Hill Synagogue, and Kol Tzedek Synagogue. Zorn's first performance will include "John Zorn's The Dreamers," and "John Zorn and Essential Cinema," taking place on Sun., March 2, 2 p.m.. The first piece is a new and beautiful lyrical exploration of surf, exotica, easy listening and world beat sounds while the second features members of Electric Masada, founded by John Zorn, performing live scores to American experimental filmmakers' work.

Later that night at 8 p.m. John Zorn returns with an evening featuring his Masada songbook with a performance from Jon Zorn's Electric Masada, and opening sets by the Jamie Saft Trio and Eric Friedlander, both with acoustic interpretations of the songbook. Other performances at the festival include the Masada Guitars, Ayelet Rose Gottlieb/Anat Fort/the Michael Winograd Trio, and Daniel Blacksberg's Yiddish Sextet featuring Frank London.

The performances by Zorn and the other musicians are being billed by Ars Nova Workshop as the Radical Jewish Music Festival.

"As the Jewish people continue to grow into the 21st century," said Zorn, "they carry their culture along with them. Tradition, history and the past have always played a strong role in the life of the Jews but it is also important to think about the future. Just as jazz music has progressed from Dixieland to free jazz and beyond in a few short decades, and classical music went from tonality to chromaticism, noise and back again, it has occured to me that the same kind of growth should be possible-and is perhaps essential-for Jewish music. Questions arose, as did the need to address them.[...] the Radical Jewish Culture series is a first attempt at addressing some of these issues."

Ars Nova Workshop is a Philadelphia nonprofit jazz and experimental presenting organization. For dates, prices and times of the performances, visit the Ars Nova Workshop website.

___________________________________

On March 12-15, 1972, a group of Jewish feminists who called themselves the Ezrat Nashim (Women's Help) appeared before the annual convention of the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly. There they presented a document entitled, Jewish Women Call for Change, which listed a number of reforms demanding religious equality for women and men. The document read in part: "For three thousand years, one-half of the Jewish people have been excluded from full participation in Jewish communal life."

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

Enews January 2008

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 18:34:00 +0000

"Religion can be kept alive through action," wrote a recent Museum visitor from Palo Alto, Calif., in response to the question, "Is intermarriage a significant threat to religious communities" asked in the Museum's new changing exhibition. The visitor went on to say that, "If someone marries outside of their faith and stops practicing, that is their own fault. If a person marries within their faith and stops practicing, that is no different."

The question about intermarriage and others like it about issues being debated in the American Jewish community are at the root of the exhibition Shaping Space, Making Meaning.

The exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to learn how a museum creates a major exhibition and at the same time allows them to offer feedback through interactive experiences to the design team working on the new Museum.

One section of the exhibition, "Drawing the Line: A Contemporary Issues Forum," asks such questions as: Should the U.S. always support Israel's policies? Is it fair for rabbinical seminaries to refuse to ordain gay and lesbian rabbis? Does intermarriage represent the triumph of American pluralism?

Other interactive elements in the exhibition are touch screens to engage visitors in a conversation about the Museum's major themes of freedom, immigration, and religious tolerance, and a short quiz to help the Museum learn about its audiences' knowledge of American Jewish history.

The answers to questions in the exhibition give the NMAJH's exhibition design team a sense of the opinions among visitors, and show if there are certain trends that can be discerned. In addition to the interactive elements, Shaping Space, Making Meaning has design sketches, computer-generated images, video and text that offer an insider's look at the process of developing a landmark exhibition about more than 350 years of American Jewish life.

The NMAJH's exhibition design team is in the process of creating the 22,000-square-foot exhibition for the new Museum under construction and scheduled to open in 2010.

MUSEUM BRANCHING OUT WITH OFFER
Tu B'Shevat Related Items For Sale

The Museum Shop carries a variety of nature and tree related items, such as the pictured copper and brass candle holder by Infinity Art in Metal, which are perfect gifts for the Jewish New Year for Trees, Tu B'Shevat, which takes place on January 22.

Artist George Gabriel Q. designs each piece, which is then handcrafted and autographed. The metal used is melted together to create artwork symbolizing infinity - bonding the human, the divine and the spirit.

This candle holder is one of a variety of Tu B'Shevat related items being sold at the Museum Shop and at its online store.

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 FESTIVAL FILMS
Oscar Nominated Film First In Line

Three films sponsored by the Museum are being screened this month as part of the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival.

