The Jewish Museum of Maryland

Once Upon a Time...

2010-12-28T09:15:00.002-05:00

Once Upon a Time 9.24.2010

The Baltimore Jewish Times publishes unidentified photographs from the collection of Jewish Museum of Maryland each week. If you can identify anyone in these photos and more information about them, contact Jobi Zink, Senior Collections Manager and Registrar at 410.732.6400 x226 or jzink@jewishmuseummd.org.

Date run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 9/24/10

PastPerfect Accession #: 1989.109.011

Status: Identified. Group of Azoans, c. 1955. Front: L-R Ernestine “Tine” Stiffman, Dorothy Bark, Dora (Naviasky) Rockman, Mrs. Diener Back L-R : Mr. Bark, Mr. Diener / Alternate ids: Hannah Kotzin, Numa Levy, ? Katzen, Betty Goldstein, Rabbi Rosenblatt, Manny Shenker

Special thanks to: Steve Steinberg, Rabbi Jeffrey Stiffman, Shelia Friedman, Debbie Rockman Greenberg, David Earle, Helen Naviasky, Harriet Naviasky Sollod

Once Upon a Time...

2010-12-21T09:12:00.000-05:00

Once Upon a Time 9.17.2010

Date run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 9/17/10

PastPerfect Accession #: 2007.016.010

Status: Partially identified. Talmudical Academy boys with their dean and principal. Adults: L-R Simon Isaacson (principal) and the man wearing the glasses is Hyman Sampson (dean). Seated row: 1. Leon Levin 2. Jerome Joseph Mondell 3. Simon Isaacson 4. Hyman Sampson 5. unidentified 6. unidentified Standing row 1. unidentified 2. unidentified 3. unidentified 4. Barney Kandel 5. unidentified 6. Leon Milner 7. unidentified Standing row back: 1. unidentified 2. Irving Milner 3. unidentified

Special thanks to: Arnold Levin, Ben Mondell, Michelle Kandel, David Milner

A VISITOR TO THE JMM

2010-12-20T09:27:00.000-05:00

A blog post by shop manager Esther Weiner.

One of the best parts of my job at the Jewish Museum of Maryland is meeting the people who take the time to come and visit the museum. Granted, it is a very special place, or so we think (those of us that work and spend a great deal of time there)…so I have always felt that visitors deserve to see our “best face forward”. After all, in a way, they are our guests in a unique kind of way.

Managing the Museum Shop has its share of difficulties, which I won’t touch on now, but my favorite thing is to be in the shop and meet and greet our visitors. Our special volunteers are most often there, but when they cannot come, that means I get to talk to the children, their parents, the visitors from California, France, Israel, Brazil, and most of the states all across the country. So now I can show off our hand-picked pieces of jewelry, menorahs, seder plates, artwork, listen to music on our CD player, and make the visitor feel comfortable and at home.

Let me tell you about a recent visitor to the museum who moved to the Baltimore area from Raleigh, North Carolina. As she looked at the merchandise in the shop we started to chat. I told her that I was born in Raleigh, and that my father started his rabbinical career in Raleigh. She told me about an exhibition in Raleigh at the North Carolina Museum of History called Down Home: Jewish Life in North Carolina. Interesting, I thought.

In about two weeks, an envelope arrived from my new friend from North Carolina, with a brochure from the exhibition. I read it with much interest, then on the very last page of was a small picture of a group of children, standing on steps with adults in the last row. The picture was labeled “Raleigh Sunday School, 1928”…..I could not believe my eyes, there was my father, standing in the very last row of the picture! I had never seen that picture, in fact, I knew very little about my parents life in Raleigh.

I phoned the museum in Raleigh and spoke with a really helpful Education Chief, who turned out to be Jewish, and when I asked if it would be possible to get a reprint of the picture, he made it possible for that to happen. I was thrilled, and so was our family.

Finally, to round out this incredible tale, there were oral histories taken of people who lived through the time period when my father was the rabbi of the House of Jacob. I was able to read those stories, read what the congregants thought of my father, and how much they respected him, and the work he did while he served the people of Raleigh. I felt so good about it, my father would have been so pleased to read these comments. Our family’s history has been enriched by this experience.

All this because a visitor came to the Museum Shop of the Jewish Museum of Maryland. And we made her feel welcome. Because that’s what we do.

I love it.

A New Look!

2010-12-15T15:58:00.003-05:00

Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls, we have exciting news! This week the JMM launched a new website and, in conjunction, a new blog! As such, we'll be moving our operation over to the new blog url, which is

http://jewishmuseummd.org/blog

So refresh your feed, change your bookmars, and follow us over to the new site. To read all about the redesign, read the newest post on the blog, and to see the new JMM site, visit http://jewishmsueummd.org

Hope to see you over there!

Once Upon a Time...

2010-12-14T09:11:00.000-05:00

Once Upon a Time 9.10.2010

Date run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 9/10/10PastPerfect Accession #: 2009.040.5192

Status: Unidentified. Past presidents of the (Baltimore Hebrew University) Sisterhood.

When Cholent Goes Bad

2010-12-13T09:21:00.005-05:00

A blog post by Sr. Collections Manager, Jobi Zink

Some people would argue that all cholent* is bad. But some cholent is badder than others.

Genuine cholent recipe from our
Voices of Lombard Street exhibition

Take for example, the full, unopened can of cholent beans that was accessioned into our collection in 1992. This can of beans is probably more than 20 years old because, let’s face it, the can was probably in someone’s pantry cabinet for at least 2 years before they decided to give it to the Museum rather than to the Boy Scouts’ canned good drive.

In its early years, said can sat quietly on our collections shelves with various other kitchen-related items, including packaging from many garden variety Kosher foods, c. 1980s.

Then one day, Karen Falk, curator of the upcoming Chosen Food exhibition was perusing the collection for available artifacts. I can’t believe we have this in our collection. A full can? Who has a full can of cholent beans? she thought, holding the can in her gloved hand. Well, we have other, odder things in our collections, she shrugged.

Months went by and Karen continued collecting, planning and developing the exhibit. Then, during a routine inventory of items to be used in the exhibit, she noticed that the can would not sit flat on the shelf. That’s not right, she thought. Was it like that before? she wondered. Nope. The top and bottom lids were distended. Puffy. Ready to blow! Botulism?! Time to bring in the collections manager, Jobi Zink.

No need to panic, I told Karen. I know exactly how to handle this. (Thanks to Things That Go Bump in the Night: When Collections Strike Back, a session presented by Rosie Cook, Registrar (The Chemical Heritage Foundation and Museum), Anna Dhody, Curator (Mutter Museum) and Michael Leister, Director (Air Mobility Command Museum) at the 2010 MAAM Conference.)

It’s a simple 12 step program:

1) Confirm with the Collections Committee that the contents of a collections item potentially containing botulism should indeed be properly disposed of, while the container and its packaging should be saved if possible.

2) Gather the entire collections staff outside to the parking lot on a super-cold day to observe the event. Remind them to stand back to avoid splatter.

3) Charm the custodian into assisting with a very important collections project.

4) Have said custodian pierce the top of a can with a drill to relieve pressure.

5) Flip the can over and employ a standard can opener to open the bottom of the can, releasing 20 year old beans onto newspaper.

6) Discard contents. Preferably wrapped in layers of newspaper. Then industrial strength- plastic bags. Bury deep inside dumpster. Do not inhale. Do not attempt to touch with bare hands.

7) Without using the new kitchen sponge or Esther’s dish towels, wash the inside of the can thoroughly with a lot of soap and hot running water in the industrial sink.

8) Wash again.
9) Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

10) Contemplate ways to eliminate the odor. (oooh yeah, 20 year old beans smell much worse than you imagine!)

11) Do not store the item in your office. Do not store the item in your collections storage. Make sure you identify the can as part of the collection and not something to be recycled!!!!

12) Congratulate yourself on:

a. saving the collections from a potential explosion (… now about that nitrate film)
b. not poisoning yourself with botulism
c. writing an exciting blog post about a can of beans

*Cholent is a stew made of meat, vegetables (onions, carrots), and a variety of beans such as red kidney beans, white beans, cranberry beans, etc. Many people love cholent because it takes hours and hours (like 18 hours!) to make in a crockpot and is therefore Shomer Shabbes friendly.

The JMM at the Conservatory!

2010-12-10T14:56:00.002-05:00

If you loved our Enterprising Emporiums exhibition about the historic downtown department stores, you wont want to miss the Winter Windowland display at the Rawlings Conservatory. Many of the photographs used from the JMM exhibition will be featured, along with hat boxes and our handsome text panels!

Two Birth Control Pioneers

2010-12-10T13:39:00.006-05:00

A blog post by historian Deb Weiner.

Over the past few months, I’ve been working on the upcoming edition of Generations magazine, which will soon go to press. The theme of the issue is “Social Justice,” and without doubt it’s going to be one of our best ever. There will be orphans running away from the Hebrew Orphan Asylum and feminists clashing with male charity leaders in the 1890s, Communists sponsoring illegal “mixed race dancing” in the 1930s, rabbis and ordinary citizens taking a stand for civil rights in the 1960s. And (as always) much more.

For this blog post, I thought I’d highlight the career of Dr. Bessie Moses (1893-1965), who is featured in an article about ten Baltimoreans who stood up for social justice in the 20th century. Committed to women’s health care from an early age, she became the first female obstetrical intern at Johns Hopkins. In 1927, she and a few other doctors from Hopkins founded Maryland’s first birth control clinic, the Bureau for Contraceptive Advice (in the 1940s it became Planned Parenthood of Maryland). She was the clinic’s medical director, a post she held until 1956.

Dr. Bessie Moses

When the clinic opened, many of its activities were actually illegal according to the Comstock Law, which restricted the dissemination of contraceptives and birth control information. The clinic stayed on the right side of the law by positioning itself as a research institute—and it took its research mandate seriously, conducting important studies on birth control methods such as diaphragms and condoms. It also provided desperately-needed care to women who had nowhere else to turn. As a rigorous scientist and compassionate physician, Moses guided both the research and patient care components.

To avoid controversy that might lead to the clinic’s demise, it served only married women, mostly poor and working-class mothers who already had large families and couldn’t afford another mouth to feed. But Moses didn’t shy away from controversy on a personal level—she became a strong advocate for legalizing birth control, speaking out publicly and testifying at Congressional hearings for repeal of the Comstock Law. (In 1936, a federal court ruled that the Comstock Law did not apply to doctors providing contraception to patients.) Her clinic served blacks as well as whites, although on segregated days, as local custom demanded. In 1938 Moses founded the Northwest Maternal Health Center to serve black patients, the first women’s health clinic in the nation staffed by African American physicians.

Dr. Alan F. Guttmacher

Moses mentored another Baltimorean who became a nationally-known birth control pioneer, and since he didn’t make it into Generations, I’m glad to have an opportunity to mention him. Dr. Alan F. Guttmacher (1898-1974) was the son of Baltimore Hebrew Congregation Rabbi Adolph Guttmacher and his wife Laura, a feminist, social worker, and leader of local Jewish women’s groups in the early 20th century. He joined the birth control movement as an intern at Hopkins in the 1920s, “after witnessing a woman die from a botched abortion,” according to a profile on the Alan Guttmacher Institute website (more on that later). He became involved in Moses’s clinic, while also teaching at Hopkins and becoming chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Sinai Hospital. In 1952 he moved to New York and held a similar position at Mt. Sinai Hospital.

At age 64, Guttmacher retired from medical practice to become present of the national Planned Parenthood organization. The 1960s were a time of great change in the arena of reproductive rights, and Guttmacher was in the middle of it all, as perhaps the most visible advocate for expanding the availability of birth control and legalizing abortion. “No woman is completely free unless she is wholly capable of controlling her fertility, and … no baby receives its full birthright unless it is born gleefully wanted by its parents,” he stated.

In 1968, Planned Parenthood created the Center for Family Planning Program Development, which became the nation’s leading institute for research, education, and policy analysis related to reproductive health. After Guttmacher’s death, the institute was renamed in his honor.

Sadie Stay…Just a little bit longer!

2010-12-08T14:24:00.006-05:00

A blog post my marketing director Simone Ellin.

Don’t miss the JMM’s new traveling exhibition VOTE: The Life and Work of Sadie Jacobs Crockin 1879 – 1965. The new and original exhibition, curated by former JMM curator Barry Kessler will open this Sunday, December 12 from 12:00 – 4:00 p.m. and will be on display in the JMM lobby until January 3, when it will move to the Women’s Heritage Center in Baltimore.

As JMM p/r and marketing director, I wish that Sadie could stay with us just a little bit longer… Folks’ schedules being what they are, compounded by the holiday season, makes me worry that some will miss the exhibition at its original home. But such is the life of a museum p/r person. It seems I’m always trying to promote exhibitions and programs early, but there’s always some glitch. Openings have to be scheduled around holidays, football games, weather, conflicting Jewish and secular events of all kinds, and dates are always changing. Even naming exhibitions can slow things down! Do you know how long it took the JMM staffers to agree on the name for the Sadie Crockin show? Actually, I take that back, not everyone is in agreement even now. I can’t create press kits without knowing the name of a show, the opening and closing dates, and all the information about the funders.

Items above will be on display ONLY at the JMM! Don't miss them!

I wish I’d had more time to let people know that this great show will be with us for a few precious weeks. Of course, people can see the exhibition at other local venues, but really – you should see it here! I hope you will join us for the opening reception this Sunday. You’ll learn that Sadie Jacobs Crockin was a really important and influential woman who made great strides in the early women’s rights movement, and in support of children. She led the Baltimore chapters of the League of Women Voters, as well as Hadassah. At the opening, admission to the Museum will be free, refreshments will be served, and you will be part of a special celebration in honor of the League of Women’s Voters 90th anniversary. Hope to see you there!

A quick sneak peek at the exhibit!
Don't forget to come and see it in all its glory this Sunday at the JMM!

Once Upon a Time...

2010-12-07T09:08:00.002-05:00

Once Upon a Time 9.03.2010

Date run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 9/3/10

PastPerfect Accession #: 2009.040.5186

Status: Identified. Graduating class of Isaac Davidson Hebrew School, 1951. Maniloff, Marshall Feldman, Ina Rosen, Barbara “Bunny” Schoeffer, Ilene Kramer or Tema Sussman or Zelda Cohen, Annette Noh, Marcia Radin or Ellen Weinstein (Pozornik), Earl “Buddy” Weiner
Middle Rows: Warren Silverman, Herbie Sachs, Zelig Wolfe, Larry Wolf, Alvin Bard, Howard Pierce, Leon Stern, Myron “Maishe” Bloom, (?) Mendelson, Jerry Rabinowitz
Back Row: Billy Eisenberg, Mike Flaxman, Eugene Padow, Irving Friedman, Joel Sinsky and Sidney Krome

Special thanks to: Larry Wolf, Alvin Bard, Ellen Weinstein Pozornik, Toba Falk, Nadine Goldman, Marcia Radin Craven

Check out "Thanksgiving in Connecticut!"

2010-12-07T08:55:00.003-05:00

Pop over to our sister blog "Chosen Food" to read the most recent post about Thanksgiving and leave us some comments about your own T-day celebrations!

"This was an exciting year for me – I don’t usually like to travel around Thanksgiving (too many cars doing too many stupid things on the roads), but because of a backlog of vacation time I was able to take a whole week off and, avoiding holiday traffic, head up to my family in Connecticut to celebrate Thanksgiving in style!"

Celebrating Hanukkah, Modern Style

2010-12-06T09:36:00.001-05:00

A blog post by Outreach Coordinator Rachael Binning.

Happy Hanukkah! This year I’m celebrating Hanukkah away from my family which means that I’ve had to be a bit more creative about how I celebrate this year. I can’t rely on feeling festive though the boxes of decorations my family has collected over the years or by eating my mom’s homemade applesauce (with Red Hots to make it pink and spicy), or by being with my family as each of us lights our own special menorah. Instead, I’ve resorted to some more non-traditional and modern takes on celebrating the holiday on my own. So instead of eating my dad’s homemade latkes and scheming with my sister over what night we should open which gift, I’ve been doing this:

Listening to Surprisingly Modern (and good!) Hanukkah Songs:

Songs in the Key of Hanukkah by Erran Barron Cohen

I’ve actually been listening to “Songs in the Key of Hanukkah” by Erran Baron Cohen for a few years now, but when I rediscovered it last night I was so glad I did. Erran Baron Cohen, the brother Sacha Baron Cohen (think Borat), released a Hanukkah album a few years ago which I love. The songs on the album, which are performed by a diverse group of musicians, are ones that I would not mind listening to throughout the year. In an NPR interview Cohen said that he created this album because he was unsatisfied with the Hanukkah songs he group up listening to. The album is a compilation of modern takes on traditional songs and new music. One of my favorite songs is “A la Luz de la Vela” (In the Light of the Candles) a beautiful song that is sung in Ladino (Spanish and Hebrew) by Yasmin Levy. The album probably isn’t for everyone (I can see some people being turned off by the modern takes on traditional holiday favorites), but it’s worth at least checking out listening to Erran Baron Cohen’s interview and the few songs posted on NPR’s site.

