Jewish American Heritage Month 2020

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  George Washington's Letter Facebook Post

  Like many minority religious communities at the dawn of the new nation, early Jewish Americans were concerned about their rights and freedoms – what kind of leader would they have? How would they be treated? To the joy of the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, President George Washington assured them that they would “behold a Government, which to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” Washington made precedent-setting statements about religious freedom in this historic letter, now considered the most important artifact in American Jewish history. “It is now no more that toleration is spoken of,” he assured Jews; their presence would not be merely tolerated, but religious liberty would be an inherent natural right of American citizens. Washington closed with his favorite Biblical verse: “while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid” (Micah 4:4). #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: Letter from George Washington to the Jewish community of Newport, Rhode Island, 1790. National Museum of American Jewish History, Courtesy of the Morris Morgenstern Foundation.

  Like many minority religious communities at the dawn of the new nation, early Jewish Americans were concerned about their rights and freedoms – what kind of leader would they have? How would they be treated? To the joy of the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, President George Washington assured them that they would “behold a Government, which to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance.”
  
  Washington made precedent-setting statements about religious freedom in this historic letter, now considered the most important artifact in American Jewish history. “It is now no more that toleration is spoken of,” he assured Jews; their presence would not be merely tolerated, but religious liberty would be an inherent natural right of American citizens. Washington closed with his favorite Biblical verse: “while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid” (Micah 4:4).
  
  #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
  
  Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
  
  Photo Credit: Letter from George Washington to the Jewish community of Newport, Rhode Island, 1790. National Museum of American Jewish History, Courtesy of the Morris Morgenstern Foundation.
  

  
  

  Specific Time / Duration

  May 1 - May 31

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  Levitsky Pocket Watch Facebook Post

  In 1885, Adolph Herbst (1831-1920) brought his wife, Hannah, and four children from Hungary to a Jewish farm colony in Kansas. He watched two years pass on his pocket watch before disastrous weather drove him to try again, this time resettling in New Jersey. There, the seeds of their labor bore fruit at last, and the resilient family's business took off. Among their commercial tomato clients? The Campbell’s Soup Company. #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: Pocket watch of Adolph Herbst, ca. 1880s. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2016.26.27. Gift of the Levitsky family.

  In 1885, Adolph Herbst (1831-1920) brought his wife, Hannah, and four children from Hungary to a Jewish farm colony in Kansas. He watched two years pass on his pocket watch before disastrous weather drove him to try again, this time resettling in New Jersey. There, the seeds of their labor bore fruit at last, and the resilient family's business took off. Among their commercial tomato clients? The Campbell’s Soup Company. #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
  
  Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
  
  Photo Credit: Pocket watch of Adolph Herbst, ca. 1880s. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2016.26.27. Gift of the Levitsky family.
  

  
  

  Specific Time / Duration

  May 1 - May 31

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  Lubin Glasses Facebook Post

  Young Joseph Gartenberg (1874-1899) emigrated from Vienna to Philadelphia to marry the woman he loved, Mary Fuchs, in 1895. The couple had two children in the four years they had together before he passed away. Son Harry inherited these eyeglasses, which his father purchased from another émigré, optician and future film pioneer Siegmund Lubin. #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: Joseph Gartenberg’s eyeglasses and case, manufactured by Siegmund Lubin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ca. 1890. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2017.10. Gift of Wilma Forman in memory of Joseph Gartenberg.

  Young Joseph Gartenberg (1874-1899) emigrated from Vienna to Philadelphia to marry the woman he loved, Mary Fuchs, in 1895. The couple had two children in the four years they had together before he passed away. Son Harry inherited these eyeglasses, which his father purchased from another émigré, optician and future film pioneer Siegmund Lubin.
  #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
  
  Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
  
  Photo Credit: Joseph Gartenberg’s eyeglasses and case, manufactured by Siegmund Lubin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ca. 1890. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2017.10. Gift of Wilma Forman in memory of Joseph Gartenberg.
  