The first film, Two Hands, makes its Philadelphia premiere on January 27 at 7 p.m. as part of the festival's Music Weekend. Nathaniel Kahn's inspirational documentary reveals the obstacles encountered by renowned concert pianist Leon Fleisher, when he lost the ability to play with his right hand. Hailed as one of the 10 most gifted musicians in America, Fleisher drove his right hand into extreme focal dystonia during his intensive preparation for a recording of Johannes Brahms's "B Flat Concerto." In Two Hands, Kahn tells this story via extended interviews with Fleisher, archival concert footage and vintage photographs.

Two Hands was nominated for the Best Short Documentary Oscar in 2007.

Immediately following the showing of Two Hands is the second film being sponsored by the NMAJH, Beethoven's Hair, a 17-minute long docudrama tracing the unlikely places where a lock of Beethoven's hair, taken from his deathbed, ends up. This film takes the audience on a musical tour, wandering from romantic 19th century Vienna, to the Holocaust, to kitschy Americana, and a forensic scientist's revelation of Beethoven's mysterious "medical secret." A lush Beethoven score complements the rich production.

Filmmaker Kahn will be the guest speaker following these two films.

The third Museum-sponsored film, Stealing Klimt, part of the festival's Documentaries and Dialogue series making its Philadelphia debut, chronicles the struggle of 90-year-old Maria Altmann to recover five Gustav Klimt paintings that were stolen from her family by the Nazis in Vienna.

The film shows the early days in fin-de-siecle Vienna, Maria's escape from Nazi terror and a winning fight to regain the seized works, taken all the way to the US Supreme Court. The glorious "golden" portrait of Maria's aunt Adele was sold for $135 million to Ronald Lauder and now hangs in his New York City museum, the Neue Gallery.

Dr. Jonathan Steinberg, Walter H. Annenberg professor of modern European history at the University of Pennsylvania, will be the guest speaker.

Admission is $10. Seniors and students with ID receive $3 off the single ticket price.

For more information on this or other films in the series call 215.466.3033 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.

The Museum sponsors festival films that explore the American Jewish experience.

ANNUAL PRESIDENTS' DAY CELEBRATION TO BE HELD AT NMAJH FEB. 18
Washington Letter To Be Read

The Museum will be celebrating George Washington's birthday and Presidents' Day during its annual free program taking place Monday, Feb. 18, noon at Museum.

The celebration highlights religious liberty and features the reading by a re-enactor of the letter President Washington sent to Philadelphia's Congregation Mikveh Israel, and congregations in Charleston, New York and Richmond in 1790, after they wrote to congratulate him following his inauguration. In his reply Washington wrote, "The liberality of sentiment towards each other, which marks every political and religious denomination of men in this Country, stands unparalleled in the history of nations."

Invited to participate as they have in past years are the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, music by the Fifes and Drums of the Delaware Militia, and re-enactors from the 11th Pennsylvania Regiment. The Rev. Timothy Safford, of Christ Church, where George Washington worshipped, will deliver the invocation.

The program is co-sponsored by Congregation Mikveh Israel, which shares its location with the Museum.

Cherry pie, donated by Philadelphia's Tasty Baking Company, will be served after the program.

___________________________________

On February 3, 1943, Rabbi Alexander D. Goode (b. 1911), a 1937 graduate of the Hebrew Union College, died when his ship, the USS Dorchester, is sunk in battle. Rabbi Goode and three Christian chaplains died together while joining arms in prayer after giving their life vests to other soldiers. Their heroism was commemorated in many ways, including the issuance of a U.S. postage stamp.

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

Enews December 2007

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:58:00 +0000

Greeetings!

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.

___________________________________

FUN FOR JEWISH FAMILIES ON CHRISTMAS AT THE MUSEUM
Comic Juggler To Perform at NMAJH Program

Michael Rosman (pictured), whose amazing feats of all-ages comedy have been seen on The Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, is returning to the NMAJH to perform at this year's annual "Being Jewish at Christmas" program of family fun. In addition to Rosman, the day includes music, refreshments, puppets and more, on Tuesday, Dec. 25, noon - 4 p.m.

Michael has been performing his eclectic mix of comedy and chatoic klutziness for the past 20 years. He is known for leaving his audience laughing in amazement. Making their debut this year at BJAC are award-winning recording artists, performers, musicians, and educators Peter & Ellen, who specialize in music for young children. Drawing on a rich tradition of musical experiences, they help children and families strengthen their Jewish identities through their lively performance and engaging, participatory shows.

2006 "Best of Philly" Party Entertainer Ken Fink from Wondergy, who fuels curiosity by making science fun and exciting, is returning along with the Mark Segal Puppet Theatre and its zany cast of characters. Refreshments are provided and all children will receive a goodie bag. Tickets to BJAC are $5 per person (children three and under are admitted free.) There is no charge to Museum members. Tickets will be available only at the door. For more information call 215-923-3811. "Being Jewish at Christmas" is made possible by the generous support of the Robert Saligman Jewish Heritage Fund.

