The Center for Jewish History Announces January & February 2017 Programs

Highlights include a talk on Jewish Refugees in 1938 East-Central Europe,
a look at the transformation of the Strashun Library, the true story of a panther who escaped from the Bronx Zoo, and music from Jewish Austrian émigrés who moved to New York City.

JANUARY

Monday, January 9

6:30 p.m.

Odessa / Babel, Ladyzhensky and the Soul of a City

Presented by Yeshiva University Museum

Curator's Tour

This exhibition explores the vital creative character and dramatic social context of pre- and post-revolutionary Odessa, Ukraine (formerly Russia) through the work of two of the city's most important artists - the writer Isaac Babel and the painter Yefim Ladyzhensky.

Tickets: Free; Reservation Required

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/odessa-babel-ladyzhensky-and-the-soul-january

Thursday, January 12

2:00 p.m.

No Man's Land: Jewish Refugees on the Borders of East-Central Europe in 1938

Presented by JDC Archives and Center for Jewish History

Lecture

Michal Frankl (Researcher at the Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the 2016 Sorrell and Lorraine Chesin/JDC Archives Fellow) will speak on expulsions of Jews in 1938 and offer perspectives on the implications of the East-Central European No Man's Land.

Tickets: Free; Reservation Required

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/no-mans-land-january-2017

Thursday, January 12

7:00 p.m.

There Are Jews Here: World Premiere Screening Featuring Filmmaker Brad Lichtenstein

Presented by American Jewish Historical Society

Film & Discussion

"There Are Jews Here" tells the stories of once-thriving Jewish American towns that now can barely hold a minyan, focusing on the residents lamenting the gradual disappearance of their communities, and critically examining issues of class, family and identity.

Tickets: $10 general, $7 AJHS members, seniors, students at SmartTix; $12 at the door

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/there-are-jews-here-jan-12-2017

Wednesday, January 18

6:00 p.m.

No Shushing Allowed: A Library Social Hour

Presented by Center for Jewish History

The library social hour is an opportunity to speak with the librarians and archivists who make the materials housed at CJH accessible. This is a wonderful opportunity to get to know fellow researchers and staff, learn about how others use the collections and talk about books, archives and research. Light refreshments will be served.

Tickets: Free; Reservation Required

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/no-shushing-allowed-jan-18-2017

Wednesday, January 18

6:30 p.m.

Uncommon Threads: Clothing & Textiles from the Yeshiva University Museum Collection

Presented by Yeshiva University Museum

Curator's Tour

Join curator Bonni-Dara Michaels for a tour of YUM's newest exhibition featuring garments, textiles and jewelry spanning three centuries. Highlights include a gold bracelet that belonged to the wife of the Hatam Sofer, a pearl and silver embroidered lectern cover of a Chief Rabbi of Izmir, a custom-made 1950 Hattie Carnegie wedding gown and a 1969 Ark curtain made by Ina Golub for Temple Beth Ahm in New Jersey.

Tickets: Free; Reservation Required

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/uncommon-threads-jan-18-2017

Thursday, January 19

7:00 p.m.

What Does Jewish Look Like To You? An Evening of Monologues Highlighting Jewish Racial & Ethnic Diversity Featuring Vanessa Hidary and Kaleidoscope

Presented by American Jewish Historical Society

Storytelling & Slam Poetry

Through extensively crafted, deeply personal storytelling and slam poetry, Kaleidoscope interrogates the ever-popular question "What does Jewish look like?" Boldly diverse, distinctly Jewish and talented, Kaleidoscope includes performers of Jamaican, Ethiopian, Moroccan, Yemenite, Libyan and African-American Jewish background.

Tickets: $10 general; $5 AJHS members, seniors, students; $12 at the door

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/what-does-jewish-look-like-jan-19-2017

Sunday, January 22

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

The History and Future of the Strashun Library

Presented by YIVO Institute for Jewish Research

Panel Discussion

Scholars Brad Hill, David Fishman, Zachary Baker and Jeffrey Veidlinger will discuss the historical importance and context of the Strashun Library, its survival during WWII and its transition to YIVO. Lyudmila Sholokhova and Roberta Newman from YIVO and Lara Lempert from the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania will discuss YIVO's landmark efforts to steward the Strashun Library into the 21st century and beyond.

Tickets: $15 general; $10 YIVO members

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/history-and-future-strashun-library-jan-22-2017

Tuesday, January 24

6:30 p.m.

The Viennese Café in New York Exile

Presented by Center for Jewish History and Leo Baeck Institute

Music & Discussion

Join us for an evening of musical performance exploring the history of Jewish Austrian émigrés who transplanted the music of Viennese cafes to New York City. Esther Wratschko (Prins Foundation Fellow at the Center for Jewish History) will share her discoveries in the archives.