  
  

  Specific Time / Duration

  May 1 - May 31

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  Romaniote Megillah Facebook Post

  The Book of Esther is read aloud from a megillah (scroll) during Purim. Esther Cantos received this scroll from Jessoula Levy when they married in Ioannina, Greece. Rabbi Levy was invited to minister to the spiritual needs of Greek-speaking Jews on New York’s Lower East Side, so in 1912 he and Esther packed up their growing family and relocated. His congregation Kehila Kedosha Janina is still going strong – and it’s the only Romaniote (or Yanniote) congregation in the Western hemisphere. #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: Megillah given to Esther Cantos by Jessoula Levy upon their marriage, Ioannina, Greece, ca. 1897. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2012.42.1. Gift of Daniel Weinberg in memory of Jessoula and Esther Lev.

  The Book of Esther is read aloud from a megillah (scroll) during Purim. Esther Cantos received this scroll from Jessoula Levy when they married in Ioannina, Greece. Rabbi Levy was invited to minister to the spiritual needs of Greek-speaking Jews on New York’s Lower East Side, so in 1912 he and Esther packed up their growing family and relocated. His congregation Kehila Kedosha Janina is still going strong – and it’s the only Romaniote (or Yanniote) congregation in the Western hemisphere. #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
  
  Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
  
  Photo Credit: Megillah given to Esther Cantos by Jessoula Levy upon their marriage, Ioannina, Greece, ca. 1897. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2012.42.1. Gift of Daniel Weinberg in memory of Jessoula and Esther Lev.

  
  

  Specific Time / Duration

  May 1 - May 31

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  Linotype Keyboard Facebook Post

  In neighborhoods from New York’s Lower East Side to San Francisco’s Chinatown, twentieth century immigrants followed current events on the printed page. Before today’s automated systems, printers arranged individual metal letter blocks to form text within a frame, and rolled ink across the arrangement to print each page. In the 1880s, printing the news became much quicker. A typist at a linotype keyboard automatically cast metal slugs of fully composed lines of text. Note the Hebrew characters – this keyboard was used for Yiddish publications. In the early 1900s, American cities were host to multiple weekly Yiddish publications along with dozens of newspapers in Hebrew, Russian, English, German, and Ladino (a combination of Hebrew and Spanish). #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: Linotype keyboard, Philadelphia, ca. 1900. National Museum of American Jewish History, 1991.61.1

  In neighborhoods from New York’s Lower East Side to San Francisco’s Chinatown, twentieth century immigrants followed current events on the printed page.
  
  Before today’s automated systems, printers arranged individual metal letter blocks to form text within a frame, and rolled ink across the arrangement to print each page. In the 1880s, printing the news became much quicker. A typist at a linotype keyboard automatically cast metal slugs of fully composed lines of text.
  
  Note the Hebrew characters – this keyboard was used for Yiddish publications. In the early 1900s, American cities were host to multiple weekly Yiddish publications along with dozens of newspapers in Hebrew, Russian, English, German, and Ladino (a combination of Hebrew and Spanish).
  
  #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
  
  Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
  
  Photo Credit: Linotype keyboard, Philadelphia, ca. 1900. National Museum of American Jewish History, 1991.61.1
  
  

  
  

  Specific Time / Duration

  May 1 - May 31

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  Gertrude Weil and Friends Facebook Post

  The daughter of a Jewish immigrant and the first Smith College graduate from North Carolina, Gertrude Weil (1879-1971) became a leader in the women’s club movement in her state, sharing educational opportunities and tackling community problems with other middle-class women. In 1915, Weil assumed a leadership role in the North Carolina Equal Suffrage League. After decades of demanding the right to vote, American women gained suffrage when the 19th Amendment became law in 1920. A century later, we salute all who work to give women an equal political voice in America and other nations. #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: Gertrude Weil (far left) and fellow suffragists, circa 1920. Courtesy of the State Archives of North Carolina.

  The daughter of a Jewish immigrant and the first Smith College graduate from North Carolina, Gertrude Weil (1879-1971) became a leader in the women’s club movement in her state, sharing educational opportunities and tackling community problems with other middle-class women. In 1915, Weil assumed a leadership role in the North Carolina Equal Suffrage League.
  