IDEAS FOR NEW MUSEUM SKETCHED OUT IN CURRENT EXHIBITION ON VIEW

Once curators have decided on a theme for a section of an exhibition, designers begin to sketch out ideas about how to represent that theme in a physical environment. In the Museum's new temporary exhibition, Shaping Space, Making Meaning, visitors can see some of the ideas, such as the sketch (pictured above) of a summer camp exhibit, being considered for the 22,000-square-foot exhibition being designed for the new Museum.

"The hand-drawn sketches, scale models, and computer-generated renderings in the exhibition offer a portrait of how we are working to create a landmark exhibition about more than 350 years of American Jewish life," said Josh Perelman NMAJH deputy director of programs and museum historian. "The museum experience that we are creating will include captivating stories, original objects, and interactive experiences that will resonate with visitors."

Shaping Space, Making Meaning also provides an opportunity for visitors to offer feedback to the NMAJH design team through interactive experiences.

Shaping Space, Making Meaning's first interactive element uses touch screens to engage visitors in a conversation about the Museum's major themes, which include freedom, immigration, religious tolerance, as well as short quiz to help the Museum learn about its audiences' knowledge of American Jewish history.

The second section of the exhibition gives visitors the chance to help determine the tone with which the museum will speak to its audience. Visitors will be introduced to some of the colorful individuals from the past who will be found in the new exhibition and then asked to read two different versions of text about each person. They will then have the opportunity to vote on which they like best.

Controversial topics are addressed in the third section of the exhibition, "Drawing the Line: A Contemporary Issues Forum." Should American Jewish organizations continue to send millions of dollars to Israel? Is it fair for rabbinical seminaries to refuse to ordain gay and lesbian rabbis? Does intermarriage represent the triumph of American pluralism? These are among the many subjects that will be explored in an interactive presentation that will present information about current issues, ask provocative questions, and allow visitors to respond. Their answers will give the NMAJH's exhibition design team a sense of the opinions among visitors, and if there are certain trends that can be discerned.

MUSEUM SHOP CARRIES BAR AND BAT MITZVAH ITEMS
Plan Now For Upcoming Simchas

While the annual Jewish holidays come and go, bar and bat mizvahs are year round. The Museum Shop carries gifts for both boys and girls for their coming-of-age celebrations including talit clips, kippot, yads, and this glass kiddish cup designed and handcrafted by Steve Resnick.

Steve Resnick is the world's preeminent Judaic glass artist. His work is exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States, Europe and Israel. Also featured in the Museum Shop is this sterling silver Star of David necklace adorned with amethyst beads (pictured) by local artist Joan Horn.

For more than 20 years, Joan Horn has been working with metal fabrication and jewelry. Working with unique ideas in line, form and color, she hand fabricates each piece in her home studio located in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. The Museum Shop carries many of Joan's pieces.

The kiddish cup and necklace featured are only two of a variety of bar and bat mitzvah related items being sold at the Museum Shop and at its online store. 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.

THE JEWISH AMERICANS TO AIR IN JAN.
Directed By David Grubin

Emmy-award winning filmmaker David Grubin, who serves as the chief story teller in the development of the core exhibition of the new Museum, is also the producer and director of The Jewish Americans, a film airing on WHYY TV12 and PBS stations across the country on Jan. 9, 16, and 23 beginning at 9 p.m.

The Jewish Americans is a three-part documentary series exploring the opportunities, freedoms, and prosperity that Jews have found in America through the stories of Jews who have participated in major milestones and cultural phases of U.S. history since their arrival in the 17th century.

"Throughout the film there is a recurring theme," filmmaker Grubin said. "With each wave of Jewish immigration, Jews expressed an immense desire to become American while retaining their own identity. Out of this struggle emerged not just a Jewish-American culture, but also the integration of Jewish culture into the larger American landscape."

The Museum will be the repository of all the unedited footage shot by Grubin in the making of The Jewish Americans. Grubin also produced the Museum's campaign video, It's Your Story, highlighting Jewish American achievement and setting forth the vision for the new Museum building.

MUSEUM SPONSORS JUDY TOLL FILM

The quirky self-deprecating Judy Toll is the subject of a film sponsored by the Museum, being shown at the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival on January 7. Judy Toll: The Funniest Woman You've Never Heard Of is part of the festival's Documentaries and Dialogue series.

Weaving interviews and clips, this feature-length documentary explores the touching and hilarious story of Judy Toll, the always funny, comedian/writer/actress who died five years ago from cancer. Judy rose from a struggling comic in her home town of Philadelphia to an up-and-down Hollywood career while always retaining her honesty and ability to laugh in the face of adversity.

