{"id":3187,"date":"2020-04-10T18:47:15","date_gmt":"2020-04-10T18:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/?p=3187"},"modified":"2024-06-04T18:20:57","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T18:20:57","slug":"out-of-the-box-four-unique-passover-items","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/2020\/04\/10\/out-of-the-box-four-unique-passover-items\/","title":{"rendered":"Out of the Box: Four Unique Passover Items"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Out of the Box: Four Unique Passover Items<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">At the Center for Jewish History, there are tens of thousands of boxes in our partners\u2019 archival and museum collections.\u00a0Our series,<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0Out of the Box,<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0showcases some of the remarkable treasures and stories tucked away inside. In collaboration with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.yumuseum.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yeshiva University Museum<\/a>, we had intended<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0this\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">March\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">to highlight\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">just a few of the over\u00a0230 Passover items, which span over 200 years, that are carefully conserved in the Yeshiva University Museum\u2019s collections.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\" data-wac-het=\"1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Due to our temporary closure because of the coronavirus, we had to bring this conversation into the digital world.\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Bonni<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">-Dara Michaels, the Collections Curator at the Yeshiva University Museum, was able to share with us a few of her favorite Passo<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ver items from the collections. Check out the video below, and then read our short interview with\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Bonni<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">-Dara about what it\u2019s like working with these unique ar<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">tifacts!<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\" data-wac-het=\"1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TLyzohFSqLg\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><img class=\"alignleft wp-image-3193 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/MS_F_346-low-res-269x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"229\" height=\"255\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/MS_F_346-low-res-269x300.jpg 269w, https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/MS_F_346-low-res-768x857.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/MS_F_346-low-res.jpg 918w, https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/MS_F_346-low-res-420x468.jpg 420w, https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/MS_F_346-low-res-840x937.jpg 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 229px) 100vw, 229px\" \/>BONNI-DARA MICHAELS<\/strong>\u00a0is Collections Curator of Yeshiva University Museum.\u00a0 She manages, documents and researches the Museum\u2019s collection and has been with YUM since 1985. Michaels also develops and curates some of the Museum\u2019s exhibitions including the current exhibition\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cjh.org\/visit\/exhibitions\/aten-stern-art-show\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>From A(gam) to Z(aritsky): Highlights of Israeli Art<\/em><\/a> from YU Museum\u2019s Collection\u00a0and the 2016\/17 exhibition\u00a0<em>Uncommon Threads: Clothing &amp; Textiles<\/em> from the YU Museum Collection.\u00a0 In addition to work on YUM publications, Michaels co-authored<strong><em>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Art-Passover-Rabbi-Stephan-Parnes\/dp\/0789331187\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Art of Passover<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>with Gabriel Goldstein.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Q: Why did you want to become a museum curator?\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><em>BDM<\/em>: By the time I was in my early teens, I was interested in museum work.\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">I was fascinated by objects I saw in museums because they told so much about different cultures, and how different people approached the same concept in different ways: this is what a person looks l<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ike, this is how a person relates to a horse, whether it\u2019s a painting or a Chinese tomb sculpture.\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">So,<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0I took courses at the Met, and in college I did a lot of summer and vacation\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">volunteering, and<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0learned how to be a museum curator.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\" data-wac-het=\"1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Q: How does a museum decide what donated objects to take in?\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><em>BDM:\u00a0<\/em>We no longer have things walk in and get shown what they are. We don\u2019t get to interact with them and say, \u201cOh, how beautiful, tell me the story about this&#8230;\u201d That is how it used to be. Somebody would make an appointment with me come in, bring Grandma\u2019s mat<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">za cover or Grandpa\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">K<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">iddish\u00a0cup. Sometimes I would go to somebody\u2019s house, when they were cleaning up or preparing to move. Those were always the most fun for me. I would go to a house or apartment and spend \u2013 sometimes a couple of days, scrounging through people\u2019s closets and going, \u201cOh, look! This is a painting d<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">one on velvet done in the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bezalel_Academy_of_Arts_and_Design\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bezalel School [of Art and Design]<\/a>.\u201d Frequently, people don\u2019t even know what they have. One time, I walked into an apartment, and I said, \u201cDo you people realize you have a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Georg_Jensen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Georg Jensen<\/a> mezuzah on the do<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">or?\u201d And they said, \u201cNo! Wait \u2013\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Georg Jensen?!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\" data-wac-het=\"1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><img width=\"274\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-3192 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/2018.108-matza-cover-smaller-274x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/2018.108-matza-cover-smaller-274x300.jpg 274w, https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/2018.108-matza-cover-smaller-768x840.