  After decades of demanding the right to vote, American women gained suffrage when the 19th Amendment became law in 1920. A century later, we salute all who work to give women an equal political voice in America and other nations.
  
  #OurSharedHeritage
  #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
  
  Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
  
  Photo Credit: Gertrude Weil (far left) and fellow suffragists, circa 1920. Courtesy of the State Archives of North Carolina.

  
  

  Specific Time / Duration

  May 1 - May 31

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  Cantorial Robe Facebook Post

  Jean Gornish couldn’t lead synagogue services due to her gender, but this cantor’s daughter still found a way to follow her passion. As “Sheindele die Chazente,” she instead performed on the radio and stage. Audiences found her renditions of religious and folk songs irresistible. She wore this satin gown during concerts in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago and other cities. #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: Cantorial robe worn by Sheindele die Chazente (Jean Gornish), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ca. 1930. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2006.6.26. Gift of the Balch Museum Collection, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

  Jean Gornish couldn’t lead synagogue services due to her gender, but this cantor’s daughter still found a way to follow her passion. As “Sheindele die Chazente,” she instead performed on the radio and stage. Audiences found her renditions of religious and folk songs irresistible. She wore this satin gown during concerts in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago and other cities.
  #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
  
  Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
  
  Photo Credit: Cantorial robe worn by Sheindele die Chazente (Jean Gornish), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ca. 1930. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2006.6.26. Gift of the Balch Museum Collection, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
  

  
  

  Specific Time / Duration

  May 1 - May 31

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  Free Soviet Jews T-Shirt Facebook Post

  Believing that a peaceful world without discrimination would be a better world for all, many Americans joined to fight for civil rights and women’s equality. The 1970s found young Jews crafting new ways to identify and practice their Judaism. Some turned to political activism, joining fellow Jews nationwide in protesting Jewish persecution in the Soviet Union. #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: T-shirt. National Museum of American Jewish History, 1995.78.2. Gift of the Soviet Jewry Council of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Philadelphia.

  Believing that a peaceful world without discrimination would be a better world for all, many Americans joined to fight for civil rights and women’s equality. The 1970s found young Jews crafting new ways to identify and practice their Judaism. Some turned to political activism, joining fellow Jews nationwide in protesting Jewish persecution in the Soviet Union.
  #OurSharedHeritage
  #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
  
  Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
  
  Photo Credit: T-shirt. National Museum of American Jewish History, 1995.78.2. Gift of the Soviet Jewry Council of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Philadelphia.
  

  
  

  Specific Time / Duration

  May 1 - May 31

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  Statue of Liberty Menorah Facebook Post

  At the end of a circuitous and decades-long journey, Holocaust survivor Manfred Anson settled in America. As an expression of his love for his new home, Anson designed a Hanukkah menorah for the centennial of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. In 2013, NMAJH brought this menorah to the White House so that it could be lit for the final night of that year’s Hanukkah celebration. #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: Hanukkah menorah by Manfred Anson. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2011.139.1. Donated by Dr. Aaron Feingold in honor of Zara Feingold and Rachel Feingold

  At the end of a circuitous and decades-long journey, Holocaust survivor Manfred Anson settled in America. As an expression of his love for his new home, Anson designed a Hanukkah menorah for the centennial of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. In 2013, NMAJH brought this menorah to the White House so that it could be lit for the final night of that year’s Hanukkah celebration.
  #OurSharedHeritage
  #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
  
  Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
  
  Photo Credit: Hanukkah menorah by Manfred Anson. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2011.139.1. Donated by Dr. Aaron Feingold in honor of Zara Feingold and Rachel Feingold

  
  

  Specific Time / Duration

  May 1 - May 31

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  Meg O'Day Chicken Facebook Post

  The Stern brothers moved to New Jersey from their father’s Staten Island farm in the 1920s. Originally planning to work in the ice cream business, they quickly realized that the land around Vineland was well-suited to raising chickens. This little Leghorn hen won renown – and a blue ribbon – when she laid an egg a day for an entire year. Gus Stern was so proud of Meg O’Day that he visited a taxidermist after she moved on to greener pastures. #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: Taxidermy chicken, New Jersey, ca. 1960. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2013.24.1. Gift of Lana M. Stern in loving memory of my father Gus Stern.