Tickets: Free; Reservation Required

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/viennese-cafe-jan-24-2017

FEBRUARY

Wednesday, February 1

6:30 p.m.

Out of the Whirlwind: Hugh Mesibov's Book of Job

Presented by Yeshiva University Museum

Curator's Tour

In 1972, the American artist Hugh Mesibov painted an ambitious 40-foot-wide mural based on the biblical Book of Job for Temple Beth El in Spring Valley, New York. Promoted by its recent relocation, the synagogue donated this monumental painting to Yeshiva University Museum. This curator's tour focuses on the artist, his preparatory process for the commission and the place of Job within modern culture.

Tickets: Free; Reservation Required

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/out-of-the-whirlwind-feb-1-2017

Thursday, February 2

6:30 p.m.

Black Panther Got Loose from the Bronx Zoo: An Exhibition by Ido Michaeli

Presented by American Jewish Historical Society

Exhibition Opening Featuring Video Screening & Live Poetry Performances

Based on a 1902 New York Times article, Ido Michaeli's hand-woven tapestry and video tell the true story of a panther who escaped from the Bronx Zoo. Opening night will feature poetry performances celebrating the incorporation of the Black Panther image across global movements.

Tickets: $10 general,$5 AJHS members, seniors; $12 at the door

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/black-panther-got-loose-feb-2-2017

Monday, February 6

7:00 p.m.

Money, Love and Shame

Presented by YIVO Institute for Jewish Research

Staged Reading

Once a staple of the popular Yiddish stage, Isaac Zolotarevsky's 1910 melodrama "Gelt, Libe Un Shande" will be presented at YIVO in a new English translation by writer/director Allen Lewis Rickman in a 'rehearsed reading' format for one performance only.

Tickets: $15 general; $10 YIVO members

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/money-love-shame-feb-6-2017

Monday, February 13

7:00 p.m.

Singing God's Words: The Performance of Biblical Chant in Contemporary Judaism

Presented by American Society for Jewish Music & American Jewish Historical Society

Book Talk

Celebrating the publication of "Singing God's Words: The Performance of Biblical Chant in Contemporary Judaism," this is the first in-depth study of the meaning and experience of chanting Torah among contemporary American Jews (Oxford University Press, 2016). Rabbi Jeffrey A. Summit, Ph.D. describes how this ritual is shaped by such forces as digital technology, feminism and contemporary views of spirituality.

Tickets: Free; Reservation Required

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/singing-words-feb-13-2017

Wednesday, February 15

6:30 p.m.

Uncommon Threads: Clothing & Textiles from the Yeshiva University Museum Collection

Presented by Yeshiva University Museum

Curator's Tour

Join curator Bonni-Dara Michaels for a tour of YUM's newest exhibition featuring garments, textiles and jewelry spanning three centuries. Highlights include a gold bracelet that belonged to the wife of the Hatam Sofer, a pearl and silver embroidered lectern cover of a Chief Rabbi of Izmir, a custom-made 1950 Hattie Carnegie wedding gown and a 1969 Ark curtain made by Ina Golub for Temple Beth Ahm in New Jersey.

Tickets: Free; Reservation Required

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/uncommon-threads-feb-15-2017

Wednesday, February 22

2:00 p.m.

Town Fools, Beggars and Other Outcasts: Bringing the Margins to the Center in East European Jewish History

Presented by JDC Archives and Center for Jewish History

Lecture

Natan Meir (the Lorry I. Lokey Chair in Judaic Studies at Portland State University, and the 2016 Ruth and David Musher/JDC Archives Fellow) will speak on Jewish social outcasts in prewar Eastern European history and offer insights into the changing mentalities of Jewish society.

Tickets: Free; Reservation Required

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/town-fools-feb-22-2017

Tuesday, February 28

6:00 p.m.

No Shushing Allowed: A Library Social Hour

Presented by Center for Jewish History

The library social hour is an opportunity to speak with the librarians and archivists who make the materials housed at CJH accessible. This is a wonderful opportunity to get to know fellow researchers and staff, learn about how others use the collections and talk about books, archives and research. Light refreshments will be served.

Tickets: Free; Reservation Required

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/no-shushing-allowed-feb-28-2017

Tuesday, February 28

6:30 p.m.

We'll Always Have Casablanca

Presented by Leo Baeck Institute, Deutsches Haus NYU & NY Institute for the Humanities

Film & Discussion

In his new book, film historian Noah Isenberg (The New School) reveals the myths and realities behind "Casablanca's" production, focusing in particular on the central role of refugees. Nearly all the actors were immigrants from Hitler's Europe. Event will feature a screening and post-film discussion.

Tickets: Free; Reservation Required

Link: http://programs.cjh.org/event/well-always-have-casablanca-feb-28-2017