“And the khaki-clad sons of Israel commanded by Lt. General Truscott gathered together as was the custom in Israel, to celebrate the Passover festival.” So begins the preamble to the so-called Survivors’ Haggadah (left), published for the first Passover after Liberation by the U.S. Army of Occupation in Bavaria, a copy of which was donated to the American Jewish Historical Society by CJH and…
At the Center for Jewish History, there are tens of thousands of boxes in our partners’ archival and museum collections. Our series, Out of the Box, showcases some of the remarkable treasures and stories tucked away inside. In collaboration with Yeshiva University Museum, we had intended this March to highlight just a few of the over 230 Passover items, which span over 200 years, that are carefully conserved in the Yeshiva University…
by Miryam Gordon, Research Intern, Center for Jewish History Jewish life in general, and Jewish holidays in particular, places much emphasis on children. Kids are constantly encouraged to get involved in their religion and culture and learn more about it. Perhaps the best way to interact with children in order to encourage them to want to learn is through games. Throughout the archives of…
by Ilana Rossoff, Reference Services Research Intern, Center for Jewish History This post is part of the Jews and Social Justice Series. To view all posts in the series, click here. Jews for Urban Justice (JUJ) organized programs that used Jewish holidays as opportunities to raise awareness about social injustices and expand on traditional Jewish spiritual practice. On July 23, 1969, Jews for Urban Justice held…
Reflecting on Memorial Dayby J.D. Arden, M.L.I.S. candidate, Reference Services Research Intern, Center for Jewish History Above image: National Jewish Welfare Board Records, 1952, Passover in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Dave Starr, 1575 Federal. Pfc. Morton Gutstadt of Fitzsimons Army Hospital tried out the gefilte fish of Mrs. Starr. From the Collections of the American Jewish Historical Society. Honoring the memory and sacrifice…
3Wj8RpthptwSQ0lz1nnQNJ Theodore Bikel Sings “Mu Asapru”by J.D. Arden, M.L.I.S. candidate, Reference Services Research Intern, Center for Jewish History Click here for audio. Here is a classic Passover song which can be a fun challenge in counting backwards in Yiddish after drinking wine. מה אספּרה, מה אדברה אותךװער קען זאָגן, װער קען רעדן װאָס די 1 באַטײַטאיינער איז גאָט, און גאָט איז איינער, און װײַטער…
“Yo Quiero” Sephardic Matzah Cookies!by J.D. Arden, M.L.I.S. candidate, Reference Services Research Intern, Center for Jewish History This Passover season, I invite you to try your hand at some sweet recipes from the Sephardic community of Turkey. For over 500 years since the expulsion from Spain, the Sephardic Jewish community in Turkey has maintained a cultural heritage of Ladino language, music—and tasty cookies and…
American Culture in Haggadahs from the Collectionsby David P. Rosenberg, M.P.A., Reference Services Research Coordinator, Center for Jewish History Last year I reflected on the vast variety and volume of Haggadahs in my blog post “Dayenu: A few Passover Haggadot would have been enough…really?” This year I took a closer look at a handful of Haggadahs in the library of the American Jewish Historical…
Die Haggadah des Kindes. (Click on title to view digitized version.) Leo Baeck Institute. Dayenu: A few Passover Haggadot would have been enough…really?by David P. Rosenberg, M.P.A., Senior Reference Librarian – Collections, Center for Jewish History As we prepare for the ritual Seder this evening, I started to reflect on the variations of Passover Haggadot and the vast number of them that we have…
Image: For the Child Who is Unable to Inquire, Thou Shalt Explain the Whole Story of Passover (Seder plate). Harriete Estel Berman. Steel, tin, plexiglas, sterling silver, brass. Yeshiva University Museum. – A Newborn Girl at Passoverby Nan Cohen Consider one apricot in a basket of them.It is very much like all the other apricots–an individual already, skin and seed. Now think of this…
To learn more about New York City and the Jews, visit the exhibition currently on view here at the Center. Click here to learn more. The above images are courtesy of the American Jewish Historical Society. They also appeared in a 2009 New York Times blog entry on Passover. Click here to read that article.