Following the screening will be guest speaker, Gary Toll, Judy's brother, who made the movie.Admission is $10. Seniors and students with ID receive $3 off of the single ticket price. For more information on this or other films in the series call 215.466.3033 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. The Museum sponsors festival films that explore the American Jewish experience.

MUSEUM OFFERS BERNSTEIN TICKETS
Leonard Bernstein Festival Takes Place At Kimmel Center

The Museum is joining with the Philadelphia Orchestra to offer discounted tickets to the Bernstein Festival being held from January 10 to February 2 at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

Christoph Eschenbach will conduct the Leonard Bernstein festival as a celebration of the 90th anniversary of the birth of this iconic composer and conductor. Among the festivities will be four weeks of festival concerts each having a different musical program, movie screenings and pre and post-concert discussions and talkbacks.

The Orchestra begins the four-week Bernstein Festival with a concert pairing Tchaikovsky's dramatic Romeo and Juliet with Bernstein's modern-day retelling, West Side Story. The festival continues in week two with Bernstein's Jeremiah, portraying the epic story of the destruction of ancient Jerusalem and ending with a prayerful Hebrew lament. The program goes on to include new work by Jennifer Higdon and concludes with Bernstein's Second Symphony of Robert Schumann.

The third week's concert includes two brand new works created for four Philadelphia-based artist-ensembles: the string trio Time for Three, violinist Jennifer Koh, and the Philadelphia Singers Chorale, together with the Orchestra. The evening concludes with Bernstein's Jeremia.

In the concluding week of the festival, the concert will feature violinist Joshua Bell performing melodies from West Side Story and Samuel Barber's violin concerto often called "the most beautiful American concerto ever written." Philadelphia Orchestra Associate Conductor Rossen Milanov will conclude the evening with Stravinsky's first grand ballet score.

To find out more about the festival and events, visit the Bernstein Festival's page on the Philadelphia Orchestra's website. To claim one of the seven pairs of complimentary tickets to the Bernstein Festival, respond to philadelphia_orchestra@philadelphiaorchestra.org with your name and address and write "Bernstein tickets" in the subject line. The Philadelphia Orchestra website has more information on their 2007-08 season.

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On December 26, 1931, the musical comedy Of Thee I Sing opened at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. Written by the Gershwin brothers, George (1898-1937) and Ira (1896-1983), the show became that year the first American musical to win the Pulitzer Prize.

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

Enews November 2007

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 21:01:00 +0000

Feedback wanted!

Shaping Space, Making Meaning, the new temporary exhibition at the National Museum of American Jewish History, offers visitors the opportunity to learn how a museum creates a major exhibition and at the same time have input into developing the show prior to opening. The NMAJH's exhibition design team is now in the process of creating the 22,000-square-foot exhibition for the new Museum now under construction and scheduled to open in 2010.

Opening Sunday, Dec. 16, Shaping Space, Making Meaning will have design sketches, computer-generated images, video and text that will offer an insider's look at the process of developing a landmark exhibition about more than 350 years of American Jewish life.

Shaping Space, Making Meaning will allow visitors to offer feedback to the NMAJH design team through three interactive experiences. "This is a unique opportunity for the public to get inside the mystery of exhibition design and really let their opinions be known," said Josh Perelman, NMAJH deputy director and museum historian. "We want our visitors to have a frank, healthy discussion with us about the history of the country and the future of our institution."

Shaping Space, Making Meaning's first interactive element uses touch screens to engage visitors in a conversation about the Museum's major themes, which include freedom, immigration, religious tolerance, as well as short quiz to help the Museum learn about its audiences' knowledge of American Jewish history.

The second section of the exhibition gives visitors the chance to help determine the tone with which the museum will speak to its audience. Visitors will be introduced to some of the colorful individuals from the past who will be found in the new exhibition and then asked to read two different versions of text about each person. They will then have the opportunity to vote on which they like best.

According to Perelman, "Finding the right voice is essential to the creation of a major exhibition. Like any conversation, museums seek to draw people in, make them feel comfortable, and communicate a message. Our goal is to tell stories and convey information in a tone that engages and inspires people."

Controversial topics will be addressed in the third section of the exhibition, "Drawing the Line: A Contemporary Issues Forum." Should American Jewish organizations continue to send millions of dollars to Israel? Is it fair for rabbinical seminaries to refuse to ordain gay and lesbian rabbis? Does intermarriage represent the triumph of American pluralism? These are among the many subjects that will be explored in an interactive presentation that will present information about current issues, ask provocative questions, and allow visitors to respond. Their answers will give the NMAJH's exhibition design team a sense of the opinions among visitors, and if there are certain trends that can be discerned.