Miracle by Matisyahu

Matisyahu has a new Hanukkah song called “Miracle,” which is so catchy that I think it should be played on the radio right now! Matisyahu was recently interviewed on NRP about the new song, being a Chasidic reggae singer, and Hanukkah. Visit Matisyahu’s website to watch the very entertaining music video for the song.

Hosting a Holiday Party With My Roommates:

Chrismakah Tree

I live with two roommates (who I love!) who are not Jewish. However, we all appreciate getting into the holiday spirit and enjoy spending times with friends and family around this time of year. This year we are hosting a holiday decorating party, which I’m very excited about because we will be making Christmas and Hanukkah decorations while frying latkes and drinking mulled wine. Does it get any better than that? I also love the idea of this holiday party because we get to share our different traditions and cultures with each other. I’ve never lived in a house with a Christmas tree and this year I will be able to partake in that tradition. My roommates will get to assist me (or knowing my cooking skills, take the lead) in attempting to fry up some latkes.

I asked some of my friends who now live on their own what they do for Hanukkah and one of them said that she just came back from a Hanukkah party where they had a gift exchange. This isn’t a new idea, but it’s a good one for young adults on a tight budget. I love giving and receiving gifts, but the cost quickly adds up. My roommates and I are also thinking of adding a charity component to our party. Our ideas included donating to a local charity or having each guest bring canned goods. I really love this idea and I think it’s a great way to get in the holiday spirit.

Listening to Stories:

My sister’s fireproof menorah.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m usually not a great muti-tasker (talking on the phone while typing is not my forte). I am however great at listening to stories (such as NPR or This American Life) while cleaning my room, walking the dog, or participating in other relatively mindless activities. Last night rather than eating latkes and spinning dreidles I ended up listening to NPR’s yearly program called Hanukkah Lights while cleaning my room and eating Thai food. This is the 20th Anniversary of the program and that each year presents an hour of commissioned stories focused on Hanukkah. Based on the other links I’ve posted in this blog post I’m sure you’ve noticed I am an avid NPR listener, but I think this program is especially great. Hanukkah Lights puts Judaism’s strong oral tradition in a modern context while remaining entertaining and educating the public about some of the many themes of Hanukkah. Jews love to tell stories, and indeed most of our holidays are based around stories, so it’s important to see that the storytelling tradition (both fiction and non-fiction) keeps up in the modern age.

I’m not saying that I don’t miss celebrating a traditional Hanukkah with my family because I do, but I’m glad that there are alternative ways for me to participate in the themes and tradition of the holiday this year. Finally, I’ll leave you with a picture of my family celebrating Hanukkah about 20 years ago (oy!). My sister Sarah is wearing a tiara (she’s always thought that she was a princess) and I have the red bow in my hair. Those days, including my mom’s long red nails, are long gone.

The Binning Family Celebrates Hanukkah!

November at the JMM

2010-12-03T08:53:00.000-05:00

A blog post by education director Deborah Cardin.

I just finished compiling stats for November 2010 at the JMM. Every month, I tally our on-site attendance with separate categories dedicated to walk-in visitors, adult group members, schools, special events, and rentals. I am now in my 9th year as “keeper of the stats” and it is interesting to compare and contrast the ebb and flow of visitation over the years as we try and track trends and determine the various factors (weather, season, new exhibitions, popular programs, etc.) that seem to encourage higher numbers of visitors. School groups, in particular, are a special area of interest. As we work to promote our programs and resources to even larger numbers of school groups, I always pay particular attention to our monthly totals in an effort to discern how we can continue to grow our program.

November was a banner month for school groups. During the month, we served 834 students, teachers, and chaperones (as compared to just over 400 last November). One of the most influential factors driving school group visitation during the month was our installation of the exhibition, A Blessing To One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People. While many groups booked visits to see this exhibition – and we also saw the number of walk-in visitors rise – Catholic schools, in particular, demonstrated a high level of interest in bringing groups to see the exhibition. During November alone, we served 606 students, teachers, and chaperones from Catholic schools and universities.

One of the challenges in serving such large number of student groups is the limited space within the gallery housing A Blessing To One Another. As many of our docents have pointed out, ideal group sizes for a guided exhibition tour is 15 or fewer and yet, the average size group of students is larger than 50. It, therefore, becomes necessary to break the classes into smaller groups and rotate each group through various stations. This also necessitates bringing on additional volunteer docents and staff to help facilitate.

On November 16, 75 students from The Catholic High School, an all-girls school in Baltimore City, visited for a half-day trip. The large number of students necessitated some creative thinking as to how we could break them into smaller groups and facilitate meaningful activities with each group. We decided to split them into four groups. Two groups were combined for an Introduction to Judaism program in the Lloyd Street Synagogue (which can accommodate larger numbers of students) where students learned about Jewish history, traditions, and customs. This station proved to be a terrific complement to the Blessing To One Another exhibition where students could ask questions and probe the significance of Jewish ritual items.

Catholic HS girls participating in an Introduction to
Judaism program led by JMM docent Lois Fekete.

The other two groups were split between A Blessing To One Another and The Synagogue Speaks! exhibition that explores the histories of the three different congregational groups (including a Lithuanian Catholic church) that occupied the Lloyd Street Synagogue at different times in history. The Synagogue Speaks! station included hands-on interactive activities that encouraged students to work together in teams and to solve mysteries of how the building changed over time.

Catholic HS students creating watercolors in The Synagogue Speaks!

The program culminated with a presentation by Holocaust survivor Rachel Bodner who shared her personal experiences of life before, during, and after the Holocaust.

Catholic HS students listening to Holocaust survivor, Rachel Bodner

Through these various activities and presentations, students received an intensive learning experience that touched on many aspects of their classroom lessons. One of the teachers from The Catholic High School shared his feedback about the field trip with JMM staff: “Thank you so much for helping to plan our experience at the museum. My students had an amazing experience and are still talking about it today. I cannot express how grateful I am for the museum, you, your staff, the volunteers, and the wonderful programs that you have available. The other faculty members and myself were discussing how we can incorporate the museum into our curriculum to make it a yearly event.”

The next day, we received a visit by a joint group of students visiting from St. Frances Academy and Shoshana S. Cardin High School. This interfaith gathering of students of Jewish and Catholic faiths was inspired by the Blessing To One Another exhibition. Students were split into small mixed groups and toured the exhibition with the assistance of worksheets looking for examples of how Pope John Paul II worked towards building positive relationships between Jews and Catholics throughout his life. As I walked through the exhibit asking students if they needed assistance finding answers to worksheet questions, I kept hearing from students that they were equally interested in getting to know their peers from the other school and they were conversing about mutual interest in sports, music, etc. I took this as a sign that the program was successful!

Again, we received positive feedback about the field trip from both teachers and students. “I just wanted to thank you for the experience yesterday. It proved to be a wonderful example of Judeo-Christian camaraderie and dialogue. I thought it went great, and my students were genuinely interested throughout the visit. I could not even get anyone to admit to liking one part of the day over the other, they said again and again, that it was great from beginning to end.”

While we are always pleased to serve high numbers of students and teachers, we are even more concerned with the quality of the programs. Feedback that we receive through teacher and student surveys (such as the comments shared above) provides guidance as we plan new programs and activities. We are grateful to all of the JMM staff and volunteer docents who provided such superior service for school groups this month and look forward to developing new tours, resources, and activities in the months ahead.

While it was an exhausting month, comments from students such as this St. Frances Academy student, truly make it all worthwhile!

MS 186 Ohel Yakov Ledger Collection, 1921-1960

2010-12-02T16:46:00.004-05:00

After a little hiatus, your peak into our archival collections is back! Today I have an excerpt from one our newest finding aids for the Ohel Yakov Ledgers of 1921 to 1960. Ledgers don't usually excite a lot of interest in people, but they can give us insight into an institution and the people connected with it. The Ohel Yakov Ledgers not only show numbers and accounts, they can also provide genealogical information.

This page shows the accounts pertaining to one of Ohel Yakov's members in 1923.

Detail of ledger page showing the full name of one of the congregants and his address.

Ohel Yakov Ledger Collection
1921-1960

MS 186

The Ohel Yakov Ledgers were purchased by the Jewish Museum of Maryland in 2006 as accession 2006.031. The collection was processed by Jennifer Vess in July 2010.

Access to the collection is unrestricted and is available to researchers at the Jewish Museum of Maryland. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the Jewish Museum of Maryland before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library’s usual procedures.

HISTORICAL NOTE
Ohel Yakov was founded in 1875 by immigrants from Bialistock, which gave it the additional name of the Bialistoker Shul. Later it acquired the nickname Die Franzaizisheh Shul – the French Shul – because of the formal way in which officers dressed rather than any connection to France. The first synagogue was located at Aisquith and Gay Streets where the congregation stayed until 1958. They moved to Glen Avenue and used a pre-existing building until 1962 when the original building was raised and a new synagogue built. Ohel Yakov is an active congregation.

Sources:
Weinstein, Joseph. “On Tour Thru Baltimore.” Baltimore Jewish Times. May 30, 1975 pg. 26. http://www.ohelyakov.org/hist.html

SCOPE AND CONTENT
The Ohel Yakov Ledger collection consists of photocopies of five ledgers which track members’ payments from 1921 through 1960. Accounts for the years 1937 through 1941 are not part of the collection. The ledgers are written in English and Hebrew or Yiddish. The information within the first ledger is organized alphabetically by the last name of the congregation member. Information in the rest of the ledgers is organized by date.

The boys choir of Ohel Yakov, 1938. 1998.128.1

Barry’s Blog

2010-12-01T13:06:00.008-05:00

A blog by Dr. Barry Lever. Click the links below for earlier entries in this series.

Post One
Post Two
Post Three

The last blog recounted our research at the Edward C. Papenfuse Maryland State Archives in Annapolis, Maryland. It was there, in the microfilm records of the Baltimore County Court’s marriage licenses that we first encountered the name of the “Minister- Ansell,” who two days subsequent to the issue of the marriage license officiated at the wedding that the Golombek Ketubah documents.

We also pointed out that the July 14, 1845 license No. 273 was granted to Wolf Solden and Teressa Habal. This revealed the bride’s English name and clarified the groom’s last name to begin with the letter “S,” rather than a “G”
as initially interpreted on the Golombek Ketubah.

Another very important issue however is raised by these few entries. The spelling of the groom’s name Solden on the marriage license differs from the last name he personally inscribed on his own ketubah. The Golombek Ketubah records the spelling of the groom’s name as Soldin, spelled with the letter “i” rather than with the letter, “e.”

This is a graphic example of how an individual’s name could move from its original spelling in the person’s native language to a different anglicized spelling, and even to a complete name change. Because of these spelling and translation anomalies it is often difficult to ascertain whether or not a researcher is tracking the same individual in the historical records.

The marriage license entry for the name of the Minister,”Ansell,” opened an opportunity to explore and clarify the role, if any, that this individual played within the hierarchy of the historic Lloyd Street Synagogue.

In a 1905, on the occasion of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation 75th Anniversary, Rabbi Adolf Gutmacher wrote the History of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation: Madison Avenue Temple.Author Rev. Dr. Adolf Guttmacher
Title page
The Madison Avenue Temple

According to this Baltimore Hebrew Congregational record the congregation occupied four locations prior to the dedication, on September 26, 1845, of its new building now known as “The Lloyd Street Synagogue.”

Lloyd Street Synagogue, c. 1864, 1997.71.1
Photo by D.R. Stiltz & Co. photographers.
Courtesy of the Ross J. Kelbaugh Collection.

Lloyd Street Synagogue today.

Participating in these dedicatory events was Rabbi Isaac Leeser of Philadelphia.

Rabbi Isaac Leeser

At the time, Leeser was a prominent rabbi who also served as editor of the Occident, one of the first Jewish journals published in the United States.

In the November 1845 issue of the Occident, Leeser describes in great detail those dedicatory events under the title of “Consecration of a Synagogue at Baltimore.”

Click the excerpt to read the full article.

From this we learn that the marriage license Minister, Ansell,” functions as Baltimore Hebrew Congregation’s Hazon or Cantor. This is also confirmed on page 33 of Rabbi Guttmacher’s book, History of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, where we also learn that Cantor Ansell first name began with the initial “A.”

Our next blog will continue the exploration of the lives and times as revealed through the Golombek Ketubah.

I want to thank my colleague, Deb Weiner, JMM Research Historian and Family History Coordinator, for bringing the website for the Occident to my attention.

Once Upon a Time...

2010-11-30T09:00:00.001-05:00

Once Upon a Time 8.27.2010

Date(s) run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 8/27/10; 11/6/09; 6/20/08; 11/28/08

PastPerfect Accession #: 2001.100.011

Status: Identified. Black and white photograph of members of Tikvah Youth Group at an unknown event, n.d. (L-R) Ralph David, Eric Sachs, Inge Lauer (David), Hilda Mann, unidentified, Gisela Miller, Ernest Bravman, Marian Stern (Strauss), Lottie Cassel (Hirshfeld) and Mark Adler.

Special thanks to: Karen Kanefsky; Margaret Stern; Marian Stern Strauss

Once Upon a Time...

2010-11-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

Once Upon a Time 8.20.2010

Date run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 8/20/10

PastPerfect Accession #: 2009.040.5184

Status: Partially identified. Arts and crafts class taking place at Isaac Davidson Hebrew School. L-R (clockwise) 1. Unidentified 2. Selig Wolfe 3. Herbert (Herbie) Sachs 4. Mrs. Pomerantz (Teahcer) 5. Jack Maniloff, 6. unidentified 7. Barbara Schoefer 8. Marcia Radin 9. unidentified 10. Joel Sinsky 11. unidentified 12. Larry Wolf 13. unidentified 14. unidentified 15. Myron Blum

Special thanks to: Toba Falk, Larry Wolf, Sharon Rose

Museum Access for All!

2010-11-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

A blog post by outreach coordinator Rachael Binning.

This past week I participated in a webinar hosted by the American Association for Museums titled “Universal Design: Beyond the ADA.” The premise of the webinar was to share ideas that make all types of museums not only accessible, but welcoming to disabled people. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that museums and public institutions provide accessible design, such as by providing designated handicapped parking spaces, wheelchair ramps, and accessible bathroom stalls. Universal Design takes this idea a step further and encourages institutions to be welcoming and engaging to all visitors, whether abled or disabled.

This reserved parking sign in front of Museum Place in Salem, MA is a necessary start,
but there is much more that can be done to make museums welcoming to everyone.

Disabilities Defined

When doing research before the webinar I found it interesting to learn about the broad spectrum included under the term “disability.” The definition includes:

1. Physical: The definition of physical disability ranges from short term injuries, such as a broken foot, to chronic debilitating illnesses such as arthritis.

This exhibit at the Oakland Museum does a good job at providing
access to people who have wheelchairs or are with caregivers.

2. Sensory: This includes hearing and visual limitations. The AAM discussion guide for this webinar pointed out that there are 1.3 million people in the US who are legally blind and 22 million people have some kind of hearing impairment.

This is a photo from the Perkins School for the Blind History Museum.
The exhibit designer made sure that the exhibit had many tactile components.
This globe was handcrafted for the school in 1836 as a tactile tool to teach geography.
It was used by Helen Keller when she was a student and is still used today.

3. Cognitive or Intellectual: This is defined as “developmental or acquired limitations in certain functions related to thought process” (Universal Design: Beyond ADA, Oct. 27, 2010). This broad category includes learning disabilities, speech/language impairments, and Alzheimer’s and memory problems.

The Jewish Museum of Maryland hosted a Docent Training led by the Alzheimer’s earlier this month, so this is one area that they are clearly addressing.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York has a program called “Meet me at MoMA”
designed specifically for early and moderate-state Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers.

The 7 Principles of Universal Design:

Here is a quick overview of how museums and cultural institutions can go from being disability ready to disability friendly.

Principle 1: Equitable Use – What this essentially means is that the design of a museum or exhibit should be appealing to all users. There shouldn’t be any segregation based on access.

Principle 2: Flexibility in Use – There should not be only one way to access an exhibit.

Principle 3: Simple and Intuitive Use – This principle should always be used, even when not thinking about Universal Design. Keep things simple and clear.

Principle 4: Perceptible Information – When information is essential there should be several ways to access it. One obvious way is by reading an exhibit label, but what are other ways that this information can be presented?

Principle 5: Tolerance for Error – It’s always possible that things could go wrong when viewing walking through a museum of exhibit. Make sure there are ways to recover from this.

Principle 6: Low Physical Effort – A museum exhibit should not be overly strenuous to navigate.

Principle 7: Size and Space For Approach and Use – This seems obvious to me. Make sure that the exhibit allows all types of people to be able to fully experience it. What is the point of an exhibit if people can’t access it?

The JMM and Universal Design

A lot of talk at the AAM webinar focused around small museums and their ability to keep up with these high standards. I agree that it’s a tough position to be in because it’s hard for institutions with limited resources to provide strong and compelling exhibits that are also up to these high design standards.

