Cast of Purim play (New York). 1936. [Subjects: Purim; actors and acting; Sephardim]. Yeshiva University Museum. Chag Purim!–Exploring the Collections for the Holidayby David P. Rosenberg, M.P.A., Senior Reference Librarian – Collections, Center for Jewish History Purim is the joyous holiday that “marks the period Jews were barely snatched from the hangman’s noose,” as it is explained in Jayne Cohen’s holiday cookbook. The word…
Circa 1942. Text on back of photograph: President Franklin Roosevelt expressing appreciation for the effectiveness of JWB’s [Jewish Welfare Board’s] religious activities program in rallying support of the Jewish community behind war efforts. Photo from American Jewish Historical Society Archives. U.S. Presidents and Jewish Officialsby David P. Rosenberg, Senior Reference Librarian – Collections, Center for Jewish History With Presidents’ Day approaching, I remembered having encountered a…
by David P. Rosenberg, Senior Reference Librarian – Collections, Center for Jewish History Remembering Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. on the occasion of his 83rd birthday At a fundraising event in a northern synagogue, a rabbi asked Dr. King what his sources of strength were. Dr. King responded: “You and I draw living waters from the same spring…from the belief in a God of…
by David P. Rosenberg, Senior Reference Librarian – Collections, Center for Jewish History Hanukkah Lamp. Galicia or Ukraine, ca. 1800. Silver: cast, filigree, engraved. The Max Stern Collection, Yeshiva University Museum. This lamp is of the Ba’al Shem Tov type, named after the founder of Hasidism, who, tradition tells us, owned a Hanukkah lamp of this type. This made it very popular in the…