"We value feedback," said Deputy Director Perelman. "Museums are public institutions and therefore it is essential to the development of this new museum that we hear from our audience. We want to know what they like, what they did not understand, or what they just wish will be in the new building. These comments enrich the design process and make create a fulfilling connection between the museum its visitors."

2. MUSEUM SHOP OFFERS DISCOUNT ON HANUKKAH PRESENTS

In preparation for Hanukkah, the Museum Shop has acquired a variety of new items, including this unique menorah (pictured) by Susan Fullenbaum. Dreidels, menorahs, books, and other Hanukkah items will be discounted 20 percent as part of a special Hanukkah promotion for last-minute shopping by E-newsletter subscribers from Nov. 29 through Dec. 4.

Susan's Tree of Life Menorah is made of stained glass with a dark green or blue beveled base. The glass adds dimensions of dynamic beauty through the interplay of colored glass with the candlelight.

For more than 25 years, Susan has created handcrafted stained glass art emphasizing Judaic themes. Most of her recent work has focused on these themes and on her own developing awareness of Jewish tradition.

Based in Silver Spring, Maryland, Susan's commissioned art pieces are displayed in galleries, synagogues, homes and are represented in juried art shows and exhibitions worldwide. Susan is a member of Artsites, the National Capital Stained Glass Guild, and the American Guild of Judaic Artists. This menorah is one of a variety of Hanukkah related items being sold at the Museum Shop and at its online store.

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.

3. BE JEWISH AT CHRISTMAS AT NMAJH
Peter & Ellen Allard to Perform for First Time at BJAC

Captivating children's performers Peter & Ellen (left) are highlighting this year's annual "Being Jewish at Christmas" program of family fun at the National Museum of American Jewish History, which features music, comedy, puppets and more, on Tuesday, Dec. 25, noon - 4 p.m.

Peter & Ellen are award-winning recording artists, performers, musicians, and educators specializing in music for young children. Drawing on a rich tradition of musical experiences, they help children and families strengthen their Jewish identities through their lively performance and engaging, participatory shows.

Joining Peter & Ellen are returning BJAC entertainers Michael Rosman (pictured), whose amazing feats of all-ages comedy has been seen on The Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; 2006 "Best of Philly" Party Entertainer Ken Fink from Wondergy, who fuels curiosity by making science fun and exciting; and the Mark Segal Puppet Theatre, and its zany cast of characters, which has been a part of BJAC in years past. Refreshments are provided and all children will receive a goodie bag.

Tickets to the event are $5 per person (children three and under are admitted free.) There is no charge to Museum members. Tickets will be available only at the door. For more information call 215-923-3811 x 120. "Being Jewish at Christmas" is funded by the Robert Saligman Jewish Heritage Fund.

4. HOLOCAUST LEGACY BROUGHT TO LIFE IN BATTLESHIP EXHIBITION

The Museum has teamed with Battleship New Jersey (pictured) to offer E-newsletter subscribers a two-for-one admission discount to The exhibition, The Holocaust and Genocide: the Betrayal of Humanity.

The Holocaust and Genocide: the Betrayal of Humanity, a multimedia traveling exhibition about the history of the Holocaust and its lasting legacy, made its debut on the Battleship New Jersey on Nov. 10. The opening of the exhibition was timed to coincide with the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night in 1938 when the Nazis broke the windows of Jewish businesses and homes and desecrated synagogues.

The admission discount is included with all battleship tours until June 15, 2008.

Donations in support of the exhibition were made by Mr. & Mrs. Ed Feldman (in memory of Carl Ehrlich), the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, the Goodwin Holocaust Museum and Education Center, the N.J. Commission on Holocaust Education, and the Jewish Community Foundation.

To redeem the two-for-one offer, bring a printout of this story with you to the Battleship New Jersey or mention that you are a NMAJH E-newsletter subscriber when ordering tickets by phone. The ship is open daily for tours from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm.

Located on the Camden Waterfront across the Delaware River from Center City Philadelphia, the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial is a non-profit historic ship museum that offers guided and self-guided tours and gives visitors a variety of ways to experience the ship. For more information on the ship's many programs, visit www.battleshipnewjersey.org.

5. MOVIE POPS THE BUBBLE ON LIVES OF YOUNG ISRAELIS
Museum Offers Tickets for Movie At Ritz Theatres

The Museum is making available ten passes for two to The Bubble, a new film opening at Philadelphia's Ritz Theatres Nov. 23. The film tells the story of three Israelis who share an apartment in Tel Aviv's hippest neighborhood. Trying to put aside political conflicts and focusing on their lives and loves, these progressive 20-somethings are accused of living in an escapist bubble.