I recently walked around the museums exhibits here and took note of what was working well and what can be improved.

Sound stations in “A Blessing to One Another.”

“A Blessing To One Another” is a difficult example to use in regards to exhibit access and design because it is a traveling exhibition and therefore is less flexible in set up in design. One negative to this exhibit in regards to disabilities (which is probably generally seen as a positive by the general public) is the overwhelming amount of sound throughout the exhibit. From the ringing church bells to the videos and sound stations, there is a lot going on. For a fully abled person these sounds are relatively easy to differentiate, but these noises could quickly become overwhelming for someone who relies heavily on noise or for someone who is autistic. On a positive note, the exhibit uses controlled sound stations (see image above) in an attempt to control some of the noise.

A bronze cast of Pope John Paul II’s hand.

The feature of the bronze cast of the Pope John Paul II’s hand is a wonderful way to provide a tactile element to the exhibit.

The entryway of the exhibit “Voices of Lombard Street.”

When I walked through “Voices of Lombard Street” I again noticed both positives and negative aspects in relation to disability design. As the picture above shows, there are areas that provide ample space for people to move around, but there are also confined areas, such as through the doorway. While walking through this exhibit I began thinking about how this particular exhibit could be changed to be more accessible, without losing the unique flavor and feel that the current exhibit architecture provides. Does anyone have any ideas?

The Jewish Museum of Maryland has a long way to go before it achieves all of the principles of Universal Design, but I am not losing hope! Actions, such as our docent training and participation in the recent AAM webinar, prove that we are not ignorant of the issue. Let’s hope that in 10 years we will continue to have thought provoking and engaging exhibits that are also accessible to all.

The Synagogue Speaks!

2010-11-17T09:51:00.002-05:00

A blogpost by associate director Anita Kassof.

Memoirs, scholarly journals, monographs. That’s probably what comes to mind when you think of Jewish Museum of Maryland publications. But think again. For the first time ever, we’re at work on an illustrated children’s book. Based on the popular exhibition of the same name, The Synagogue Speaks tells the story of the historic Lloyd Street Synagogue and the different people who worshipped there.

We are very fortunate to be working with illustrator Jonathon Scott Fuqua, whose intricate (and historically accurate) watercolors bring the story to life. This beautiful picture book will enchant both kids and adults. Here’s how the story opens:

Long before your grandparents’ grandparents were babies, before they walked or talked or tied their own shoes, I was built with shovel and pail, hammer and nail, brick and stone.

Long before skyscrapers were built or cars were invented, back when people traveled by horse and carriage, I rose from the ground.

I was a synagogue, new and proud.

And here are a few more of Scott’s wonderful watercolors:

Intrigued? The book will be published in early 2011, and will be available online and in the Museum Shop.

Once Upon a Time...

2010-11-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

Once Upon a Time 8.13.2010

Date run in Baltimore Jewish Times:8/13/10

PastPerfect Accession #: 2009.033.013

Status: Unidentified. Men meeting in a Boardroom. Jerry Frankle is on the left. All others are unidentified.

Reaching Out to New Audiences

2010-11-15T16:55:00.004-05:00

A blog post by education director Deborah Cardin.

Alzheimer’s disease, a form of dementia, is a fatal brain disorder in which certain types of nerve cells in particular areas of the brain degenerate and die. Individuals who suffer from this disease often have such difficulty remembering things and completing familiar tasks that daily routines often become impaired. Because of these challenges, many people withdraw from family members and friends, and sometimes even stop engaging in hobbies and participating in social activities.

Several years ago, the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) developed Meet Me At MOMA, an educational program specifically designed for people with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers as a means of providing individuals with a forum for learning about art and creative expression in a nurturing environment. Recognizing the value of this program for making art accessible to individuals with disabilities throughout the country, MOMA has created a nationwide initiative that seeks to replicate this model in other communities. (To learn more about MOMA’s program, check out http://www.moma.org/docs/learn)

Over the summer, JMM staff members were approached by staff from the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association about participating in a pilot program in Baltimore that seeks to replicate MOMA’s highly acclaimed program series. After much discussion about what kinds of programs we might be able to offer (as well as, admittedly, some apprehension about working with a population that we knew little about), we eagerly jumped on board with hopes of sharing our exhibitions and educational programs with a new audience. My intrepid colleague Elena Rosemond-Hoerr offered to spearhead this new initiative by developing programs and coordinating tours.

On November 5, Carol Wynn from the Alzheimer’s Association led a training workshop for JMM staff and volunteers to give us background on the disease and to share insight as to what we might expect during the programs. As she distributed fact sheets with information and warning signs (to learn about the 10 warning signs of the disease, check out http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_know_the_10_signs.asp), she also answered questions and made suggestions for leading tours that would be inclusive and welcoming. One thing Carol repeatedly stressed is that the participants in our programs are experiencing early on-set Alzheimer’s disease and are still able to function to certain degrees in their jobs and daily activities. (To learn more about the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Maryland, visit: http://www.alz.org/maryland/)

For our first program on November 15, Elena created a two-part program making use of our special exhibition, A Blessing To One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People. She started with an exhibition tour. While the group was smaller than expected, this actually proved advantageous and it lent a very intimate feel to the tour.

While participants seemed a bit shy initially, as the tour progressed, it became clear that many in the group were touched by various photographs and artifacts, particularly in the last section of the exhibit that explores Pope John Paul II’s visit to Israel. Two of the members of the group reminisced about a recent visit to Israel where they stood on Mt. Nebo at the same spot where the Pope stood and delivered an address during his trip.

The second part of the program was more interactive and participants had the opportunity to play a version of the game “Jeopardy” with questions geared towards the exhibition. Participants called out categories (“Early Childhood for $200, please”) and answered questions based on what they had seen. It was fun to see the competition heat up as participants raced to get their hands in the air and call out the answers. The program ended with participants sharing new things that they had learned about Pope John Paul II.

Bringing JMM programs and resources to new and often underserved audiences is an ongoing effort. We are grateful to Carol Wynn and the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Maryland for reaching out to us as partner in the exciting new initiative. We look forward to our next program which will take place this spring (one idea is to bring in artist Lorning Cornish for a morning of mosaic-making!) and to creating an established program series at the JMM.

Check out "Cookbooks: An Addendum"

2010-11-15T09:16:00.001-05:00

New post on our sister blog "Chosen Food" - a follow up to Karen Falk's Jewish Cookbooks post!

CHANUKAH! ALMOST HERE! A GLORIOUS TIME OF THE YEAR!

2010-11-12T09:41:00.000-05:00

A blog post by shop manager Esther Weiner.

Four weeks from today, Wednesday, December 1, 2010, the Hebrew date is Kislev 24; we light the first candle for Chanukah! What a special time of the year…if you think about it this way, and prior to December 1, the Jewish people all over the world get out their own special Chanukiah, polish them up, (if needed) insert the first candle, light the Shamesh, say the bracha, (prayer), and light the first candle! It gives me a very warm, fuzzy and special feeling that next door, down the hall, across town, in the next city, in the adjoining state, criss-crossing the country, over the ocean, and around the world, Jews are doing the same thing that you and I are doing. Sort of like joining hands and spanning the world.

I like the feeling. I love the songs we sing, and the foods we eat. The latkes, all kinds—potato, zucchini, sweet potato (yes, I make them too), and yummy doughnuts.

Esther demonstrates latke making at the Museum.

The gifts that have come to be exchanged between close friends and families are special too. In our family, we try to keep that under control and not get out of hand—but, heck, Chanukah comes but once a year!

Now for Chanukiot, that’s a special topic with me…I adore the variety of pieces that are available today! And as the buyer for the Museum Shop of the Jewish Museum of Maryland I get to indulge in choosing some really special pieces for the shop. I’m like a kid in a candy shop, picking out a wonderful variety for those visitors to the JMM. You’ll see some of the pictures here on my blog.

The grand Chanukiah made of small pieces of Jerusalem stone and made in Israel, the gorgeous Chanukiot made of stone with crystal candle holders, each holder has a holographic picture inside. I love the Tamara Baskin glass curved piece with the hills of Jerusalem, it’s so colorful! How about the funky Chanukiah—the double-wing airplane, the black steel motorcycle with the driver, the school bus? The perennial favorite is back, the high heel shoe Chanukiah, the Karen Rossi Family Chanukiah, the red-wire convertible, the brass klezmer piece? Oh so many…you have to come down and see for yourself!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the magnificent selection of candles to grace your Chanukiah, hand-picked in an assortment of colors to suit everyone.

Did I say I love this time of the year? Come on down to the JMM, check out our shop and celebrate this special time of the year with us…ask for Esther, but then, everyone will be happy to have you visit our museum!

It's that time again: WINTERNSHIPS!

2010-11-11T10:08:00.012-05:00

Internships Available this WINTER/SPRING:

Photography Intern:

The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks a qualified candidate for an interdisciplinary internship. The intern will be responsible for photographing events and collections, processing and editing Internal Archive photos, handling and processing the photographic collection, managing online photographic efforts, and contributing to the JMM online presence.

Applicants should be interested in creating, processing, and preserving photography. Previous museum experience is not required. This internship is part time with flexible hours, beginning in October. This internship is unpaid and may be used for academic credit, with the approval of your institution. Free parking is provided. Housing is not provided.

Please send a cover letter, resume or CV, and three references (two of which must be academic or professional) to Rachel Kassman, Photo Archivist, Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd Street, Baltimore MD 21202 or to rkassman@jewishmuseummd.org. Please include "Photography Intern" in your subject line. Application deadline is December 15, 2010.

Editorial Exhibition Intern:

The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks a qualified intern to assist in the exhibitions department. The Editorial Exhibition intern will be responsible for researching and writing for the Chosen Food exhibition blog and managing image content for the exhibition flickr page. The intern will work with a variety of primary and secondary source materials, including oral histories, archival manuscripts, historic and contemporary photographs as well as books and published papers to accomplish his/her responsibilities.

Previous museum experience is not required. This internship may be used for academic credit. Start date and hours are flexible; some hours may be completed off-site. Free parking is provided.

Please send a cover letter, resume, 3 references and a short writing sample to Ms. Rachel Kassman, Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 or email: rkassman@jewishmuseummd.org. Please include "Editorial Exhibition Intern" in the subject line. Application deadline is December 15th, 2010.

Education and Programming Intern:

The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks a passionate and qualified intern to join the Education and Programming departments. The intern will be responsible for participating in the creative and logistical efforts of the departments. This includes, but is not limited to, leading tours and facilitating groups, writing lesson plans, creating dynamic programming, contributing to the Museum's online presence, and attending workshops and lectures.

Applicants should be interested in museum education, public programs, and visitor services. Previous museum experience is not required. This internship is part time with flexible hours, a minimum of 60 hours between September and December. This internship is unpaid and may be used for academic credit, with the approval of your institution. Free parking is provided. Housing is not provided.

Please send a cover letter stating your intent and why you are interested in the JMM, a resume or CV, and three references (at least two of which must be academic or professional to Elena Rosemond-Hoerr, Education and Programming Coordinator, Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd Street, Baltimore MD 21202 or to erosemondhoerr@jewishmuseummd.org. Please include "Education and Programming Intern" in your subject line. Applications will be accepted immediately or until the position is filled.

Development Intern:

The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks a qualified intern to assist in the development department. The Development Intern will be responsible for assisting with data quality control, prospect research, grants management, event coordination and museum mailings.

Applicants should be interested in the business and administration aspects of the cultural arts. Previous museum experience is not required. This internship is full time and 10 weeks long, with a flexible start date. This internship can be used for academic credit. Stipends will be awarded, but will not offset the cost of living in Baltimore. Free parking is provided. Housing is not provided.

Please send a cover letter, resume and list of three references to Ms. Rachel Kassman, Development Coordinator, Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd Street, Baltimore MD 21202 or to rkassman@jewishmuseummd.org. Please include “JMM Development Intern” in your subject line. Application deadline is December 15th, 2010.

Collections Intern:

The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks a qualified intern to assist in the Collections Department to work on general collections management projects. Tasks include, but are not limited to: cataloging new donations and loans, processing archival collections, object photography, data entry, digitizing photographic collections, artifact handling, and indexing and/or transcribing oral histories.

Interested students should be working toward a degree in history, art history, material culture, Jewish studies, museum studies, or archival science. Previous museum or gallery experience is not required. “Winternship” will run 4 weeks and can begin 1 December 2010. This internship can be used for academic credit.

Please send a cover letter, resume, availability and list of three references to Ms. Jobi Zink, Sr. Collections Manager, Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd Street, Baltimore MD 21202 or to jzink@jewishmuseummd.org. Please include “Collections Intern” in your subject line. Applications reviewed as received.

Exhibition Intern (I):

The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks a qualified intern to assist in the Collections and Exhibitions department to work on an upcoming exhibition, Chosen Food: Cuisine, Culture and Jewish Identity. The exhibition intern will be responsible for exhibition research, compiling and updating exhibition notebook, conducting and/or transcribing oral histories, cataloging new donations and loans, data entry, and artifact handling.

Interested students should be working toward a degree in history, art history, material culture, Jewish studies, museum studies, or archival science. Previous museum or gallery experience is not required. Strong organizational skills are a plus. “Winternship” will run 4 weeks and can begin 1 December 2010. This internship can be used for academic credit.

To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, availability and list of three references to Ms. Karen Falk, Curator, Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd Street, Baltimore MD 21202 or to kfalk@jewishmuseummd.org. Please include “Exhibition Intern” in your subject line. Applications reviewed as received.

Exhibition Intern (II):

The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks a qualified intern to assist in the Collections and Exhibitions department to work on an upcoming off-site exhibition, Levindale. The exhibition intern will be responsible for exhibition research, compiling and updating exhibition notebook, conducting and/or transcribing oral histories, scanning photographs, data entry, and artifact handling.

Interested students should be working toward a degree in history, art history, material culture, Jewish studies, museum studies, or archival science. Previous museum or gallery experience is not required. Strong organizational skills are a plus. “Winternship” will run 4 weeks and can begin 1 December 2010. This internship can be used for academic credit.

To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, availability and list of three references to Ms. Jobi Zink, Sr. Collections Manager, Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd Street, Baltimore MD 21202 or to kfalk@jewishmuseummd.org. Please include “Exhibition Intern” in your subject line. Applications reviewed as received.

JMM Archives Intern:

The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks a qualified intern to assist in the museum archives. The Archives Intern will be responsible for cataloging archival documents, and processing manuscript collections. Processing involves organizing archival collections and writing documents that help researchers locate materials within the collection. Duties may also include digitizing parts of archival collections.

Interested students should be working toward a degree in history, art history, material culture, Jewish studies, museum studies, or library science. Previous museum or library experience is not required. “Winternship” will run 4 weeks and can begin 1 December 2010.This internship can be used for academic credit.

Please send a cover letter, resume, availability and list of three references to Ms. Jennifer Vess, Archivist, Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd Street, Baltimore MD 21202 or to jvess@jewishmuseummd.org. Please include “JMM Archives Intern” in your subject line. Applications will be reviewed as received.

Check out "Cookbooks: Jewish DIY Manuals" at the Chosen Food blog!

2010-11-11T09:33:00.000-05:00

Hop over to our sister blog, Chosen Food, to read Curator Karen Falk's newest post on Jewish Cookbooks!

"I got married in 1977. Those were the days of the Jewish Catalog (four volumes of D-I-Y Judaism perfect for the Aquarians whose Hebrew school education had failed) and a back-to-our-roots itch that just had to be scratched. My groom and I had decided we would be keeping kosher, and when our families on both sides finished freaking out, they gifted us a small pile of kosher cookbooks. New ones. As far as I know, there were no family heirloom kosher cookbooks in the kitchens of our parents or grandparents..."

Barry's Blog

2010-11-10T10:35:00.008-05:00

A blog by Dr. Barry Lever. Follow the links for the first post and second post in this series.

Our search to learn more about the individuals whose marriage the Golombek Ketubah records now moves beyond the walls of the Jewish Museum Maryland. Accompanied by, JMM Summer Intern and my research partner, Ephraim Harel we travel to the Edward C. Papenfuse Maryland State Archives in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Maryland State Archives, exterior (above) and interior (below).

Images courtesy of the MSA website.

For anyone interested in Maryland History this is the mother-lode where all prospecting begins. After registering and completing a request form we patiently wait until a very knowledge staff member directs us to the records that we hope will reveal our subjects by their complete English Names.

Since the Golombek Ketubah established the Hebrew date of the marriage as the 11th day of Tammuz, 5605, in the City of Baltimore, we know that corresponding English date was Wednesday, July 16, 1845. Our first request therefore was a search of the marriage licenses of the Baltimore County Court from 1839-1846 which are kept on microfilm.

At times copies of microfilm documents are very hard to clearly reproduce, but we were fortunate that the page shown below is relatively legible.