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/2018.108-matza-cover-smaller-937x1024.jpg 937w, https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/2018.108-matza-cover-smaller-420x459.jpg 420w, https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/2018.108-matza-cover-smaller-840x918.jpg 840w, https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/2018.108-matza-cover-smaller-1130x1235.jpg 1130w, https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/2018.108-matza-cover-smaller.jpg 1372w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 274px) 100vw, 274px\" \/>These days, there\u2019s a lot more people wanting to get their Grandma\u2019s piece donated to a museum. Somebody will send us a picture of something and then several times a year, we have a Collections Committee that meets and goes through the items. Part of my job is to write about the pieces we\u2019ve been offere<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">d \u2013 the history of each piece, why and where it was made, how it was made, why it is important, this is how it fits into our collection because we don\u2019t have another like it, or because it is very different from other pieces we already have in our collection. For example, the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/museums.cjh.org\/web\/pages\/cjh\/Display.php?irn=24393&amp;QueryPage=%2FAdvQuery.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><span class=\"TextRun SCXW39119743 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW39119743 BCX0\" data-wac-het=\"1\">Bergazin<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0matza cover (timestamp &#8211; 2:27)<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, we did have<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0matza covers in the collection, but we didn\u2019t have an early 20<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">th<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0century one that was that beautifully embroidered, that spoke about the patterns in ladies magazines that the woman would have borrowed to make the flowers and wheat. Then, I present it to the Collections Committee, and we decide what to take in.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\" data-wac-het=\"1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\" data-wac-het=\"1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Q: What is it\u00a0like to share these beautiful objects with the public?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><em>BDM:\u00a0<\/em>I don\u2019t like to say that they\u2019re all beautiful. If you look at the\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><a href=\"http:\/\/museums.cjh.org\/web\/pages\/cjh\/Display.php?irn=8477&amp;QueryPage=%2FAdvQuery.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">matza container<\/a> (timestamp &#8211; 3:47)<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, it\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">fairly plain<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, especially in\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">comparison<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">to the other pieces that are richly decorated. Sometimes, though, these are the ones that are closer to my heart. The plainer ones, the ugly ducklings, the pieces that are different or are more for daily use<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">these<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0are the ones I have the most fun presenting to the public.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\" data-wac-het=\"1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><img width=\"300\" height=\"285\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-3190 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1989_028-low-res-300x285.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1989_028-low-res-300x285.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1989_028-low-res-768x731.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1989_028-low-res-420x400.jpg 420w, https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/1989_028-low-res.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>It\u2019s easier to present something like the\u00a0<span class=\"TextRun SCXW140833044 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW140833044 BCX0\" data-wac-het=\"1\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.yumuseum.org\/collections\/index\/item\/14115\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Galician textile<\/a> (timestamp &#8211; 0:30)<\/strong> or the\u00a0<\/span><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/museums.cjh.org\/web\/pages\/cjh\/Display.php?irn=14115&amp;QueryPage=%2FAdvQuery.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong><span class=\"TextRun SCXW140833044 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2 SCXW140833044 BCX0\" data-wac-het=\"1\">sederzwehl<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/span><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><strong>(timestamp &#8211; 1:15 )<\/strong>. It\u2019s something different it\u2019s very elaborately decorated, it\u2019s very pretty, it has all these fine details in it. And someone did\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">work on it, although I think it was likely a professional. But the simpler items that are more likely to be done by the woman at home in her free time, because you\u2019re not supposed to sit there with idle hands, those can be the ones that resonate the most with me.\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The woman at home<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0\u2013 perhaps unhappy she had to do all this embroidery and she\u2019s going to do the least she can do, or maybe her skills are not as developed as somebody else\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">and so\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">she<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0may be<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0working with\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">even more effort<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. I can feel the person doing it.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\" data-wac-het=\"1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Out of the Box: Four Unique Passover Items At the Center for Jewish History, there are tens of thousands of boxes in our partners\u2019 archival and museum collections.\u00a0Our series,\u00a0Out of the Box,\u00a0showcases some of the remarkable treasures and stories tucked away inside. In collaboration with Yeshiva University Museum, we had intended\u00a0this\u00a0March\u00a0to highlight\u00a0just a few of the over\u00a0230 Passover items, which span over 200 years,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10,1241,8,213,9,38,404,43,46,475],"class_list":["post-3187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-post","tag-center-for-jewish-history","tag-from-the-partners-collections","tag-history","tag-holidays","tag-jewish-history","tag-out-of-the-archives","tag-passover","tag-yeshiva-university-museum","tag-yeshiva-university-museum-collections","tag-yu-museum-collections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3187"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4420,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3187\/revisions\/4420"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}