  The Stern brothers moved to New Jersey from their father’s Staten Island farm in the 1920s. Originally planning to work in the ice cream business, they quickly realized that the land around Vineland was well-suited to raising chickens. This little Leghorn hen won renown – and a blue ribbon – when she laid an egg a day for an entire year. Gus Stern was so proud of Meg O’Day that he visited a taxidermist after she moved on to greener pastures.
  #OurSharedHeritage
  #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
  
  Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
  
  Photo Credit: Taxidermy chicken, New Jersey, ca. 1960. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2013.24.1. Gift of Lana M. Stern in loving memory of my father Gus Stern.

  
  

  Specific Time / Duration

  May 1 - May 31

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  Shaarei Eliyahu Carving Facebook Post

  When Shaarei Eliyahu (Gates of Elijah) opened its doors, the Russian immigrant congregants marveled at their new synagogue’s hand-carved and painted monumental ark decorations. A neighborhood anchor for 70 years, the big-hearted Orthodox synagogue helped generations thrive, even hosting Conservative “Young People’s Congregation Shaarei Eli” which began meeting in the building in the 1930s. #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: Carving from Shaarei Eli synagogue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1918. National Museum of American Jewish History, 1984.59.3b

  When Shaarei Eliyahu (Gates of Elijah) opened its doors, the Russian immigrant congregants marveled at their new synagogue’s hand-carved and painted monumental ark decorations. A neighborhood anchor for 70 years, the big-hearted Orthodox synagogue helped generations thrive, even hosting Conservative “Young People’s Congregation Shaarei Eli” which began meeting in the building in the 1930s.
  #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
  
  Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
  
  Photo Credit: Carving from Shaarei Eli synagogue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1918. National Museum of American Jewish History, 1984.59.3b

  
  

  Specific Time / Duration

  May 1 - May 31

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  Suffrage Sheet Music Facebook Post

  Popular music has always reflected the day’s hot topics, and America’s Yiddish-speaking audiences loved songs that spoke to the world they knew. This operetta includes a short song in which a suffragist imagines that, if she were President, she would enable women to take on roles traditionally held by men: “Oh, will it be sweet when on the corner stands Mrs. Policeman Chaye!” After decades of demanding the right to vote, American women gained suffrage after the 19th Amendment became law in 1920. A century later, we salute all who work to give women an equal political voice in America and other nations. #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: Sheet music, Hebrew Publishing Company, New York, New York, 1911. National Museum of American Jewish History, 1985.64.37. Dedicated in memory of Sidney A. Leventon by Lyn and George Ross.

  Popular music has always reflected the day’s hot topics, and America’s Yiddish-speaking audiences loved songs that spoke to the world they knew. This operetta includes a short song in which a suffragist imagines that, if she were President, she would enable women to take on roles traditionally held by men: “Oh, will it be sweet when on the corner stands Mrs. Policeman Chaye!”
  
  After decades of demanding the right to vote, American women gained suffrage after the 19th Amendment became law in 1920. A century later, we salute all who work to give women an equal political voice in America and other nations.
  
  #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
  
  Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
  
  Photo Credit: Sheet music, Hebrew Publishing Company, New York, New York, 1911. National Museum of American Jewish History, 1985.64.37. Dedicated in memory of Sidney A. Leventon by Lyn and George Ross.
  