The headings at the top of this microfilmed page, reading left to right, denote the columns below them in the following manner:

“when (the license) granted” “No.” “Males” and Females” “Minister” “1845” “month day”

As we look down these columns we discover that on July 14, 1845 (license) No. 273 was granted to Wolf Solden and Teressa Habal.

It was when we had this document that we discovered that groom’s name was not Golden, as it had originally been read from the signature on the Golombek Ketubah, but rather Solden, and his bride’s full English name was finally revealed.

The last column on the page corresponding to the heading “Minister,” also notes the name of an individual, Ansell, who this records seems to indicate will be the individual who will officiate at the ceremony that was held two days later.

This is first time the name Ansell appears in relation to this marriage. Our next blog will explore more about who these individuals were and about their lives.

Once Upon a Time...

2010-11-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

Once Upon a Time 8.6.2010

Date run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 8/6/10

PastPerfect Accession #: 2007.055.010.008

Status: Partially Identified. Members of the Brandeis University National Women's Committee. L-R 1. 2. Ruthie Caplan or Rhea Wolf Offit 3. Ruthie Caplan (he said 2nd, but mentioned flower) or Anne Offit 4. Barbara Blaustein Hirschhorn or Sonia Schnaper, or Jeanne Schlessberg 5. Mayor/Governor Theodore McKeldin 6. Chloris Mechanic or Annie Waskins 7. Unidentified 8. unidentified 9. Flora Rosenbloom 10. Unidentified

Special thanks to: Alvin Diamond, Micki Kamanitz, Hirsh Goldberg, Anonymous, Mark Rosenfeld, Dr. Robert Fleischman, Mr. Wolfson, Evelyn Morrison, Sema Sherr, Ed Fraiman, Barry Hyman, Mrs. Singer, anonymous, Judy Silverson, Harvey Lempberg, Joan Jacob, Bruce Levy, Sonia Taylor, Janet & Paul Kramer, Betty Seidel, Estelle Holzman, Phil Shapiro, JoAnn Orlinsky, Morris Offit, Stanley Fine, Janie Weinstein, Fred Shoken, Bunny Maggid, Shel Sibert, John Sondheim, Ann Scheinberg, Harry Zemel, George Rosenstock, Jackie Meyers, Bernie Raynor, Allan Bloomberg

Fall Programming at the JMM!

2010-11-08T10:06:00.004-05:00

A blogpost by education director Ilene Dackman-Alon.

In September, the work week was so sketchy with short work weeks due to the fall Jewish holidays. When I arrived at work the other day, I had a feeling similar to when I was young during the first week of school. The first week of school was always so exciting filled with new friends, new opportunities and new beginnings. I guess I am feeling this way as I am excited about the JMM’s upcoming program calendar filled with something for everyone both young and old.

On Friday, 8 October, we began this season’s Tot Shabbat programs. Tot Shabbat programs are geared for downtown families with very young children. Young children, along with their parents, caregivers and grandparents were actively engaged in songs, stories and a challah snack all in connection with the Sabbath. This program is co-sponsored by the JMM and the JCC’s Beyond the Borders", a program which is funded by The Jacob & Hilda Blaustein Fund for the Enrichment of Jewish Education. Later in October, the Druid Hill Park celebrated its 150th year and the JMM sponsored bus trips to the park - Druid Hill Park- Nostalgia and Beyond. Barry Kessler, former JMM curator will give a behind the scenes tour of Druid Hill Park as it is and as it was. Barry will speak about how the park served the Jewish community from the 1920’s until 1960 and what those memories means to the Jewish collective conscience; as well as talk about the new efforts to bring the park back to its former glory.

In connection wit the JMM’s newest exhibition, A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People, the JMM is proud to present programming that highlight interfaith dialog and study. This year’s Sadie B. Feldman Family Lecture featured Father John Pawlikowski, professor of ethics and the director of the Catholic-Jewish Studies program at the Catholic Theological Union. Fr. Pawlikowski delivered a lecture in commemoration of the 45th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the historic declaration on the relationship of the Catholic Church to non-Christian religions.

I am also eager and anxious to continue with weekly my visits to Patterson High School, a large Baltimore City Public School and continue to work on the JMM’s latest educational initiative, Student Immigration Stories. The SIS program is just one of the Museum’s many education programs and this one fulfills our mission – to teach about Baltimore’s history as a haven for immigrants and refugees in the past and present. The JMM has developed a wonderful relationship with this school and we are working specifically with Ms. Sally Franklin’s ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) class and Jennifer Zunikoff, a professional storyteller in the area. This particular initiative looks at contemporary immigration to Baltimore.

The students participating in the project are learning how to craft their personal immigration stories with the help of the storyteller. The power of the first-person narrative makes this program a compelling educational experience. With the help of facilitated questions, and the use of visualization and guided imagery, these techniques help the students formulate their personal stories as well as provide opportunities for the students to learn from their classmates.

The goal of the Student Immigration Stories program is to address the needs in schools whose student populations are rapidly diversifying due to an influx of immigrants from different countries. Many school administrators describe a general atmosphere of unease at schools where there is a large immigrant population and where the student body at large demonstrates a lack of tolerance or willingness to accept students from foreign countries. It is the hope this program will serve as a forum for students to gain understanding and acceptance of their fellow students.

The weekly visits are very powerful and it is a humbling experience to listen to the students describe their lives in their native countries. During our last session, Jennifer (the storyteller), asked the students these questions. “If you could bring one thing from your native country to Baltimore- what would it be? And if you could bring one thing from Baltimore back home to your native country what would it be? The students’ answers were amazing. Some of the students from Nepal said that they wanted to bring the lushness of the jungle and the majestic Mt. Everest to Baltimore. Some of the students from Central America said that they would bring our law enforcement system, Patterson High School along with their beloved teacher, Ms. Franklin back to their native countries of El Salvador, Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

The power of the first-person narrative makes this an especially compelling educational experience. I listen to these students in the class and I am blown away by the courage and strength of the students to share their intimate stories. Their stories allow me to be transported to different countries and places all over the world. Their personal stories allow me to find connections and a common ground with each of the students. It is the hope that the students in the schools will also find common ground and connections with these students who share their stories of immigration.

It’s going to be an exciting programming season at the JMM- LET THE PROGRAMS BEGIN!

Excavations Begin!

2010-11-05T15:09:00.008-04:00

As our loyal readers know we've had a lot of erosion in the mikveh excavation in the Lloyd Street Synagogue this past year because of flooding. In order to prevent further deterioration of the features that we had uncovered ten years ago, we will be filling in the excavation. But before that happens archaeologists will do a little more digging to try and answer some of our remaining questions about the Lloyd Street Synagogue and the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation who first built it.

Work began today with a general clean-up of the site -- removing the layers of dirt left behind by previous flooding. Below are a few images of this first stage.

Keep reading for updates on the excavation over the next few weeks. Who knows what we might discover this time!

MS 31 Baltimore Hebrew College Collection

2010-11-04T12:46:00.004-04:00

Baltimore Hebrew College 1927-1958, 1996.63.21

A little over a year ago we received the archives of Baltimore Hebrew University when the university became the Baltimore Hebrew Institute at Towson University. The collection was the largest single archival collection to come into the Jewish Museum of Maryland. But this most recent acquisition was not our first of materials from BHU. One of our early manuscript collections is MS 31 – the Baltimore Hebrew College Collection. (Baltimore Hebrew College became Baltimore Hebrew University in 1987.)

Baltimore Hebrew College graduating class of 1927, 2007.1.2

Baltimore Hebrew College Collection
1921-1983

MS 31

The Jewish Museum of Maryland

ACCESS AND PROVENANCE

The Baltimore Hebrew College Collection was found in the collection of the Jewish Museum of Maryland in 2004 and given the accession number 2004.072. Alison Reppert processed the collection in July 2009.

Access to the collection is unrestricted and is available to researchers at the Jewish Museum of Maryland. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the Jewish Museum of Maryland before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

Baltimore Hebrew College and Teachers Training School was founded in 1919 to promote Jewish scholarship and academic excellence. During the early years, with Dr. Israel Efros as president, the institution trained teachers for Jewish schools. In 1930, Baltimore Hebrew College became a constituent of the Associated Jewish Charities and Welfare Fund, now THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, with Dr. Louis L. Kaplan as president. In 1959, the school moved from Eutaw Place to Park Heights Avenue. In 1963 it received Maryland State accreditation, then accreditation from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in 1974. Baltimore Hebrew College was renamed Baltimore Hebrew University (BHU) when Middle States conferred university level status in 1987.

Dr. Leivy Smolar succeeded Dr. Kaplan as president in 1971, and under Dr. Norma Fields Furst, who became president in 1992, the University expanded educational opportunities for New Americans and received approval for the Associate of Arts and Bachelor of Arts in Jewish Studies. Dr. Robert O. Freedman, who succeeded Dr. Furst in 1995, extended BHU's cooperation with area colleges and universities including Goucher and Johns Hopkins. Dr. Rela Mintz Geffen was inaugurated as president in 2001 and, during her time in office, the University became eligible for Joseph Sellinger funding, an intensive summer school program was introduced and joint education programs were initiated with Goucher College and Villa Julie College. BHU also had the MA in Jewish Communal Service approved by the Maryland Higher Education Commission. The Me'ah program, a 100-hour Lifelong Learning program was also introduced for adult learners. Erika Schon acted as Interim President during the BHU's transition to Towson University.

Information provided by:

http://www.bhu.edu

RELATED COLLECTIONS

Baltimore Hebrew University Archives (2009.040)
MS 77 Lester Levy (1896-1989) Family Papers
MS 116 Deborah Shochet Hartman Collection
MS 143 Mollie Levin Hebrew Education Collection
MS 170 The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore Records and Publications
MS 171 Louis L. Kaplan Papers

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The Baltimore Hebrew College Collection consists of registers, course catalogs, bulletins, programs, reports and newsletters. The collection is divided into two series. Series I. Academics, contains bulletins, commencement programs, “Hakaryan” newspapers, registers and course information, faculty and staff information and exams. Series I. consists of materials concerning the activities of classes, faculty and students. Series II. Facilities, contains programs about the dedication of buildings, reports, projections and budgets. It consists of materials concerning the development of the facilities of Baltimore Hebrew University. Both series are arranged in chronological order.

Two Baltimore Rock and Roll Hall of Famers

2010-11-03T13:08:00.007-04:00

A blog post by historian Deb Weiner.

In my last blog post I asked if anyone could name two Baltimore Jews in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Only one person responded and he was only half right. The rest of you either don’t know, or don’t care, who our famous rockers are. I’ll assume the former and use this opportunity to enlighten you.

Ellen Naomi Cohen

Mama Cass Elliot was born Ellen Naomi Cohen in Baltimore in 1941. Her family moved around the Baltimore and D.C. area during her childhood, as her father pursued a series of failed business ventures. Eventually he hit upon a successful scheme: selling food from a mobile stand (an old bus he had acquired) to construction workers building the Mondawmin Mall. Ellen worked the food stand every morning before heading off to Forest Park High School (the quintessential Baltimore Jewish high school of the 1950s, featured in classmate Barry Levinson’s film Liberty Heights). Musically gifted, free-spirited, and overweight, she didn’t fit into the rigid conformity of fifties middle class high school life. She dropped out in her senior year and joined the small bohemian scene in downtown Baltimore while working reception (and writing obituaries!) at the Baltimore Jewish Times. But soon she was off to New York to find fame and fortune on Broadway, having changed her name to Cass Elliot for reasons that remain obscure.

Early in her career

The Mamas & the Papas

Rock & Roll royalty

Cass traveled musically from Broadway to jazz to folk—and geographically from New York to Washington to Chicago and back to New York—before joining the burgeoning folk-rock scene in Los Angeles. She formed the Mamas & the Papas with Denny Doherty and John and Michelle Phillips in 1965. Instant fame arrived with the release of their debut album, featuring three pop classics: “California Dreamin,” “Monday, Monday,” and “Go Where You Wanna Go.” Cass’s powerful, distinctive voice was a major factor in the group’s success. She went on to a successful solo career before dying of a heart attack in 1974 (and not, as urban legend has it, of choking). She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

If you want to learn more, Eddi Fiegel wrote a great biography of Elliot in 2006 (after doing research here at the JMM)—that’s the source of my info. We sell it in the museum shop!

Jerry Leiber

Lyricist Jerry Leiber wrote seminal hits of the early rock era with his partner, composer Mike Stoller. Born in Baltimore in 1933 to Polish immigrant parents, Leiber grew up on the edge of the black neighborhood of Sandtown-Winchester, where his mother opened a grocery store after his father’s death. He became entranced by the music he heard while making deliveries for the store. "I was passing open windows where there might be a radio playing something funky," he later recalled. "The early influences, in many ways, were in Baltimore.” Leiber’s family moved to Los Angeles when he was twelve. Determined to succeed in the music business, he partnered with Stoller while still a teenager.

Together Leiber and Stoller wrote such classics as “Hound Dog,” “Stand by Me,” “Kansas City,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Love Potion #9,” “On Broadway,” and “There Goes My Baby.” They were key figures in the Brill Building and Atlantic Records, iconic centers of early rock. Their work with Elvis Presley, the Coasters, Ben E. King, the Drifters, and Phil Spector influenced music history. According to their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame biography, “As pop auteurs who wrote, arranged and produced countless recordings . . . Leiber and Stoller advanced rock and roll to new heights of wit and musical sophistication.” They were inducted in 1987.

Stoller-Elvis-Leiber

Leiber and Stoller today

Last year Leiber and Stoller were interviewed on the Tavis Smiley show—you can hear it at pbs.org. I also found info about Leiber on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website and in a December 4, 1997 Baltimore Sun article.

Notes from a Webinar: Social Media and Collections

2010-11-03T11:26:00.004-04:00

Last week Jobi got a chance to participate in 2 webinars, the first about Collections and Outreach, the second about Collections and Social Media. Rather than type up a report, we decided to give you a look at her notes - this way you can see why we need all those pencils! Just click on the note pages to enlarge enough to read.

Sneaking a peek at our collections manager Jobi Zink.
Her computer wasn't working so she decided to
confiscate my office instead! But I'm always happy to share.

There was plenty of lively, on-line discussion throughout the webinar.

Look at that concentration! She's a credit to us all.

From the Jewish Times...

2010-11-02T13:49:00.008-04:00

Check out the Jewish Times blog for a great review of our recent Druid Hill Park bus tour!
"I recently went on a bus tour of Druid Hill Park and its once-Jewish ‘hoods that was presented by the Jewish Museum of Maryland..."

Once Upon a Time...

2010-11-02T09:05:00.002-04:00

Once Upon a Time 7.30.10

Date run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 7/30/10

PastPerfect Accession #: 2008.084.005

Status: Partially identified. Members of the Guardian Club. Center Row, third from left is Ben Lipnick. Seated in chairs, first on left, Isaac H. Taylor

Special thanks to: Ronald Taylor, Glicka Lipnick Creeger.

Moonlighting: White Gloves Gang

2010-11-01T17:27:00.002-04:00

Check out JMM collections manager Jobi Zink's guest post at the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museum's blog!

"As the confer ence wound down on Wednesday, the White Gloves Gang was gearing up for their big day. Comprised of registrars, collections managers, museum studies students, and art shippers, the White Gloves Gang gets its name from the distinguished (okay, distinguishing!) cotton garment routinely worn when handling art and artifacts..."

Teaching Teachers

2010-10-28T09:32:00.000-04:00

A blog post by Deborah Cardin, education director.

While the majority of the educational programs offered by the JMM focus on bringing school groups to our site for student field trip, providing professional development opportunities for teachers is a growing priority. Last year, we offered eight workshops on topics as varied as Holocaust education, immigration history, world religions, and making effective use of JMM resources. Together these programs reached 220 teachers from public, independent, Catholic, and Jewish schools and universities. Several programs take place here at the JMM while others take place at other museums, schools, and venues throughout the State. (Last year, my colleague Jeanette Parmigiani and I traveled as far Calvert County in Southern Maryland for a presentation on Holocaust best teaching practices at the Maryland Council for Social Studies.)

Holocaust survivor Rubin Sztajer talking to teachers
at the Summer Teachers Institute, August 2010

Teachers learning how to make journals as part of a workshop,
Teaching The Diary of Anne Frank, April 2010

Teachers at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum
during Summer Teachers Institute,
August 2010, learning about the history of
African-American / Jewish relations during the 20th century

I am currently working on two very different workshops that are taking place the first week of November. The first is in conjunction with our current exhibition, A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People, and, in keeping with the theme of the exhibition, focuses on the importance of interfaith dialogue among educators of diverse backgrounds as a means for promoting tolerance.

Exhibition curator, Dr. James Buchanan
leading JMM docents on a tour of A Blessing To One Another

The other is a program for Baltimore City Public School (BCPS) teachers sponsored through the Teaching American History program. This workshop’s theme is Ethnicity in East Baltimore with sessions exploring the history of the neighborhood surrounding the JMM.