From the director of Walk On Water, Eytan Fox, The Bubble is as much a love song to the city as it is an exploration of the claim that people in Tel Aviv are isolated from the rest of the country and the turmoil it's going through.

The apartment mates include Lulu, a headstrong woman who works in a bath products boutique; flamboyant Yali, who manages a trendy cafe; and Noam, who spends his weekends serving in the National Guard at checkpoints and falls in love with a Palestinian man named Ashraf, who he and his friends conspire to help stay illegally in Tel Aviv. The Bubble was an official selection in the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006 and the Berlin International Film Festival in 2007.

To claim one of the ten complimentary tickets to The Bubble, respond to enews@nmajh.org with your name and address and write "The Bubble" in the subject line. Each pass admits two, good Monday-Thursday except holidays. Visit the official The Bubblewebsite for more information about the film. Visit Ritz Theatres for more information about the film.

6. HAPPY HANUKKAH FROM THE NMAJH
The Board, staff and volunteers of the Museum wish you a happy Hanukkah (and Thanksgiving).

This compact and portable Hanukkah lamp, whose eight oil reservoirs can be concealed within its sofa-shaped case when not in use, has survived a lot. It dates back to the early 1700s, from a Sephardic Jewish family. They lived on the island of Curaçao in the Caribbean. Many islands in the Caribbean during this time were home to Jews who were involved in the shipping trade.

Curaçao, like New Amsterdam where the first Jews settled in North America in 1654, was a Dutch colony and therefore undoubtedly friendlier to Jews than other places, given the greater religious tolerance practiced by the Dutch at home and abroad. The lamp's portable and inconspicuous design speaks to the itinerant nature of the Jewish people and also perhaps to the tradition of practicing Judaism in secrecy, especially after the Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal in 1492 and then scattered.

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On December 2, 1763, members of the Jewish community of Newport, Rhode Island, consisting of perhaps 20 families, witnessed the dedication of the Touro Synagogue. The Georgian-style building, designed by Peter Harrison, is now the oldest North American synagogue and was declared a national historic site in 1946.

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

Enews October 2007

noreply@blogger.com (nmajh) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 20:47:00 +0000

1. GROUNDBREAKING HELD FOR NEW MUSEUM
Independence Mall Home For New Cultural Icon

History was made on the historic ground of Independence Mall with the Sept.30 groundbreaking for the new National Museum of American Jewish History. "We're doing something important on this sacred ground," said George Ross, the Museum's co-chairman and campaign chairman. "In a sensitive and meaningful way, we're going to tell the story of how freedom has shaped people's lives and how people, given freedom, can contribute to their country."

Ross delivered his remarks under the sunny skies of a beautiful, early fall day to more than 400 people who came to witness the ceremonial start of a new cultural icon that U.S. Senator Arlen Specter declared was going to be "a tremendous unifying factor for the Jewish people in America and, really, for the Jewish people in the world."

Planned to open in 2010, the new 100,000-square-foot building, six-story building, designed by Polshek Partnership Architects, 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.

Among its architectural elements, the new Museum's facade facing Independence Mall is a glass prism that expresses the accessibility of the Museum and the openness of America, as well as the perennial fragility of democracy.

Exhibitions will explore how Jews created a new home in a free land and will examine how America shaped the lives, communities and livelihoods of its Jewish citizens. Exhibits will also explore how Jews shaped America, using their unprecedented freedom not only to create the largest and most prosperous Jewish community in the world, but also to help make America one of the most prosperous and vital countries in the world.

Museum Co-Chairman Ron Rubin thanked all those in attendance for "who have believed and supported and will continue to support this great institution." The Museum has raised $105 million toward its $150 campaign goal.

CAPTIONS:
Photo 1. At the groundbreaking (from left) are Ruth Sarner-Libros, NMAJH president emerita;D. Walter Cohen, NMAJH chairman emeritus; Gwen Goodman, Museum executive director/CEO; U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter; Lyn M. Ross, NMAJH board member; and George M. Ross, NMAJH board co-chairman and capital campaign chairman.

Photo 2. Digging the groundbreaking (from left) are Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell; Ron Rubin, NMAJH board co-chairman; Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street; Dr. Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University, head of the scholars committee crafting the Museum's core exhibition; and James S. Polshek of Polshek Partnership Architects, designers of the new Museum.

Photo 3. A view of Independence Mall from the site of the new Museum.

