Friday, November 20, 2009

New Clip of Immigrant's Trunk performance



Actress Katherine Lyons portrays Ida Rehr in the Leo V. Berger Immigrant's Trunk
Courtesy of videographer Chris Smith

Contact Lauren Silberman, Education and Program Coordinator, at 410.732.6400 x229 or lsilberman@jewishmuseummd.org for more information.

Weekly Report 11.20.09

Dear Friends,

This has been an unusually busy and productive week for the Museum. Here are some highlights:


50th ANNIVERSARY: On Wednesday, Trustees Manuele Wasserman, Sarah Manekin, Carol Sandler, Judy Langenthal, and Duke Zimmerman, staff, and interns involved in the Museum's video interview initiative, Stories We Live By, met for a training session with consultant Jayne Guberman. Pilot interviews will be conducted this coming Sunday at Trader Joe's and later on at a second uptown location. Rachel Kassman convened a steering committee meeting for next year's Purim Pandemonium that included JMM Trustee Jonathan Mogol.


THE SYNAGOGUE SPEAKS: Anita Kassof and Deb Weiner continue to conduct research and to refine the script for our new Core Exhibition at the historic Lloyd Street Synagogue. The project team met this week with the prospective fabrication firm. Intern Nicole Paterson continues to plan for a hands-on archaeology element; staff are also working with Fr. Bob Albright and the CJE to create an interactive card game featuring religious objects. The public opening of The Synagogue Speaks is confirmed for Sunday 21 March; please mark your calendars!


LEADERSHIP: The JMM Finance and Development Committees met jointly on Monday evening to review our current budgets and fundraising progress. The joint committees also began discussion of projections for the coming fiscal year (FY2011).


EDUCATION: On Sunday 15 November, 60+ 6th graders and parents from Congregation Beth Or in Pennsylvania visited the Museum and participated in several programs on immigration. That afternoon, our second group from Kol Ha Lev brought children to experience the resource kit, Paving Our Way: Early Maryland Jewish Life, 1632 - 1845. On Tuesday, a group of 12 adults from Revitz House in Montgomery County toured the Museum, as did groups from the Kaleidoscope program with Roland Park Country School and Atrium Village on Thursday. On Wednesday, Deborah Cardin and Ilene Dackman-Alon participated in American Education Week at Baltimore City partner school Fallstaff Elementary by reading to two separate classes of students


Katherine Lyons portrayed Ida Rehr in the Leo V. Berger Immigrant's Trunk for 40+ 3rd graders at Kreiger Schecter Day School on Thursday and then for a group of 24 3rd graders from Calverton School at the Museum on Friday. The Calverton School group also toured our exhibits.


A group of families attended our regularly scheduled Tot Shabbat program, held in conjunction with the JCC. Our next Tot Shabbat will be on Friday, December 4th and will feature Hands-On-Holiday Chanukah activities. To register, please contact Cindy Neuman at 410.356.5200 x344 or cneuman@jcc.org.


COLLECTIONS: Collections Committee Chair Duke Zimmerman reports that a dozen interesting items have recently been offered to the Museum for possible accession into the collections. Archivist Jenn Vess has completed 91% of the archives inventory and has just finished another new finding aid (we now total 180 finding aids-critical tools for all researchers). Deb Weiner sent two more cemetery lists to the Jewish On-Line Worldwide Burial Registry, a fully-searchable database used by people around the world. They now have 70 percent of the JMM's cemetery listings entered into their system.


STAFF ACTIVITIES: Deborah Cardin and Deb Weiner met with Thomas Howell and Patricia Anderson at the Maryland Historical Society to discuss possible joint publication projects. Education and program staff met with Molly Ross of Nana Projects to refine plans for our winter break family program taking place on 30 December. Nana Projects will be leading a shadow puppetry workshop using images from our Voices of Lombard Street exhibition as a backdrop. The program is designed for children aged 5-12.


This week, intern Jessica Levine has been researching the history of our lot at the corner of Lloyd and Lombard Streets. Jessica started with our in-house records and will be at the Maryland Room of the Enoch Pratt Free Library today. Holocaust Educator Jeanette Parmagiani spent time arranging speaking engagements for Holocaust survivors, doing preparation work for Lessons of the Shoah, the Holocaust Denial program at Towson (7 December), and a workshop at JMM (14 December).


Jobi Zink and I conferred with community leader Neil Gordon from Howard County on a prospective exhibition on Israel at the Howard County Library. On Tuesday, Anita Kassof and I met with Trustee Len Weinberg and architect John Srygley to brainstorm about scenarios for future expansion.


Program Director Ilene Dackman-Alon attended the Israel Education & Engagement Summit this past Monday evening which was held at the Park Heights JCC. Israel educators Michael Wegier and Jonny Ariel spoke to the summit about ways to engage American youth to care about Israel. Ilene facilitated a roundtable discussion on ways to engage youth through arts and culture. Ilene also attended "Knit One Learn Two" at Chizuk Amuno led by Melton educator Judy Meltzer. And, Education Coordinator Lauren Silberman attended the annual meeting and awards ceremony for Preservation Maryland at the Maryland Club on Wednesday 18 November.


That was the week that was. Best wishes to everyone for a peaceful Sabbath and an enjoyable fall weekend.

Avi

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Education Video Update: Tot Shabbat and Immigrant's Trunk

The JMM has been hosting Tot Shabbat along with the Jewish Community Center on several Friday mornings. Here is some video from a recent Tot Shabbat program.