Neighborhood scene, Lombard Street, 1950s

So, how do we go about planning a program that provides teachers with a balance of content knowledge and pedagogical skills for teaching a specific topic? For the Blessing-related workshop, I am working closely with Jeanette Parmigiani (director of Holocaust Programs at the Baltimore Jewish Council) who always has terrific ideas for speakers and sessions. Our opening session will include an overview of the history of “The Parting of The Way”, documenting the path leading to the split between Jews and Christians led by educator extraordinaire, Father Robert Albright. This discussion will then help set the stage for a more detailed conversation about the history of antisemitism and the role of the Catholic Church during the Holocaust. We also rely on expert teachers who help frame a specific topic by sharing teaching techniques and strategies. Local educator Allene Gutin, who teaches at The Day School at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, will lead a workshop demonstrating classroom resources for teaching about the Righteous, the few individuals who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. The program will conclude with a contemporary exploration of Jewish/Catholic dialogue since the Holocaust facilitated by Dr. Christopher Leighton, Executive Director of the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies.

To plan the Baltimore City workshop, I have been working with Jennifer Frieman, who coordinates the TAH program for BCPS. The JMM has hosted three previous TAH sessions exploring a variety of themes such as immigration history and the history of religious pluralism in Maryland. The format for the TAH workshop is familiar: teachers spend the first hour listening to a scholar provide content on the given topic followed by a museum tour and review of relevant classroom resources. The afternoon is spent listening to master teachers share lesson plans on the topic that they have written that incorporate primary sources from the JMM archives. For some reason, this particular program has proven challenging to organize, and it has taken quite a few weeks to solidify speakers and participants. Fortunately, it is starting to come together thanks to the help of two of my colleagues, Anita Kassof and Deb Weiner who co-curated our Voices of Lombard Street exhibition. One of the highlights of this workshop will be a culminating panel moderated by Anita and Deb featuring former neighborhood residents of diverse backgrounds who will share their personal reminiscences of neighborhood life.

Baltimore City teachers participating in JMM workshop, November 2008

While developing the concept and organizing the myriad logistics for teacher training workshops is sometimes daunting, the benefits for the JMM are numerous. Teachers who participate in these programs become familiar with our Museum and are enthusiastic about the learning opportunities that we offer their students. Participants often become part of our Teacher Advisory Committee and serve as ambassadors to their schools and school systems on our behalf. In addition, they frequently take advantage of our programs and resources. And the education staff benefits from this opportunity to spend time with educators and to learn about the ways in which our Museum can improve the quality and relevance of our programs.

For more information about these programs and other JMM teacher training workshops, contact Deborah Cardin, director of education, at (410) 732-6400 x236 / cardin@jewishmuseummd.org.

Once Upon a Time...

2010-10-26T09:00:00.003-04:00

Once Upon a Time 7.23.10

Date(s) run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 7/23/10

PastPerfect Accession #: 2008.073.007

Status: Unidentified. Ner Israel Groundbreaking Ceremony, May 11, 1941. Dora Ginsberg is fifth from left.

Special thanks to: Sonia Greenspon

You don’t have to be Jewish to love the Jewish Museum of Maryland!

2010-10-25T13:41:00.004-04:00

A blog post by Simone Ellin, marketing director.

People of a certain age will recall that famous commercial for Levy’s rye bread. As Marketing and Public Relations Director at the JMM, it’s part of my job to let people know that the Museum is here for everyone. It’s not always so easy though. In general, ethnic specific Museums have their work cut out for them. A quick internet search for the phrase “ethnic-specific museums and challenges” yields a great deal of information about this issue. One of the first documents to appear online is the abstract for Dr. Rosa M. Cabrera’s study, “Beyond Dust, Memory and Preservation: Roles of Ethnic Museums in Shaping Community Ethnic Identities”, (University of Illinois at Chicago, 2008.) Cabrera’s study also addresses another challenge that museums, (especially history museums,) face in attracting visitors.

Dr. Cabrera writes, “This study challenges the common perception that ethnic museums and centers are dusty, gloomy and trapped in the past. It proposes that they have the potential to impact individual and community identity because they are well positioned to understand and address their community's specific needs and challenges. They are able to engage not only multiple voices from their own community, but also broader constituencies in an intercultural dialogue because these organizations are viewed as trusted guardians and transmitters of cultural knowledge, as well as neutral meeting places. Having the capacity to engage multiple voices is a significant asset because individual and community identity are shaped and transformed by a range of voices and sociopolitical realities that extend beyond their community. It is through this dialogic process that communities seek positive recognition in order to advance a range of community goals; and, in this process, ethnicity takes shape and is given meaning.”

The JMM is constantly looking for ways to bring diverse communities together through our exhibitions and programs. Shows like Voices of Lombard Street, The Synagogue Speaks and our newest, A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II & the Jewish People are all concerned with the way Jews interact with people from diverse ethnicities and religions. Programs like Catholicism/Judaism 101 on Nov. 18, and One Text: Two Traditions: Three Conversations: An Interfaith Text Study,and our school immigration project at Patterson High School, all speak to the importance of bringing people together to explore our differences and commonalities. This coming Wednesday, staff members from the Catholic Review, a media sponsor of the Blessing exhibition, will hold a reception and board meeting here at the JMM. Later in the month, we will also host staff from exhibition sponsor, Catholic Charities. We celebrate the way in which A Blessing to One Another has resulted in new relationships, and brought many new visitors to the JMM. We are honored to host these groups at the JMM, and look forward to being a gathering place for people of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds.

Learning through Looking

2010-10-24T09:51:00.007-04:00

A blog post by Rachel Kassman, photo archivist.

This past Monday I had the good fortune to attend a discussion panel at the University of Maryland Baltimore County Library. This panel was held in conjunction with a meeting of the Maryland History and Culture Collaborative (a group I am a part of, though this was my first real meeting!) and in honor of American Archives Month. Presenters Barbara Orbach Natanson, Tom Beck, Doug McElrath and Joanne Archer spoke on "Using Images for Original Research." You can see why I, the JMM photo archivist, was interested!

Barbara Orback Natanson, of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division spoke first, focusing on visual literacy. She pointed out that while many people use images to illustrate their research after the fact, many don't realize that images themselves provide a great deal of information useful throughout the research process. Images provide a record of the environment, showing both continuity and change. They also "document what is hard to describe: and things that people "don't think to say." Images are an especially great source for discovering more research questions.

Click here to browse images from the JMM's collection!

Tom Beck, chief curator at the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery at UMBC used the photography of Lewis Hine as a case study for images giving us "direct contact with the past." Showing Hine's photography of child labor in agricultural Maryland, he discussed how a photographer can make specific statements with his/her work and how different photographers were tapped for certain projects based on those statements.

Click here to see images from Bachrach, a well represented photographer and studio in the JMM's collections!

Doug McElrath, curator at the University of Maryland Special Collections library, spoke about the use of postcards for research. In his words, postcards are the "Rodney Dangerfield of visual research - they get no respect!" Although he also pointed out that the Metropolitan Museum of Art did have a recent postcard exhibit, so maybe the postcard's humble reputation is turning around. It is estimated that the years around 1910 saw over a billion postcards mailed in the United States. Postcards were used as communication devices - although early postcards were especially limited in the space available for writing, prompting Doug to declare them the "tweets of 1900!" But they also served as souvenirs and collectibles. Doug also discussed the importance of remembering that postcards are a highly manipulated product - "distractions" have often been removed, colors modified, even people erased from view.

Click here to see some of the postcards in the JMM's collection! Also, did you know deltiology is the study of postcards?

Joanne Archer, collections curator at the UMD Special Collections library, continued the postcard theme. She focused on the postcard as a provider of research questions, showing examples of postcards and the types of questions they might raise, such as gender relations of the time period, or exploring the 20th century idea of the exotic. She also spoke about the "anatomy" of a postcard and that the Golden Age of the postcard coincided with the rise of travel seen between 1900 and 1920. Joanne and Doug also mentioned that they have just opened an exhibit on travel and postcards at the Hornbake Library Gallery, Greetings from Vacationland.

Click here to read a little about the JMM's own past exhibit on vacations!

Hot Off the Press!

2010-10-22T09:00:00.005-04:00

A blog post by associate director Anita Kassof.

This past Monday, I traveled to Cheverly, Maryland with the Fleischmann family and Amy Freese, designer of Lights & Shadows, Arnold Fleischmann’s memoirs. Lights & Shadows, which I edited, is Arnold’s account of his family’s flight from Nazi Germany, his service with the U.S. Armed Forces, and his participation in the postwar transfer of power in Germany. The book is lavishly illustrated with historical photos and documents that trace Arnold’s journey.

Those photos and documents were one of the main reasons we traveled to Cheverly, home of Mosaic Press, which is printing the book. We wanted to make sure that as it came off the press, the photographs printed well, the colors were true, and the reproduction quality was consistent.

So, what does a press check consist of? Fortunately, Arnold’s son, Alan, snapped some photos of the process.

Arnold Fleischmann, the author, with Chief Quality Control Expert (his granddaughter, Natalia), waits in the “hospitality lounge” at Mosaic. He’s looking at PDFs of the book, which Mosaic had produced for Amy Freese and me to review before things went on press. A couple of weeks ago, she and I checked these proofs to make sure all the text and photos were in place, and the pages were in the right order.

Here’s Arnold with one of the first press sheets. (Though it came off the press first, these pages are actually in the middle of the book.) Groups of pages are printed more or less at random, cut down, and put in the right sequence. The press sheet is in a light box that enables you to see the colors as accurately as possible.

After approving the first press sheet (it looked great, though we did ask them to add a little more varnish to the photos to really make them “pop” off the pages), we toured the press room. With several huge machines running at once, the racket was quite something. Mosaic operates its presses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Here’s a sheet about to come off the press.

The pressman checks a sheet at random as it comes off the press to make sure the colors have remained consistent.

I’m standing in back next to Arnold, and Alan is in front, next to the press. Dafna Tapiero, Alan’s wife, holds their daughter, Natalia. Amy Freese, the book’s designer, is on the right.

Dafna, Natalia, and Arnold with some “make ready” sheets. Make readies are the first sheets to come off the press on a given print run, and they’re generally discarded because sometimes the color isn’t consistent. I sure hope these folks recycle!

This is a cutting machine. Once all the big sheets come off the press, they are collated, cut, folded, and then sent to the bindery where they’re bound and finished. And then . . .

We celebrate! Please join us at the Museum on November 9, from 6 to 8 p.m. for a book signing event with Arnold Fleischmann and see for yourself what a beautiful book we’ve produced.

SAM visits JMM

2010-10-21T10:09:00.012-04:00

This past Sunday I hosted a group of University of Maryland students from Master of Library Science program. All of the students also belong to the Student Archvists at Maryland (SAM) group -- including former BHU intern Kristin Davidson (you won't see her as she's the one taking the pictures).

Archivists in training listen to my introduction to the museum

I've never given a tour to future archivists before. This was new and exciting because it gave me the opportunity to talk about all those things that fascinate me (organization, finding aids, and pH neutral folders), but don't generally fascinate other people. We started with a look at the photo archives.

Photos, of course, are the domain of our Photo Archivist, but they are part of any talk on archives. I would guess that most of the collections we receive have both paper documents and photographs together. The photographs also gave me the opportunity to talk about various preservation techniques and our digitization plans. We are far away from being able to digitize our entire archive collection, but we have been working on scanning our photographs. Preservation and digitizing are two of 'those things' that archivists get excited about, but not everyone else does.

Me showing the photographs in their archival sleeves

From photos we next visited paper -- my collections. Besides showing off some of the items in our collection I was able to talk about the quirks of working in an archive. As with all careers, what we learn in the classroom is neat and precise, but doesn't always transfer neatly and precisely to the real world. Each archive or museum is unique and has had many unique archivists bringing their own views to the care of the collections over the years. After fifty years of collecting the JMM archives has been managed in a variety of ways that reflect the nature of the materials and the evolution of the Archives field itself.

Me (again) displaying the smallest size of our manuscript collections

Our last stop was object storage. Though most of our collections are either paper and photographs or objects we often receive collections that involve all three. Objects and historic documents work together to give each other context and to not only tell but also show history to researchers and visitors. Not only are the objects interesting to look at (and the JMM has some amazing and quirky objects including department store hangers and a shelf full of spittoons) but archivists do need to understand the basics of their care and preservation. Just because someone ends up working in an archive doesn't mean they only have to deal with paper -- objects tend to sneek into collections.

SAM members look at some of our wood-based objects

After the collections tour I took the group through our exhibition Voices of Lombard Street and left them to view the other exhibitions on their own. From my side it was a success, and I hope they felt the same way.

Barry's Blog

2010-10-20T10:00:00.001-04:00

A blog post by Dr. Barry Lever - the first post in this series can be found here.

When one attends a contemporary hasanah, a Jewish wedding, the guests generally know the names of the bride, kalla, and the groom, hosan. One of the fascinating ketubah elements, however is that these legal documents only identify the bride and groom by their first names. These participants are linked for identification to their respective fathers, as the daughter of, bas …, or son of, bar … with the father’s name. However, no surnames are used.

An example of this is seen in the Golombek Ketubah, 2000.110.001*:

Close up of the English translation.

Here the hosan, groom is identified in the Aramaic original as rebbe Z’eev,* the son of, rebbe T’vi Hersh and the bride, Tirtzah the daughter of Y’cheel. *(Please note that the groom’s name, Z’eev was inadvertently omitted from this English translation.)

So if we are to continue our detective efforts to learn more about the lives and times of these individuals we need more information. Fortunately there is an additional clue within the Golombek Ketubah and possibly you have already discovered it?

To find this clue you will have to view the bottoms’ of the original scans, both of the Golombek Ketubah, and its corresponding transliterated Aramaic text both reproduced here.

Even though the signatures are written in an old style script they are the only feature of the document decipherable to an English reader. Unfortunately only the top two signatures are readily legible.

The first signature is that of “Wolff Golden, ha’chosen.” The English name, “Wolff” is a translation of the Hebrew name, Z’eev, previously noted in the document as the bridegroom.

The second legible script signature, “H. Habal,” appears to be a person of German origin because the two dots (..)over the second letter of his name. This “omlaut” is a typical diacritical Germanic language symbol that indicates the correct pronunciation of a word, in this case the person’s last name.

With these two names, the bridegroom’s given and surname name, “Wolff Goldin,” and the surname name of the witness, “Habel,” the exploration for additional clues about these individuals moves beyond the Golombek Ketubah.

Our detective efforts begin with the witness “H. Habal,” as it was not initially clear whether the bridegroom’s scripted last name began with the letter S, therefore making his name Soldin, or the letter G, making his last name, Goldin.

However, we quickly found the name, Harman Habel with the occupation of grocer listed in the 1845 and 1851 Matchett’s Baltimore City Directory, operating his store at 138 Orleans Street. His residence is also listed at the same location in the later directory.

1851 Matchett’s Baltimore City Directory

Interior page including the entry on H. Harman.

Close up on Habal Harman's entry.

Our search for more clues will resume with the November edition of Barry’s Blog! Enjoy the beautiful foliage of the new Fall season.

*A portion of the conservation of the item was made possible through the Betty & Leonard Golombek Philanthropic Fund. Gift of the children of Betty & Leonard Golombek in honor of their parents 50th anniversary.

Programming Done Right

2010-10-19T14:50:00.003-04:00

A blog post by Rachael Binning, outreach coordinator.

Because I only started my job as Outreach Coordinator a few weeks ago I currently have the luxury of observing and shadowing the other staff members on their various project. I got to watch Jobi lead a collections meeting where the Collections Committee decided on what objects should be accessioned into JMM’s vast collection. I’ve followed Deborah and Elena while they led school groups galore through the “A Blessing to One Another” exhibit, and most recently I got to be a participant in Ilene Dackman-Alon’s “Student Immigration Stories.” For the past two Mondays I have traveled to Patterson High School to visit Ms. Franklin’s English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Class. My experiences were so positive that I decided that I must share a few of them with you .

A few blog posts ago Ilene wrote a bit about “Student Immigration Stories” so I won’t go into the minute details of the program. Instead I’ll give you some visuals to accompany my story.

First, before the class started Ilene, Ms. Franklin, and myself pushed the desks to the side and made a big circle so that the students and teachers were able to sit together and talk. I love the idea of everyone sitting in a circle together because in this class everyone is equal and everyone has a story.

Preparing the room.

Soon the after the bell rang around sixteen students from countries as varied as the Dominican Republic, Nepal, and Eritrea rushed into the classroom. After the class settled down Jennifer Rudick Zunikoff, the storyteller and facilitator, asked each of us to say our names, where we are from, and how to say hello in our native tongue. What impressed me the most today was that despite the fact that there were about six students who spoke Spanish, they were from countries ranging from Mexico to Honduras. Although they spoke the same language, they each had their own accents and terms unique to their country. Lisbeth, who is from the Dominican Republic said that Dominicans tend not to pronounce “s” so when she says good morning in Spanish is sounds like “bueno dia” compared to “buenos dias.”

Lisbeth is from the Dominican Republic and Katie is from Honduras.
Both girls speak Spanish, but have different accents.