For more information about the Museum, or the campaign, contact Irv Hurwitz, the Museum's director of institutional advancement, at 215.923.3811 x 133

2. BE THANKFUL FOR THANKSGIVING JUDAICA

Judaica might not be the first thing you think of when it comes to Thanksgiving, but the Museum Shop has a variety of items such as this Grapeleaf Decanter by Steve Resnick that would satisfy the most dour of Pilgrims and the most exuberant of Jewish families. Thanksgiving this year falls on Thursday, Nov. 22.

Borrowing on his experience in stone sculpture, his glass carving is characterized by its wonderful textural quality which utilizes intricate organic motifs. Resnick art pieces and sculpture have been exhibited throughout the United States, Europe, and Israel. Resnick's works are part of fine museums and gallery collections and have been presented to dignitaries worldwide including Shimon Peres, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, and Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Museum Shop carries Judaica from a wide variety of artists. Visit the Museum Shop to browse the large assortment of items in all price ranges. For more information 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.

3. MUSEUM SPONSORS FIRST PERSON PERFORMANCES

On Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007, the Museum will be sponsoring two performances that are part of the annual First Person Festival, a project of First Person Arts, which will feature an array of memoir and documentary artists from around the country. The first of these two performances explores the world of pre-Holocaust Poland through paintings done by Mayer Kirshenblatt, a self taught artist living in Toronto.

Kirshenblatt created these paintings of his childhood memories later in life, "lest future generations know more about how Jews died than how they lived." His memories of Polish-Jewish life are captured in They Called Me Mayer July, an exchange between Mayer and his daughter, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett (pictured above), based on an upcoming book which includes stories she has collected from him over the past 40 years. Barbara Kirshenblott-Gimblett is a professor of performance studies at NYU and has served as a consultant for the core exhibition being created the new Museum. They Called Me Mayer July will be performed at 11:30 a.m. at First Person Stage, located at 2111 Sansom Street, Philadelphia. The cost is $20 including brunch..

At 2:00 p.m., follow the stream-of consciousness style of Maira Kalman (pictured below), a Manhattan-based author, illustrator, and designer, as she gives her personal take on life, love, history, and candy in The Principles of Uncertainty. Part memoir, part history and party travelogue, this multi-media presentation explores topics from the momentous to the mundane Kalman's work has enlivened children's books, product designs, New Yorker covers, New York Times op-eds and the latest edition of the Strunk and White's The Elements of Style. Tickets are $10.

Founded in 2000, First Person Arts transforms the drama of real life into memoir and documentary art to foster appreciation for a unique and shared experience. First Person Arts supports the development of new memoir and documentary work and creates opportunities for it to be seen and appreciated by many. It explores stories by people from all walks of life.

For more information go to www.firstpersonarts.org or call 267.402.2059.

4. NMAJH ON SAME PAGE AS FEDERATION PROGRAM

Aaron Lansky's Outwitting History, the compelling true-life tale of how the author came to rescue a million Yiddish books, has been chosen for the One Book, One Jewish Community program.

Modeled after One Book programs across the country, One Book, One Jewish Community has a special angle. "It's an opportunity to spark a community-wide conversation about what it means to be Jewish," says Elana Rivel, Director of Education and Outreach for Jewish Outreach Partnership which is co-sponsoring the initiative with the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. "Whether you're more comfortable in a synagogue or a book store you're invited to talk about Jewish culture and ideas and what we take from the past and give to the future. That's what Outwitting History is ultimately about and why we decided to choose it for our program."

The Museum is a partner in the One Book program and the Education Department has two programs that are being used in One Book's resource guide. The first program is "Histories, Herstories, Yourstories, Ourstories," a performance where engaging personal stories of Jewish immigrants are brought to life through the dramatic presentation of heartfelt letters to and from the editor of the Jewish Daily Forward. Also included in the guide is the Museum's "J-Tour," an interpretive walking tour exploring the Colonial Jewish experience, the stories of Philadelphia's Jewish community, and the roles these pioneers played in this city and our emerging nation.

Among the programming partners joining in One Book with the Museum are approximately 20 congregations along with such institutions as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gratz College, the Jewish Publication Society, and the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival.

Among the events scheduled as part of One Book, One Jewish Community is an opportunity to meet Aaron Lanksy on Sunday, Nov. 4 during a free program at Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Center City, Philadelphia. Other programs taking place in the next few months include a klezmer music performance, a family program day at the Philadelphia Art Museum dedicated to book arts, Yiddish language classes, and film screenings.

Programming will continue through March 2008. Click here for more information.

Visit the Museum's Education Department webpage for more information about programs it offers.