  
  

  Specific Time / Duration

  May 1 - May 31

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  Crisco Canister Facebook Post

  In 1911, Procter and Gamble proclaimed, “The Hebrew Race had been waiting 4000 years for Crisco.” The innovation of commercially marketed vegetable fats like Crisco allowed Jews to adapt recipes to conveniently cook a variety of foods while maintaining kashrut. Vegetable fats could be used for cooking anything, while the more traditional chicken fat, or schmaltz, could only be used for cooking with meat, never with cheese or milk. #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: Crisco canister, Cincinnati, Ohio, ca. 1920s. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2006.1.2699. Peter H. Schweitzer Collection of Jewish Americana.

  In 1911, Procter and Gamble proclaimed, “The Hebrew Race had been waiting 4000 years for Crisco.” The innovation of commercially marketed vegetable fats like Crisco allowed Jews to adapt recipes to conveniently cook a variety of foods while maintaining kashrut. Vegetable fats could be used for cooking anything, while the more traditional chicken fat, or schmaltz, could only be used for cooking with meat, never with cheese or milk.
  #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
  
  Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
  
  Photo Credit: Crisco canister, Cincinnati, Ohio, ca. 1920s. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2006.1.2699. Peter H. Schweitzer Collection of Jewish Americana.
  

  
  

  Specific Time / Duration

  May 1 - May 31

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  Helga Weiss Teddy Bear Facebook Post

  Eight-year-old Helga Weiss bid a tearful goodbye to her parents as she left Vienna to live with an American foster family. She traveled in a 1939 transport of 50 children arranged by Philadelphians Eleanor and Gilbert Kraus and Brith Sholom. Helga never saw her mother again, but her father managed to join her in America. As an adult, she trained service dogs and brought this bear with her when she visited schools to talk to children about the Holocaust. #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: Helga Weiss’s teddy bear, Vienna, Austria, ca. 1930. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2005.2.1. Gift of Helga E. Milburg in memory of Rosa and Emil Weiss.

  Eight-year-old Helga Weiss bid a tearful goodbye to her parents as she left Vienna to live with an American foster family. She traveled in a 1939 transport of 50 children arranged by Philadelphians Eleanor and Gilbert Kraus and Brith Sholom. Helga never saw her mother again, but her father managed to join her in America. As an adult, she trained service dogs and brought this bear with her when she visited schools to talk to children about the Holocaust.
  #OurSharedHeritage
  #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
  
  Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
  
  Photo Credit: Helga Weiss’s teddy bear, Vienna, Austria, ca. 1930. National Museum of American Jewish History, 2005.2.1. Gift of Helga E. Milburg in memory of Rosa and Emil Weiss.
  

  
  

  Specific Time / Duration

  May 1 - May 31

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  Joseph Family Steamer Trunk Facebook Post

  Like hundreds of other European Jewish passengers on the MS St. Louis in May 1939, the Joseph family planned to wait in Cuba until their visas to enter the United States became valid under strict American immigration quotas. After most of the passengers’ Cuban visas were denied, it became clear that the ship would return to Europe. Concern for his shipmates’ well-being led Mr. Joseph to join the passenger committee formed by Captain Gustav Schroeder to lift spirits. The Josephs eventually found their way to Philadelphia but about 250 of their fellow passengers were killed in the Holocaust. #OurSharedHeritage #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org Photo Credit: Joseph family steamer trunk. National Museum of American Jewish History, 1995.69.1. Gift of Barry S. and Joann C. Slosberg.

  Like hundreds of other European Jewish passengers on the MS St. Louis in May 1939, the Joseph family planned to wait in Cuba until their visas to enter the United States became valid under strict American immigration quotas. After most of the passengers’ Cuban visas were denied, it became clear that the ship would return to Europe. Concern for his shipmates’ well-being led Mr. Joseph to join the passenger committee formed by Captain Gustav Schroeder to lift spirits.
  
  The Josephs eventually found their way to Philadelphia but about 250 of their fellow passengers were killed in the Holocaust.
  
  #OurSharedHeritage
  #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth
  
  Celebrate JAHM at JewishAmericanHeritage.org
  
  Photo Credit: Joseph family steamer trunk. National Museum of American Jewish History, 1995.69.1. Gift of Barry S. and Joann C. Slosberg.

  
  

  Specific Time / Duration

  May 1 - May 31

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