Ms. Sally Franklin and her students sitting together as we introduce ourselves.

Jennifer leading the class in a storytelling exercise.
Notice how the students face each other when they share their stories.

The three translators in the class who also shared their stories with us.

The premise of the class is to get students to share stories about their lives with each other. Each time I have participated in these storytelling exercises I have been extremely humbled by the students’ amazing tales and many hardships they have already endured.

I’d like to finish this blog with one final special moment from my experience. Jennifer told the class to think about a family member and a special memory we had with them. She had us actually travel in our minds back to a time with that person and visualize what we were doing with them. For this storytelling experience I was partnered with Agatha, a translator in the class from West Africa. I told Agatha about my memory with my Grandma Sharon. Grandma Sharon didn’t have a lot to give us monetarily, but she was so generous with her love and time. When my sister and I would stay over at Grandma Sharon’s house we would always have a tea party, which consisted of drinking tea heavily diluted with milk in special mini teacups and saucers. We would also have special frosted animal cookies, which was a big treat because we were not allowed to have those at home. Over glasses of tea we would sit around the table and talk and share stories. This was always the highlight of our trip to grandma’s.

Agatha heard this and was immediately reminded of her memories with her grandmother. She would travel from her urban home to her grandmother’s rural house to spend time with her. She would share stories with her grandmother while sitting around a fire and roasting maize. Agatha and I come from extremely different places and from different times, but we both had the same memory of sharing time with our grandmothers.

My entire experience at Patterson High School has been so moving and meaningful. On one hand I’ve realized how lucky and easy my childhood was compared to most of the students in Ms. Franklin’s class. At the same time, I’ve also realized how many similarities and common values I have with my new friends.

Once Upon a Time...

2010-10-19T11:18:00.003-04:00

Once Upon a Time 7.16.10

Date run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 7/16/10

PastPerfect Accession #: 2008.073.002

Status: Partially Identified. Congregation Shaarei Tzedek 4th Annual Banquet, January 28, 1945. Back Row (L-R) 1. Unidentified 2. unidentified 3. unidentified, Doris Gold, Ann Cohen, unidentified, Frieda Liebowitz, Hinda Feldman (Esterson), Ray Feldman, Reba Friedlander, Jake Feldman, Mrs. Alexander Front Row (L-R) Anna Eanet, Miriam Friedlander, Rochel Baila Friedlander, Ida E. Feldman, Mrs. Bernstein

Special thanks to: Morton Esterson, Ray Feldman

Building Our Collections!

2010-10-15T09:03:00.005-04:00

A blog post by Jobi Zink, senior collections manager.

Tuesday was our quarterly Collections Committee meeting. The Collections Committee is comprised of staff members, board member and lay leaders with expertise in conservation, local history, local Jewish history and library science.

As the collections manger, I compile the list of all of the donations that have come in since our last meeting. This is called the disposition list. Fortunately, I can generate a report from PastPerfect with just this information on it rather than hand typing the list myself. With the assistance of the donors who fill out biographical questionnaires and interns who do the data entry, I can also include basic background and biographical information with each donation. This provides context for many of the items and helps the Collections Committee make their decision.

The committee meets to discuss possible
donations to the Museum's collections.

The disposition list includes the staff’s recommendation for each batch. Items that are offered can be accessioned into our permanent collection or they can be designated for one of our non-accessioned collections: study, vertical files, genealogy, library, oral history or A/V. Items can be returned to the donor if they do not meet our collecting criteria or duplicate materials already in the collection.

Debate around the table can often be very...lively to say the least!

The Committee reviews each item that has been offered to the museum. They ask important questions – Does it duplicate anything in the collection? Is it in stable condition or does it require conservation? Do we need to collect and document every immigration story? Do we have enough space in storage for the item? – and make their argument for the disposition of the items. Usually the Committee is in agreement, but occasionally they do need to vote on whether the items should be accessioned or not.

Committee Chair Duke Zimmerman takes
a closer look at a small set of coins.

In addition to the Disposition List, the Committee also discusses deaccessions (permanently removing items from the collection), potential purchases, conservation and other issues that affect our collections and storage facilities.

Jobi herself, working hard to document
the committee's comments and decisions.

And in case you were wondering, the Committee did agree to accept the immigration documents from Lisa Sommer that I mentioned in my last blog post.

And in case you're wondering who took all these lovely photos: former intern Sara! You may remember Sara as the poor intern who had to have her wisdom teeth removed this summer, forcing her to miss the previous collections committee meetings (which for her was a major bummer!) Happily, Sara has decided to continue her work at the JMM through volunteering and was thus able to attend this quarter's meeting. And we're certainly glad to have her very capable help!

A Day in the Life...

2010-10-14T16:25:00.006-04:00

...of Rachel Kassman, photo archivist, development coordinator, building manager and IT liaison at the JMM.

9:00am: I've been at work for 20 minutes already, checking email, paying my electricity bill and beginning to scan photographs for the Meals on Wheels people. I'm also formatting and uploading blog posts from my colleagues!

10:00am: And I'm still scanning photographs for the Meals on Wheels folks. Of course, I've also fielded a phone call from Lenny's next door, about the leaking roof (the museum owns the building), updated Jobi on the security company's findings re: the Lloyd Street Synagogue alarm system (looks like a panel needs to be replaced) and answered questions about a past Trustee donation (turns out a year had been entered incorrectly in our database).

11:00am: Finally finished scanning those photos (I think!), but still need to double check the order form, burn the cd, package and mail it off! You wouldn't think scanning 18 photos would take so long, but with all the other little things that pop up, even small jobs sometimes take forever. Now I need to read a lease (*shudder* nothing like legalese to put you in a good mood)!

The roof in question.

12:00pm: Met with Karen and Jennifer to discuss a small companion exhibition to Chosen Food, focusing on Maryland-based Jewish food businesses. This meeting, of course, expanded to include discussion of the next issue of Generations, the possibility of a "theme year" for the Museum and how to bring collections and programming closer together!

Looking very serious and professional in the library!

1:00pm: Lunch! Then I got those scans mailed out (thank goodness). Then I had to run home to clean my kitchen and show my house! (I'm currently in the oh-so-fun process of finding another roommate).

2:00pm: Showing my house! Fingers crossed everyone.

3:00pm: Back at work! Got some bad news about our proposed exhibition website design. Not sure what's going to happen yet...might be back to the drawing board. Again.

4:00pm: I'm not really sure where the last hour went. I made myself some hot chocolate, poked around in the collections database for a photo of Sadie and Emil Crockin and touched base with a few people around the office. Huh. 4 o'clock already!

5:00pm: Can't stay late today, I've got two more people coming to see the house! But I've spent part of the last hour putting together this blog post! Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the glamorous life of me!

Rock On with Two Famous Baltimore Jews!

2010-10-13T16:52:00.003-04:00

A blog post by historian and genealogist Deb Weiner.

So I’m going to cheat and use my latest “tweet” as the subject of my blog post (you are following our twitter account, aren't you?). Why think up two different topics for e-communicating when you can just do one. Besides, Jobi thinks it’s a great idea and she is under 40. (I’m pretty sure.)

Here it is: the Trivia Quiz. The first person to submit the correct answer will not win a prize but you will have a sense of satisfaction all the same.

Name two Baltimore Jews who are in the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. That’s it!

Here’s a hint, it’s not:

Not Jewish!

and it’s not:

Not from Baltimore... also, not Jewish.

Nor is it:

Jewish, from Baltimore... not a rocker.

And finally it’s not

Not Jewish, but he did spend much of his childhood in Arbutus!

Here are two more helpful hints:

1. Not everyone in the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame is a performer.
2. Some Jewish people have been known to change their names...

Let’s hear it! More hints on the way if no one gets them both.

The Beginning of a New Year

2010-10-12T16:48:00.001-04:00

Ilene Dackman-Alon is the Program Director

Over the past month, the work week has been so sketchy with short work weeks due to the fall Jewish holidays. When I arrived at work last week, I had a feeling similar to when I was young during the first week of school. The first week of school was always so exciting filled with new friends, new opportunities and new beginnings. I guess I am feeling this way as I am excited about the JMM’s upcoming program calendar filled with something for everyone both young and old.

This Friday, 8 October, we will begin this season’s Tot Shabbat programs. Tot Shabbat programs are geared for downtown families with very young children. Young children, along with their parents, caregivers and grandparents were actively engaged in songs, stories and a challah snack all in connection with the Sabbath. This program is co-sponsored by the JMM and the JCC’s Beyond the Borders", a program which is funded by The Jacob & Hilda Blaustein Fund for the Enrichment of Jewish Education.

Later in October, the Druid Hill Park will be celebrating its 150^th year and the JMM will be sponsoring bus trips to the park - Druid Hill Park- Nostalgia and Beyond. Barry Kessler, former JMM curator will give a behind the scenes tour of Druid Hill Park as it is and as it was. Barry will speak about how the park served the Jewish community from the 1920’s until 1960 and what those memories means to the Jewish collective conscience; as well as talk about the new efforts to bring the park back to its former glory.

In connection wit the JMM’s newest exhibition, A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People, the JMM is proud to present programming that highlight interfaith dialog and study. This year’s Sadie B. Feldman Family Lecture will feature Father John Pawlikowski, professor of ethics and the director of the Catholic-Jewish Studies program at the Catholic Theological Union. Fr. Pawlikowski will deliver a lecture in commemoration of the 45^th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the historic declaration on the relationship of the Catholic Church to non-Christian religions.

I am also eager and anxious to continue with weekly my visits to Patterson High School, a large Baltimore City Public School and continue to work on the JMM’s latest educational initiative, Student Immigration Stories. The SIS program is just one of the Museum’s many education programs and this one fulfills our mission – to teach about Baltimore’s history as a haven for immigrants and refugees in the past and present. The JMM has developed a wonderful relationship with this school and we are working specifically with Ms. Sally Franklin’s ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) class and Jennifer Zunikoff, a professional storyteller in the area. This particular initiative looks at contemporary immigration to Baltimore.

The students participating in the project are learning how to craft their personal immigration stories with the help of the storyteller. The power of the first-person narrative makes this program a compelling educational experience. With the help of facilitated questions, and the use of visualization and guided imagery, these techniques help the students formulate their personal stories as well as provide opportunities for the students to learn from their classmates.

The goal of the Student Immigration Stories program is to address the needs in schools whose student populations are rapidly diversifying due to an influx of immigrants from different countries. Many school administrators describe a general atmosphere of unease at schools where there is a large immigrant population and where the student body at large demonstrates a lack of tolerance or willingness to accept students from foreign countries. It is the hope this program will serve as a forum for students to gain understanding and acceptance of their fellow students.

The weekly visits are very powerful and it is a humbling experience to listen to the students describe their lives in their native countries. During our last session, Jennifer (the storyteller), asked the students these questions. “If you could bring one thing from your native country to Baltimore- what would it be? And if you could bring one thing from Baltimore back home to your native country what would it be? The students’ answers were amazing. Some of the students from Nepal said that they wanted to bring the lushness of the jungle and the majestic Mt. Everest to Baltimore. Some of the students from Central America said that they would bring our law enforcement system, Patterson High School along with their beloved teacher, Ms. Franklin back to their native countries of El Salvador, Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

The power of the first-person narrative makes this an especially compelling educational experience. I listen to these students in the class and I am blown away by the courage and strength of the students to share their intimate stories. Their stories allow me to be transported to different countries and places all over the world. Their personal stories allow me to find connections and a common ground with each of the students. It is the hope that the students in the schools will also find common ground and connections with these students who share their stories of immigration.

It’s going to be an exciting programming season at the JMM- LET THE PROGRAMS BEGIN!

Why We Volunteer

2010-10-11T13:08:00.007-04:00

Ilene Cohen is our Volunteer Coordinator.

People volunteer for many reasons. As the Volunteer Coordinator at the Jewish Museum of Maryland it is my job to understand why, and to keep them motivated to do so.

In response to this question on our volunteer application, some of the most popular replies are “to give back to the Jewish community,” “to interact with others and develop friendships,” and “to make a difference.”

Some of the volunteers who truly make a difference, in the lives of our visitors, are our

docents. The docents are those who act as guides in our two historic synagogues and exhibit galleries.

Sometimes when leading an “Introduction to Judaism” tour to public school youngsters they might initially field questions like, “do all Jews have blue eyes?” By the end each tour they have built such a rapport with the students and are sorry to see them leave.

A number of groups send letters following their tours and I’d like to share some that we have received.

A youth fellowship group visiting from Israel noted: Our visit to the Jewish Museum of Maryland was very interesting, and the tour was a great way to start off our trip…the history of the Jewish community in Baltimore is instrumental in understanding the history of the Jewish community of the United States.

A third grader at the Talmudical Academy wrote: I appreciate your being such a good guide on our trip. He listed all of the things he liked that he saw, and finished with… I liked the part when you knew my father!

Another young visitor explained: My favorite part was when I got to learn about the Jewish hat (yarmulke), and the Bible (Torah scrolls), and the church (synagogue)…

Some include pictures on their notes, one such also said: …thank you for giving us an educational tour of the synagogue…I noticed that the Torah is very important to you…

Our very favorites are the ones that include: p.s. I can’t wait to come back!

MS 185 Center for Jewish Education Clippings Scrapbooks

2010-10-07T13:30:00.006-04:00

Below is an excerpt from one of our most recent finding aids. The following collection documents, through newspaper articles, the story of Jewish Education in Baltimore during the middle years of the 20th century.

Graduates of Baltimore Talmud Torah, October 1938. JMM 2000.29.6

Center for Jewish Education Clippings Scrapbooks
1933-1972

MS 185

The Center for Jewish Education Scrapbook collection was donated to the Jewish Museum of Maryland in 2009 as accession 2009.048 by the Center for Jewish Education. The collection was processed by Jennifer Vess with the help of Rebecca Levitan and Dawn Shepherd in 2010.

Access to the collection is restricted. Copies of the materials have been made and are available for researchers; however, due to their fragile condition the originals are restricted for preservation purposes. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the Jewish Museum of Maryland before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library’s usual procedures.

Hymen Saye teaching at the Baltimore Talmud Torah, 1928. JMM 1991.7.12

HISTORICAL NOTE
The Board of Jewish Education was organized in 1921 as a central agency to coordinate the financial and educational administration of five Talmud Torahs. As Jewish educational needs changed and adapted, the Board changed with it. During the 1930s and 1940s Hebrew and Sunday Schools increased while Talmud Torahs declined. Because of this the Board of Jewish Education eventually had more of the former than the latter under affiliation. The number of affiliated schools varied over the years. The Board also began to involve more community service activities. The Board of Jewish Education is now known as the Center for Jewish Education.

Seder at the Southwest Talmud Torah, 1944. JMM 1991.36.8

SCOPE AND CONTENT
The Center for Jewish Education Scrapbook collection is comprised of nineteen scrapbooks of newspaper clippings pertaining to the activities of the Board of Jewish Education (later the Center for Jewish Education) and Baltimore Hebrew schools, Sunday schools, Talmud Torahs, and adult education programs. The clippings detail the activities of affiliated and unaffiliated schools, show advertisements for schools, list some course offerings, and report on activities in the community in which the Board or members of the Board took part. The collection also includes one scrapbook of materials related to the Parent Teacher Association. The collection is divided into five series: Series I. Board of Jewish Education School Clippings Scrapbooks, 1933-1972; Series II. Adult Education Scrapbooks, 1950-1956; Series III. Unaffiliated Schools Scrapbooks, 1952-1956; Series IV. PTA, 1951-1954 and Series V. Preservation Photocopies.

Page from the 1951, 1952 Hebrew Schools scrapbook

Welcome! Welcome!

2010-10-06T14:29:00.006-04:00

This is my third day working as the Outreach Coordinator at the JMM so it’s about time that I introduce myself to the public via the blog. As my title implies, I will be getting to know the friends (and soon to be friends) of the JMM very well. With all of the great blog posts before me though, this is an intimidating place to start. So here I go…

Rachael is already hard at work!

My name is Rachael Binning and I’m the newest staff member at the JMM. I originally hail from Huntington Beach, CA, but now live on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. You may be wondering why I decided to relocate from sunny California to the East Coast. Well, the reason is because I was very determined to work at a highly regarded cultural institution like the Jewish Museum of Maryland. After gradating from college with a degree in History and Jewish Studies I worked at the Jewish Federation in Boston. A year later I moved about an hour south to Providence, RI where I received my MA degree in Public Humanities at Brown University. The program is designed to train students to be liaisons between higher education and the public. Now, it is essentially my goal to make the public as enthusiastic about the JMM and its mission as I am. I’m looking forward to bringing more people into the museum and expanding the museums reach outside of its physical walls.

I moved to DC, with my dog “Wednesday” in tow, about a month ago and am really enjoying my new neighborhood and my new life. When people are shocked to learn that I drive from DC to Baltimore for work my response is always “Hey, I’m a Californian. I can handle the commute.” In the end the drive is worth it because every day I get to look forward to learning more about the JMM and the community it serves.