5. NEW FILM ON CREATION OF ISRAEL AT RITZ
Museum Offers Tickets To Subscribers

The Museum is making available ten passes for two to O Jerusalem, a film which meticulously re-creates the historic struggle surrounding the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

The film, opening Wed. Oct. 24 at the Ritz Theatres in Philadelphia, is based on historical accounts from the best-selling novel O Jerusalem, written by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, and offers a rich background to an explosive conflict that echoes the situation in the Middle East today.

O Jerusalem follows the story of two young American friends - one Jewish, the other Arab. The film is told from the alternating viewpoints of the Jews, Arabs and the British, all of whom collide in their fight for the control of Jerusalem while bringing to the forefront themes of courage, terrorism, deprivation, politics, and a strong sense of morality. Their involvement takes them from the streets of New York to what was then called Palestine, where they risk their lives to fight for what they believe in, as the city of their dreams teeters on the brink of destruction.

To claim one of the eight complimentary tickets to O Jerusalem, respond to this E-newsletter at enews@nmajh.org with your name and address and write "Jerusalem tickets" in the subject line. Visit the official O Jerusalem website for more information.

For more information on Ritz Theatres in Philadelphia, visit the http://www.ritztheaters.com/synopses/films.php?movie_id=1238

6. MUSEUM OFFERS TICKETS TO CELEBRATION OF SONDHEIM MUSIC
First Production in Theatre Company's New Home

Four decades of Stephen Sondheim's music and lyrics are combined with the passion and style of jazz, blues, soul, R &B, hip-hop, and gospel in the new musical, Being Alive, being performed Oct. 24 - Dec. 2, 2007, at Philadelphia Theatre Company.

The Museum and Philadelphia Theatre Company are offering two free tickets to the play to the first 20 people to respond through e-mail by October 23. Director/conceiver Billy Porter brings Sondheim's music and lyrics to life, with added text from William Shakespeare in this production that features such songs as "Send in the Clowns," "Pretty Women," "Children Will Listen," and "Being Alive." A brilliant ensemble cast will take you on a glorious and unforgettable musical journey.

To claim one of the 20 sets of complimentary tickets to Being Alive, e-mail JAmadio@philadelphiatheatrecompany.org by October 23rd with your name and address and write "NMAJH offer" in the subject line. The offer is good for performances on October 25 and 26.

For tickets and more information on Being Alive, visit http://www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org/2008/alive.html or call 215.985.0420. Tickets run from $10 to $36.

For more information on Philadelphia Theatre Company, visithttp://www.ritztheaters.com/synopses/films.php?movie_id=1238.

Philadelphia Theatre Company is dedicated to presenting Philadelphia and world premieres of major works by contemporary American playwrights and has done so for more than 30 years. It is located at its new home, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre on 480 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Theatre Company's state-of-the-art theatre is named after the actress, playwright, and director Suzanne Roberts, who for more than 40 years has devoted her energy and talent to the Philadelphia theater community. The Suzanne Roberts Theatre is a symbol of new growth, and stands as eloquent testimony to her artistic vision. It will include a 365-seat traditional proscenium auditorium, a flexible black box theater space, a dramatic lobby and mezzanine level reception areas with an expansive view of the Avenue of the Arts.

7. YOU SHMOOZE YOU DON'T LOSE

The Museum is a partnering organization at Schmooze '07: 2nd Annual Sidney Krum Jewish Culture Conference, being held Oct. 22 and 23 at the UJA-Federation of New York, 130 East 59th Street, New York.

Schmooze '07 will brings together creative individuals with leaders from Jewish cultural organizations across the country. Professionals and students from the Jewish culture, art and media worlds will engage in dialogue about current developments, visions and goals at the conference. Schmooze '07 will featured keynote addresses by Theodore Bikel and Shmuley Boteach, a conversation with Neil Sedaka, concerts, artist showcases, and state of the art panels with more than 40 presenters and artists from the theater, films, JCCs, Hillels, congregations, and performance venues from coast to coast.

The cost of the conferene is $150 and participants can register at www.oyhoo.com. Space is limited to 250 participants. For more information, contact david@oyhoo.com or (212) 608-0555. Schmooze '07: 2nd Annual Sidney Krum Jewish Culture Conference is part of the 2007 Oyhoo Festival, which features eight days of concerts throughout New York, October 20-28, 2007.

The NMAJH will have a representative at the conference to distribute information about the Museum's programs and new building. The conference is supported by the Charles & Lynn Schusterman Foundation, Steinhardt Foundation/Jewish Life Network, FJC - A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds, Natan, The UJA-Federation of New York and from board members, volunteers and donors.

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On October 22, 1947, the Board of Governors of the Hebrew Union College adopted the proposal of Professor Jacob Rader Marcus to establish the American Jewish Archives for the creation of a national institution to preserve the documents of American Jewry.

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