Xavier High School Students Visit Center for Jewish History

This blog post originally appeared in the Xavier ENews, used with permission.

On April 21, two sections of the senior World Religions elective
visited the Center for Jewish History, located at 15 West 16th Street—right
across the street from Xavier. All students received two tours of the
museum: one tour on Jewish identity across modern Jewish movements, and
the other on the history of synagogues, featuring models of historically
significant ones.  

“Xavier teachers often talk about the access our students have to the
city’s cultural institutions, and the Center for Jewish History is about
as accessible as they come. Add the fact that the Center is an
overwhelmingly gracious host and a great supporter of our work here at
Xavier, and the trip really becomes a special event for our students,”
said Mike Mule ‘04, who teaches the World Religions course.

Continuing a relationship with the museum formed by the Center’s Julie Kaplan and Xavier Chaplain Rev. Ralph Rivera, S.J.,
when he taught the World Religions course in previous years, the Center
provided tours as well as access to its Genealogy Institute. Three
students stayed after the visit ended to work with the Institute,
gaining insight into their families’ heritage thanks to copious records
and the Institute’s dedicated staff.

Oliver Moe ’15 summed up his and his classmates’
experience at the Center: “I was shocked that there could be a place
filled with so much history right across the street from Xavier. It felt
wonderful to be able to explore something many students overlook and
find it filled with many well-preserved artifacts from Jewish households
and synagogues dating back hundreds of years.”

World Religions students will complete their course with visits to
houses of worship across the city. Students will attend services and
converse with congregants at various synagogues, mosques, and Hindu and
Buddhist temples.