Once Upon a Time...

2010-10-05T13:43:00.003-04:00

Once Upon a Time 7.9.10

Date run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 7/9/10

PastPerfect Accession #: 2008.043.016A

Status: Unidentified. Unidentified group of Zulver family members posing in a car

The 1845 Mikveh

2010-10-04T15:32:00.014-04:00

About ten years ago the JMM called in archaeologists to investigate beneath the Lloyd Street Synagogue. Much to everyone’s surprise they uncovered the original mikveh complex used by the fledgling Baltimore Hebrew Congregation from 1845 until 1860. The excavation revealed one wall of the mivkeh house, the brick hearth used to heat water, and a corner of the actual mikveh itself.

Brick hearth and corner of 1845 mikveh, taken in 2002

Since then visitors have been able to peak over a railing into the open excavation and see all of these elements. Recently, however, we have been dealing with the effects of flooding in the lower level of the synagogue, which has changed the shape of the excavation. (See The Importance of Disaster Preparedness for the full story!)

Brick Hearth and Mikveh complex excavation, taken 2010

Today several of the JMM staff met with Maryland Historical Trust representatives as well as architectural and archaeology professionals to talk about the mikveh excavation, its preservation and its interpretation. The question we’ve all been discussing is how to maintain the excavation, preserve the historic features and allow visitors to see rather than just hear about or read about this important discovery.

The JMM had thought about installing a glass floor to allow greater access to the mikveh room and a view of the excavation. But with a glass floor we would still have to deal with the effects of the natural flow of underground water – the occasional flooding and erosion of the excavation.

During today’s meeting we discussed alternatives to the glass floor. Our current plan is to clean the excavation and document the site (with drawings and photographs) then dig further into the area where the mikveh corner was found to learn more about that feature. After the new investigations have been completed we would like to fill in the excavation to protect it from further erosion. With the excavation covered, we plan to reproduce it with enlarged photographs placed on the floor in their exact locations.

Our plans depend on a lot of variables, and everyone knows that plans can change, so keep reading the blog to follow our progress!

After the Interns

2010-09-30T11:37:00.000-04:00

A blog post by archivist and curatorial assistant Jennifer Vess.

This summer we had, I think, the most archives interns we’ve ever had at one time. Three (Kristin, Brittney, and Melina) and all of them dedicated to processing the Baltimore Hebrew University archives. They’re all gone now, back to their normal lives, but the work her at the JMM does not stop.

Processing the Baltimore Hebrew University Archives is a long-term project. It is the largest single collection in the JMM archives. But we have made a lot of progress.

About fourteen months ago the collections staff and interns were arranging boxes and weeding materials at campus of Baltimore Hebrew University.

Jobi and Kim weeding on-site at BHU.

Rachel and Jobi in the moving van.

Since then, with the help of volunteers and our three BHU interns we have completed over a third of the BHU archives processing. 68 boxes of materials have been rehoused, organized, and added to a growing finding aid.

Kristen’s tidy workspace

Melina hard at work on the “Office Files”

After the summer interns left it seemed like a good time to take stock of the collection and make an tweaks necessary to the processing plan. The first step was the Great Box Shift. A year pulling boxes and organizing files left holes in our shelves.

Before the Great Box Shift

So Melina (the last remaining intern) and I closed all of the gaps and consolidated all of the yet to be processed boxes, and all of the all ready processed boxes.

This is what happens when you’re the last intern – you have to move boxes. Thanks Melina!

After the Great Box Shift

After that I concentrated on the 68 boxes of processed materials. Each of the intern focused on their own small portion of the larger BHU collection. They learned a lot about their own project, about the information and people involved in those thousands of pieces of paper. But I need to connect those individual projects together into a single manuscript collection. Which led to more box shifting as I physically and intellectually began piecing together the whole.

Neatly processed and organized BHU archives.

I also made some new connections with the unprocessed materials. As Melina, Brittney, and Kristin learned more about their own collections we were able to see connections that we hadn’t before. Each of them encountered boxes in the financial, office, and people files related specifically to the Freedman files. This meant moving and re-labeling.

Re-labeled box.

With a better sense of what has been done and what needs to be done, we can keep moving forward.

Smalltimore!

2010-09-29T11:07:00.006-04:00

A blog post by Senior Collections Manager Jobi Zink.

In late July I received a phone call from a man named Jay Schloven who was interested in donating the steamer trunk that his mother brought over from Germany in 1937. I explained to him that we already had several trunks in our collection, but we would certainly be interested in collecting the contents of the trunk, photographs, documents and/or stories about his mother’s experience as a refugee. Jay said his sister had the types of materials I was looking for.

Trunks and suitcases from our collections are frequently used in our exhibitions.
Lives Lost, Lives Found (top), We Call This Place Home

A month later Jay’s sister Karen Manzone came in to donate the leather purse that her mother, Lieselotte (Lisa) Sommer, carried to America from Germany in April 1937, along with photographs, official documents, and letters.

Purse carried by Lieselotte Sommer from Germany to America in 1937.

While Karen was presenting the materials to me, I skimmed the interviews of Lisa Sommer written by her granddaughter, Melissa Manzone and great-neice, Lauren Cissell in 2001.

Lauren’s paper begins, “The name of the person I interviewed is Lisa Ielotte Sommer. Lisa is my grandmother’s first cousin by marriage…. She had five brothers and sisters. Their names were Lola, Arthur, Berthold, Werner and Hilda.”

Family photo

Further into her paper Lauren describes, Lisa became a seamstress. While in Germany, the nuns taught her how to sew. Once in America, she began work in the alterations room of a fancy dress shop on Charles Street called “Maison Annette.”

Maison Annette hatbox, 1987.126.22

Her sister Hilda became a beautician. Her brother Werner became a pharmacist. Her brother, Bert, worked for a company called “Triangle Sign” for his entire life.

“Oh, that’s interesting,” I told Karen. “Your grandmother’s brother worked for Triangle Sign.” And then I flipped back to the front of the document and the name Lisa Sommer sunk in.

Sign created by the Triangle Sign Company, 1998.16.70

“Wait! Your great-uncle is Bert Sommer?!” I asked.
“Yes,” Karen confirmed.
“Bert & Ruthie Sommer?” I double checked my facts.
"How do you know Bert and Ruthie? "

So, I explained how
A few years ago a woman named Ruthie Sommer made arrangements to donate Miriam Lodge materials to the museum. At the end of the conversation she asked if I was related to Irv and Becky Zink. Slightly surprised by the connection I said that they were my husband’s grandparents (or more likely I called them my grandparents-in-law). Ruthie said that her husband Bert used to work at Triangle Sign with Irv and they had been good friends.

Sign created by the Triangle Sign Company, 1998.16.82

Triangle Signs made many signs for the shopping centers and businesses in Baltimore.

I remember stopping in to visit Grandpop at the nursing home and telling him that I had regards for him from some old friends. When I said Ruth & Bert Sommer his face lit up and he regaled me with stories of his days at Triangle Sign where he made signs, Bert was one of the managers, and Mr. Hecht was the owner. There was a lot of pride in the company and the work that they did.

Design sketch (above) & letter (below) of approval
for work to be completed by the Triangle Sign Co.

Ruthie and Irv remember that the Sommers, who were Jewish, were invited to spend Christmas with the Zinks for many years.

Triangle Sign always took out an advertisement in the newspaper to thank their clients. Perhaps the Sommers and Zinks saw these ads as they enjoyed Christmas dinner together.

Thank yous published by the Triangle Sign Company, 1998.16.97

Karen and I were amazed at the connection (albeit distant) between our families. They don’t call it SMALLtimore for nothing!

At their next meeting the Collections Committee will determine if the Lisa Sommer collection will be accepted. More photographs of signs by the Triangle Sign Co. can be found in our database using the keywords “Triangle Sign.”

Once Upon a Time...

2010-09-28T08:05:00.004-04:00

Once Upon a Time 7.2.10

Date run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 7/2/10

PastPerfect Accession #: 2007.055.010.006
(this photo was mistakenly run under the number 2007.055.006)

Status: Unidentified. Brandeis University National Women's Committee. Date unknown. Written on back: "Officers Balto. Chapter, Brandeis Women." Front center is Harriet (Levin) Terrill.

Special thanks to: Besty Wright

Ooh, what do YOU have today?

2010-09-27T14:16:00.006-04:00

Eating Lunch at the JMM

A blog post by Anita Kassof, associate director

If you’ve tooled around our website lately or read our blog, you probably know that we’re gearing up for a major exhibition called Chosen Food, opening in September 2011. Among other things, the exhibition will use the rich material culture of foodways to demonstrate how American Jews use food as an essential mode of cultural communication.

Wait, what?

For those of you not familiar with museum-speak, that last sentence is a fancy way of saying, “You are what you eat.” What we eat—and the way we eat it and with whom—reveals a lot about us. With that in mind, I thought I’d engage in a little clandestine observation of my JMM colleagues at the lunch table. I figured the lunchroom would be fertile ground for discovering whether what we eat and how we talk about food really does say something about us as individuals and as a staff.

Where the magic happens...and by magic, I mean: lunch.

The work fridge.

So what do we pack in our lunch bags? Rachel usually has something fabulous that she’s cooked up with an odd assortment of kale and mushrooms and Swiss chard from her CSA. Jobi often brings leftovers from some funky eatery in Butcher’s Hill. And then there’s Elena, Queen of Pie. It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that we hired Elena because pie—in all its luscious varieties—was the main topic of conversation at her interview. Karen’s a mixed bag. Either she’ll pull out a container of some homemade kosher delicacy that often involves a soy-based ersatz-meat product, or she’ll microwave up a paper container of noodle soup. As the curator of Chosen Food, Karen should probably know better than to eat reconstituted freeze-dried noodle products but, given her commute, who can blame her?

Rachel takes full advantage of tomato season - BLT and fried green tomatoes!

Jobi munches on some excellent chicken and black bean soft tacos.

Elena rocks her pasta-and-veg.

Karen and her kosher fare - looking pretty tasty!

How we pack our lunches and how we eat them also makes for some amusing observations. Take Barry, for example. He eats a wide variety of heart-healthy food, most of it lovingly packed by his wife, Sandee, into . . . plastic baggies? Okay, I’m not above sticking some baby carrots into a Ziploc, but stew in a bag? No lunch with Barry is complete if I haven’t ribbed him about his next birthday present: an economy size set of Tupperware.

Barry and his unconventional lunch packaging...is that...pasta salad?

Esther doesn’t sit down at the table. Standing at the counter, she’s apt to be picking at a salad or cottage cheese (no calories when you’re standing up, after all), and moaning about how she can barely zip her slacks anymore. I think this must be a Jewish Mother thing, because Esther is slim and beautiful and looks about twenty years younger than she should. Maybe it’s just that she’s more comfortable feeding others than feeding herself, and if you’ve ever been the beneficiary of her homemade chocolate cake, you can thank your lucky stars for that.

Sue packs lunch for herself and her mother, who comes to work with her every day, and then they sit down together and eat off of real plates with real cutlery. It’s usually something hot, and often includes cookies or something sweet for dessert. We enjoy Mrs. Miller’s company, I think she enjoys ours, and her presence at the staff lunch table reminds us that, among other things, food is about family.

Then there’s Avi, the man who doesn’t plan ahead. On those occasions when he does stop into the lunchroom to talk—and talk—he’s invariably foodless and looks longingly at others’ plates until they share, or he gives up and makes himself a meal out of whatever leftovers he can scrounge in the refrigerator (usually there are lots of those, happy by-product of meetings and public programs).

Avi's in luck today - plenty of sweet goodies to sink his teeth into!

What do we talk about at the table (besides food, that is)? Anything from current movies to kids is fair game. The only topic that we try to stay away from is the conflict in the Middle East, because too many strong opinions can cause indigestion. But everything else goes. Today over lunch, Deb (leftover salad, berry-flavored applesauce), told me that she’d recently seen Food, Inc., the movie about agribusiness and all the horrible things it’s doing to the ecosystem, the small farmer, and our bodies, thereby serving me up a good dose of Jewish guilt with my turkey avocado wrap.

Deb, "lecturing" Anita about agribusiness.

Both the tenor of our conversation and the contents of our lunch sacks vary depending on the day and the season. When our volunteers (mostly retirees) join us at the lunch table, you see a lot more wax paper wrapped sandwiches and cans of V-8, and the conversation tends toward the nostalgic. In the summer, when the building is bursting at the seams with interns (the millennial generation), lunchtime conversation can be raucous. And the quantity of odd ethnic eats rises in direct proportion to the number of interns on the staff. I don’t think most 20-somethings would know what to make of baloney on white.

So, what can we conclude from all this?

For starters, this isn’t a Fortune 500 company. We bring our lunches because, frankly, on a museum salary, who can afford to go out for lunch? Our kitchen isn’t kosher. We’re a diverse group, and even those Jews among us vary widely in our food habits, from no-pork-but-anything-else-goes, to kosher-at-home-but-bring-on-that-bacon-cheeseburger-in-a-restaurant, to vegetarian, to glat kosher. Also, there are a lot of mighty good and inventive cooks among us. I repeat: Esther’s Chocolate Cake.

The lunch aftermath - but look at all those reusable containers!

Most important, though, we eat together. Breaking bread together punctuates our day and sustains us through our battles with uncooperative spreadsheets, building maintenance emergencies, and looming deadlines. Over lunch, we learn something about one another’s non-work selves by talking about our families, recounting our weekend adventures, or swapping recipes. We seem to talk an awful lot about what we eat and don’t eat (don’t even get Jobi started on mayonnaise). Over our noontime meal, we schmooze, we kibbitz, we debate. We nourish ourselves as individuals and as a group. After all, isn’t that what food is all about?

You know, I bet we could do an exhibition about this . . . .

The author, with the remains of her own lunch.

MS 2 The Jacob H. Hollander Papers

2010-09-23T10:00:00.001-04:00

After having seen an excerpt from one of our most recent manuscript collections I thought is was appropriate to look back at one of our earliest manuscript collections – MS 2: The Jacob H. Holland (1871-1940) Papers.

Aside from the manuscript collection the JMM also has this book written by Jacob Hollander -- a Baltimore City Guide Book complete with Map. 1994.150.007

Jacob H. Hollander (1871-1940)
Papers, n.d., 1900-1935

MS 2

ACCESS AND PROVENANCE

The Jacob H. Hollander Papers were donated by Rosamund Hutzler (Mrs. Siegfried Weisberger), Bertha Hollander, and David Hollander in May 1966 as accession 1966.6. Anne Turkos processed this collection in September 1982. Erin Titter updated and edited the finding aid and revised the box list in July 2004.

Access to the collection is unrestricted and is available to researchers at the Jewish Museum of Maryland. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the Jewish Museum of Maryland before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Jacob Harry Hollander was born in Baltimore on July 23, 1871 to Meyer and Rosa (Meyer) Hollander. He attended local public and private schools, except for one year spent at the Pennsylvania Military Academy. He received an A.B. from Johns Hopkins University in 1891 and a Ph.D. in 1894. In 1904 he became a full professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins and assumed the Abram G. Hutzler Chair in 1925. On January 22, 1906 he married Theresa Gutman Hutzler of Baltimore and they had three children, Rosamund (Mrs. Siegfried Weisberger), David, and Bertha Hutzler Hollander.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Hollander was also active in government service beginning with an 1897 appointment by President McKinley as the secretary of the American Bimetallic Commission. In 1900 he was the chairman of Baltimore’s Municipal Lighting Commission. The same year he served as financial advisor to Puerto Rico and was appointed treasurer of Puerto Rico in 1901 where he revised the tax laws and implemented a new revenue system referred to as “Hollander’s Law.” In 1904 he became a special agent of the Department of the Interior in Indian Territory, where he aided fiscal transition and investigated special needs. From 1905-1910 he was dispatched by President Theodore Roosevelt to the Dominican Republic to serve as an advisor to their financial reorganization and to investigate the public debt of San Domingo. During this same five-year period, he also chaired the Mayor’s Committee on Taxation and Revenue in Baltimore. Hollander also served as umpire for the Maryland and Upper Potomac coalfields for the Federal Fuel Administration from, 1918-1920, and he served as chairman of the Maryland State Tax Survey Commission, 1931-1932.

Jacob Hollander was active in several local and national organizations including the American Economic Association, the American Liberty League, the Baltimore Reform League, the Executive Committee of the Charity Organization Society of Baltimore, the Jewish Publication Society of America, the American Jewish Historical Society, and the United Hebrew Charities. He enjoyed writing about various government, economic, and religious topics.

Jacob Harry Hollander died on July 9, 1940 in Baltimore. He is buried in Har Sinai Cemetery.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The Jacob H. Hollander (1871-1940) Papers, n.d., 1900-1935, consist primarily of personal and professional correspondence, telegrams, invitations, speeches, and newspaper clippings. The correspondence, which comprises the bulk of this collection, includes both incoming letters and carbon copies of outgoing letters. The papers in this collection pertain to Hollander's work with Jewish philanthropic and literary agencies including the Federated Jewish Charities, the Baron de Hirsch Fund, the City-Wide Congress, the Joseph Fels Fund, the National Farm School, and the National Conference of Jewish Social Services. Correspondents include Cyrus Adler, Harry Friedenwald, Herbert Friedenwald, Max J. Kohler, Morris S. Lazaron, Julius Levy, Isidore Rayner, Samuel Oppenheimer, David Philipson, Jacob H. Schiff, and Paul M. Warburg.

Related Collections:

MS 59 Hollander (Jacob Harry) 1871-1940 Papers (1895-1940) at The Milton S. Eisenhower Library, Special Collections, Johns Hopkins University

Volunteerings at the JMM!

2010-09-22T11:37:00.007-04:00

Photo courtesy of the Baltimore Sun.

A blog post by Ilene Cohen, volunteer coordinator.

As the volunteer coordinator at the Jewish Museum of Maryland I am constantly recruiting. The classic stereotype of a volunteer is someone who has lots of time to spare and is looking for something to do. While this describes good portion of our volunteers, we take pride in providing an environment in which people of all ages and stations in life can make friends, meet others who share their interests, learn new skills, and share their skills with others.

Our current volunteer opportunities include:

Front Desk Reception
The front desk reception volunteers provide an invaluable service to the Museum by maintaining a warm and welcome atmosphere for Museum guests. They serve as the Museum’s customer service representatives while orienting visitors to the Museum complex. They provide information about all services that the Museum offers. Some tasks include processing admission fees for groups and individuals, answering the telephone, and maintaining an accurate daily count of visitors.

Museum Docents
Museum docents possess an interest in history and enjoy sharing their knowledge with others. They perform an essential duty by leading tours and by interpreting the history of the Museum’s two historic synagogues and exhibitions for adults, families, and school groups of all ages. A series of training sessions is offered to those interested in joining our docent corps.

Museum Gift Shop

Gift shop volunteers assist guests with purchases, process cash and credit card payments, arrange merchandise on shelves and in windows, and assist the shop manager with ordering merchandise and conducting store inventory.

Special Events
Throughout the year, the Museum holds many programs and special events including exhibition openings, family holiday programs, lectures, film series, and theatrical and musical performances. Special event volunteers provide much needed assistance with these events by greeting visitors, processing admission fees, maintaining an accurate count of visitors, helping with refreshments, selling memberships, and facilitating art projects.

Archives
Volunteering in the Library and Archives offers a variety of learning experiences. The majority of the work takes place in a library setting, but a few projects may be completed at home. Positions range from office-type work, to collections processing, to digital imaging. Typing and computer skills are preferred, but not always required. A number of the projects may be conducive to working with a partner. This volunteer opportunity provides a chance to learn more about Maryland’s Jewish history. All new volunteers will be given an orientation to the care and handling of archival objects.

Collections
Volunteers in the collections department work on a variety of projects. These include creating artifact inventories for special projects, organizing collection records, sorting incoming artifacts, helping to store and pack artifacts, and preparing objects in the collection for exhibition. Temporary assignments are available. Experience in the handling of fragile items is desired.

Photo Collections
Working with the museum photographic collections can include numbering and re-housing photographs as well as typing photo descriptions and scanning photographs. Volunteers will be trained on the proper handling of photographs as well as the correct procedures for updating catalogue records and digitizing images for preservation. Projects tend to be ongoing and can support a variety of time commitments – a few hours every week to sporadic all-day visits, working with the photograph collection is a very flexible volunteer position. Willingness to use a computer and learn basic digital imaging skills is a must.

Our volunteers are given the opportunity to help the community, increase their self-esteem, make new friends, try out a job, polish their resumes, develop new skills and enjoy something they love. Please contact us (icohen@jewishmuseummd.org) if you would like to join in!

Rosh Hashanah at the Okin House!

2010-09-22T11:11:00.004-04:00

Rosh Hashana at my house is always a family affair; everyone has their specific tasks and knows just how to do it. (Even our guests have specific assignments: Audrey makes the kugel, Jimmy carves the turkey, Leslie makes sure that there is challah with and without raisins) My mom started the soup, brisket and desserts in advance, but it’s always a race against the clock to see if we will be done on time for the guests!

Hop over to our "Chosen Food" blog to read the rest of the run-down for the Jewish New Year celebration of our Senior Collections Manager Jobi (Okin) Zink!

Once Upon a Time...

2010-09-21T10:53:00.002-04:00

Once Upon a Time 6.18.10

The Baltimore Jewish Times publishes unidentified photographs from the collection of Jewish Museum of Maryland each week. Click here to see the most recent photo on their website. If you can identify anyone in these photos and more information about them, contact Jobi Zink, Senior Collections Manager and Registrar at 410.732.6400 x226 or jzink@jewishmuseummd.org.

Date run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 6/18/10

PastPerfect Accession #: 2007.53.10

Status: Partial identified . Group of teenagers on a boat to Tolchester, 1914-1915. Seated front L-R: Anna Stein Simon, unidentified, possibly Marshall Plaut, possibly Judy Kohn, possibly Frannie Friedman. All others unidentified.

Special thanks to: Allan Bernstein

A Trip Down Memory Lane

2010-09-16T16:27:00.008-04:00

A blog post by Deborah Cardin, our Education Director.

Planning for our upcoming 50^th Anniversary Birthday Bash (Sunday, Sept. 19, 12:00-4:00 pm) has brought with it a flood of memories. While I’m sure that when asked to recall favorite JMM memories, many of my co-workers will share recollections of crowd pleasing exhibitions, public programs, exhibition openings, or publications – what reverberates strongest for me are the wild and wacky art projects concocted by the JMM education and program department to tie in with holiday programs, exhibitions, and field trips.

When seeking ideas for art activities to have at our birthday party, we decided to revive some of our past greatest hits (all from the past decade). The education and program department office (known fondly as the west wing because of its locale) is overstuffed with random art supplies and props (visitors have been known to trip over hoola hoops

and express bewilderment at the vast array of wigs and headgear) and this seemed like a wonderful way of both celebrating our Museum’s past achievements and clearing out some of the less useful supplies (oversized coffee filters, anyone!)

But which art activities to include in our birthday bash?! We started our search by reviewing a list of past exhibitions (thanks to Jobi for keeping such great records) and then hunting through our office to see what supplies we had on hand. The first item to surface was a stack of Tchotchke bingo cards from an original JMM exhibition (March 2000-April 2010)

Next up, spools of gimp from Cabin Fever! Jewish Camping and Jewish Commitment (March 2006-August 2007), perfect for making everyone’s favorite camp project lanyards

Digging through art supply cabinets revealed paper doll templates that were decorated with original fashions designed by children in conjunction with Enterprising Emporiums: The Jewish Department Stores of Downtown Baltimore (October 2001-February 2003).

A trip downstairs to our storage hallway unearthed more treasures. While I decided to ignore the box of blank nesting dolls (put to use at a 2002 Christmas Day program celebrating the Baltimore Jewish Community’s partnership with Odessa, Ukraine) [insert nesting doll photo], I had a eureka moment when I found a box containing cardboard templates meticulously cut out to mirror shoe footprints that were later transformed by visitors – with the help of pipe cleaners and felt – into slippers and thongs. This was one of my all time favorite projects that was part of our “shuk” [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuk] that we installed in the JMM lobby to recreate the ambiance of the ancient Near East as we opened the exhibition From Tent to Temple: Life in the Ancient Near East.

And now back to the giant coffee filters, just the thing to make fashionable floppy hats in conjunction with Hello Gorgeous! Fashion, Beauty, and the Jewish American Ideal (September 2005-May 2006).

While we made more dignified hats using cardboard, tissue paper, and pipe cleaners for Enterprising Emporiums, the tie-dyed wide brim hats were a huge crowd pleaser (although they did leave quite a mess on the floor of our lobby!) While kids could opt to make a more restrained top hat

the floppy hats were by far more popular.

In case you might have missed one of these noteworthy art projects, here’s your chance to make a complete set of JMM inspired knickknacks. Join us at our Birthday Bash on Sunday. I will be sure we have enough coffee filters for all!

Barry's Blog

2010-09-15T10:00:00.010-04:00

Go ahead, be bold, take a guess!
What is this image and what does it represent?

Contained within the Jewish Museum of Maryland collections (JMM gift 2000.110) is this unique 1845 Jewish marriage contract known as a ketubah. It is printed in Hebrew letters using the classic Aramaic language and form prescribed for such a legal document.

It is this type of document that a Jewish husband presents to his wife during their wedding ceremony and details the husband’s obligations in their marriage.

How Close was your Answer?

A careful examination of this image reveals that the document is a pre-printed form, produced in bulk, on inexpensive paper, to be used by the purchaser to fill in the appropriate blanks and spaces with the date, place and names of the participants in the wedding. The meticulous conservation and restoration techniques required to keep this document from further deterioration can be noted by examining where the frayed and torn edges of the original document meet the conservator’s skills.

Even though it is a formal legal document it draws our attention, probably because the text is printed and centered under and within what appears to be a stylized huppa, a Jewish wedding canopy supported by two Corinthian columns.

The acquisition of this 13.75” x 8.5” ketubah and its restoration was made possible through a generous gift of the children of Dr. Leonard and Betty Golombek in honor of their 50th wedding Anniversary and at the JMM we proudly refer to it as the Golombek Ketubah.

So you ask, “What’s the big Deal?” Why is this document’s
acquisition and preservation important to the JMM?

The image below presents a Hebrew-Aramaic transliteration of the Golombek Ketubah text. This rendition was kindly provided by Rabbi Gershon Grayman, and any errors or omissions are strictly those of this blogger. (Click the image for a larger view!)

Now that you have read the text in an English font possibly things are becoming clearer? Not yet!? Alright, maybe the full English translation of the Golombek Ketubah will provide the key to the importance of this piece of ephemera.

The key to the Golombek Ketubah’s importance lies in its opening paragraph. If you read it carefully the calendar date, written out in Hebrew style, 5605, corresponds to the American calendar date, noted in the parentheses, (Wednesday, July 16, 1845) “…here in the City of Baltimore in the land of America….”

This document possibly presents us with a record of the first marriage ever to occur in the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation’s Historic Lloyd Street Synagogue.

There is much more fascinating material contained within the JMM’s, Golombek Ketubah. I hope that you also like playing historical detective and will share any thoughts or insights you can glean from this document.

Please watch for Barry’s Blog in October 2010 when we will continue with our exploration of the JMM’s historic Golombek Ketubah.*

Wishing everyone a shana tova, Healthy and Happy, 5771.

Dr. Barry S. Lever
Special Project Consultant

Here are some additional ketubahs from our collection!
Click an image to see its catalog record:

* Dr. Lever, wishes to thank fellow researcher, Ephraim Harel, Rabbi Gershon Grayman and Dr. Moshe Shualy for their help during this fascinating and serendipitous journey of discovery to better understand the history of the Golombek Ketubah.

Once Upon a Time...

2010-09-14T09:06:00.002-04:00

Once Upon a Time 6.11.10

Date(s) run in Baltimore Jewish Times: 6/11/10

PastPerfect Accession #: 2007.016.006

Status: Unidentified . 104th basketball team. The photo also includes what appears to be the coach in a cardigan and a police officer.

Vote to Save the Hebrew Orphan Asylum – Do It Now!

2010-09-13T11:37:00.003-04:00

A blog post by Dr. Deb Weiner, Research Historian and Geneologist.

Have you heard about the campaign to save Baltimore’s Hebrew Orphan Asylum? You can help out by voting online in the National Trust’s This Place Matters contest. It just takes a few seconds and you can do it from Baltimore Heritage Inc.’s website. Do it now because voting ends on September 15. If we win, it will really boost efforts to save this historic landmark.

The H.O.A. today.

Built in 1875, the H.O.A. is the oldest remaining Jewish orphanage building in the U.S. In my opinion it’s the second most important Jewish historical site in Baltimore (the first being the JMM campus with our two historic synagogues). The building served as an orphanage until around 1920, when it was sold to the West Baltimore General Hospital.

Lauren at the H.O. A.

A couple weeks ago my sister Lauren and I took a little jaunt over to West Baltimore to see the orphanage for ourselves. It’s even more impressive in person than it is in pictures. Words like “commanding,” “majestic,” and “imposing” come to mind when you’re standing in front of it. I was trying to imagine what a little 5-year-old orphan might have felt, when being led into the building for the first time.

An imposing entrance.

We have records from the H.O.A. here at the museum, and the stories of the children who lived there make for fascinating reading. There was the boy who kept running away from the orphanage to go back to his mother (who was in a “piteous condition”), the girl who was placed there because of “cruelty” on the part of her father and stepmother, and—more commonly—the four brothers and sisters who all arrived on the same day, eight days after their father died, because their mother was too poor to care for them. Most of the children were actually “half-orphans” from large families, with one impoverished parent at home taking care of some of the children while others were sent to the orphanage. Almost all the parents were immigrants, first from Germany and later from Russia and Poland.

A comfy ledge for orphans to hang out.

So what’s up with the property, you might ask. A Lutheran hospital occupied it for many years before relocating in the 1980s. The property sat vacant for over a decade before Coppin State University acquired it in 2003. Coppin has been sinking some $8,000 per month into the building, just to make sure it doesn’t deteriorate further, and the sum needed to renovate it is daunting: an estimated $14 million. But Coppin is committed to developing the property—it would be a fantastic resource for the university and the neighborhood.

The back of the building.

Meanwhile, Baltimore Heritage, Inc., has started a campaign to call attention to the building’s plight. It would be great if the Jewish community supported this effort. After all, it’s our history that they’re trying to preserve.

Contemplating the fate of the H.O.A.

Highlights From Docent Training

2010-09-08T17:12:00.007-04:00

This blog post was written by JMM docent Robyn Hughes. Robyn has been volunteering with the museum since 2006 and recently attended a docent training for our new exhibition, A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People.

Last week I attended docent training for the Jewish Museum of Maryland's new fall exhibition, A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People. This traveling exhibit, which was curated by several faculty members from Xavier University, focuses on how Pope John Paul II (born Karol Wojtyla) was shaped by childhood friendships with Jews as well as his other interactions with members of the Jewish community in his hometown of Wadowice, Poland. These interactions served as a catalyst for his papal desire to actively promote positive interactions between Catholics and Jews.

Robyn listening to Dr. Buchanan

Upon entering the exhibition gallery, I felt as though I had been instantaneously transported back in time to 1920’s Wadowice. I saw vivid large photos of the buildings in Wadowice that played a central role in the Pope’s youth. These buildings included: the Pope’s boyhood Catholic church, his close childhood Jewish friend Jerzy Kluger’s synagogue, the schools that they attended together, both their junior high school and their gymnazyum (high school). As I stood in the center of this welcoming re-creation of this community, I became transfixed by the sounds of chiming church bells and the happy, bright sounds of popular Polish music from the 1920’s in the background, as I listened intently to the exhibition co-curator Dr. James Buchanan retell us stories of some of the interactions between the Pope and his Jewish childhood friends. I could easily imagine myself sitting in the Pope’s Catholic church where Dr. Buchanan told us that after Jerzy had learned that he had passed his entrance exam for admission into gymnazyum, he went into Karol’s church where Karol was attending mass, in order to tell him about his great news. While Jerzy was sitting in the church waiting for Karol, a woman told him that he did not belong there. Upon hearing about her comment, Karol replied to Jerzy, “Why? Aren’t we all God’s children?”

As we walked further through the exhibition, I saw a replica of a 1920’s soccer ball that Karol used when he chose to be the goalie for the community’s Jewish soccer team. This was an interesting decision as there was also a Catholic soccer team, but Dr. Buchanan explained that the Jewish one was the one that needed a goalie. As we began walking through time, Dr. Buchanan drew our attention to a picture of a by all accounts very attractive Jewish young woman who scholars believe Karol was in a relationship with while he was studying at Jagiellonian University in Krakow before he entered the priesthood. It was also during this time period, (the early 1940’s Nazi occupied Poland era) that Karol while he was still living in Krakow joined the Nazi resistance movement. It was in this part of the exhibition that we viewed artifacts from the death camps both film footage and objects such as a canister which had contained the deadly poison Zyklon B which was utilized to exterminate many of the inmates in those camps.

Dr. James Buchanan leading the docents through the exhibit

This exhibition has deepened my understanding of the formative events that occurred in the Pope’s life which would, according to Dr. Buchanan, inspire the Pope to become an activist for dialogue and understanding between the Catholic community and the Jewish community. Several examples of this dialogue according to Dr. Buchanan include: the Pope’s formal written proclamation which stated that Catholics and Jews shall be a blessing to one another, Pope John Paul II was the first Pope in history to make a formal visit to the State of Israel and he established formal relations between the Vatican and the State of Israel. The exhibition also highlights a uniquely diverse City, Wadowice, which to a great extent according to Dr. Buchanan’s research accepted Jews in a region where and in a time when Jews faced tremendous anti-Semitism.