Interested in attending? We will have more Tot Shabbats, along with candlelighting, songs, Kiddush, and challah snack on Fridays, November 20, December 4 (also Hands on Holidays Chanukah!), and December 18th from 10:45 - 11:15am at the Museum (15 Lloyd Street / Baltimore 21202). Admission is free! Just rsvp to Cindy Neuman at cneuman@jcc.org or 410.356.5200 x344

***

One of our most popular programs is the Leo V. Berger Immigrant's Trunk: Living History Performance which features professional actors portraying actual Jewish immigrants to Baltimore at the turn of the 20th century. In this short clip, actress Katherine Lyons portrays Ida Rehr, who discusses becoming an American citizen. To find out about reserving this program, please contact Lauren Silberman at lsilberman@jewishmuseummd.org or 410.732.6400 x229.


Friday, November 13, 2009

Weekly Report 11.13.09

Dear Friends,

We continue to have very busy and productive work weeks at the Museum. Here are a few of the highlights:


PROGRAMS: The Steering Committee for Lloyd Street Synagogue Re-Opening, chaired by JMM vice President Jerry Doctrow, met with Deborah Cardin and Simone Ellin on Friday 13 November to develop plans for the LSS public opening and a VIP event at LSS. These twin programs will mark the kick-off of the Museum's 50th Anniversary year.


On Tuesday, the JMM program Committee, chaired by Carol Glusman, convened at the PH JCC to resume discussion about enhancement to the visitor experience. This was, as always, a lively and substantial conversation.


Actress Katherine Lyons performed for Covenant Guild, Inc., at their annual Membership Dinner, as Ida Rehr in The Leo V. Berger Immigrant's Trunk. Her very moving portrayal was very much appreciated by the audience.


On Sunday 8 November, the Sisterhood of B'nai Israel Congregation listened to JMM Research Historian & Family History Coordinator Deb Weiner present a Speakers Bureau presentation, sponsored by Attman's Delicatessen, about "Women in the Family Business." The talk touched on three Baltimore Jewish Women who were at the forefront of their family businesses: Rose Shanis of Rose Shanis Loans, Min Shavitz of Nates & Leon's Resturant, and Dora Silber of Silber's Bakery.


LEADERSHIP LUNCHEON: On Monday 9 November, JMM Trustee Larry Kamanitz hosted community leader Gail Bendit; Jim Blum, a long-time member and supporter; Greg Cantori, director of the Knott Foundation; Dr. Adam Gregerman, resident scholar at the Institute for Jewish and Christian Studies; and community leader Glenn Weinberg. As usual, conversation was lively and engaged. We thank our guests for an enjoyable visit.


VISITORS: On Sunday 8 November, the Museum hosted four Jewish congregations from a variety of geographic locations: Baltimore Hebrew, who brought their 6th graders; Temple Rodef Shalom from Virginia who brought their 7th graders; Temple B'nai Israel of Easton, Maryland who brought a range of ages; and Temple Sinai from Washington, DC, who brought a group of adults. On Thursday 12 November, Independence High School (Baltimore City Public School) brought another group of 9th graders to tour the Museum, while on Friday, a group of 5th graders from Patapsco Elementary (Baltimore City Public School) watched the Leo V. Berger Immigrant's Trunk before participating in Introduction to Judaism and Voices of Lombard Street programs.


EDUCATION: On Tuesday 10 November, the JMM was invited to participate in a full-day World War II-themed educational program at the Maryland Historical Society. More than 100 Baltimore City high school students (participating schools included Northwestern High School, Mergenthaler Vocational Tech, Forest Park High School, and Poly) spent the day exploring aspects of WWII and the Holocaust. In the morning, students had the opportunity to listen to personal testimony from Holocaust survivor Rubin Sztajer and WW II US Army veteran Sol Goldstein who participated in the liberation of Buchenwald. In the afternoon, the group split up to take part in a variety of activities. One of the groups participated in a Lives Lost, Lives Found photograph exploration activity facilitated by JMM education staff. Many thanks to Naomi Coquillon of the MdHS and Amy Rosenkrans of Baltimore City Public Schools for including us in this program.


On Wednesday 11 November, we held our first session of the
Lessons of the Shoah high school interfaith initiative. Fr. Robert Albright and Rabbi Geoff Basik jointly provided a brief overview of the history of Judaism and Christianity, as they explored the Parting of the Way and how centuries of anti-Jewish discrimination promulgated by the Catholic church provides context for the Holocaust and the Nazis' antisemitic doctrine.


COLLECTIONS: Archivist Jennifer Vess reports that our inventory of archives and manuscripts has reached the 87.8% completion point; this long-term effort is part of the continuous process of raising standards in collections management by giving us greater intellectual control of our historical resources. Intern Heather Besch completed a draft transcription of Allan Hirsh II's oral history interview.


Collections volunteer Debbie Farthing named and photographed our mannequins on Wednesday, and on Thursday Collections Manager Jobi Zink added the records and photos to our database, as part of our effort to track exhibition display material. Jobi also compiled a list of audio tapes from the institutional archives and added those to the database


STAFF ACTIVITIES: We welcome Nicole Paterson, who started an internship in the Collections Department on Thursday. Nicole will receive her MA in Historical Studies from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County next month. At the Museum, she will help develop hands-on archaeology activities for The Synagogue Speaks exhibition.


Rachel Kassman organized a JMM table for the Jewish Health, Wealth and Lifestyle Expo in Pikesville this coming Sunday. Be sure to stop by and visit! On Tuesday 10 November, volunteer Robyn Hughes brought Dr. Linda Lee to the Museum to meet with the Education and Program departments to discuss the possibility of the Museum hosting a chess tournament for Baltimore City Public School students in the spring.


On Monday, Ilene Dackman-Alon attended an International Month Celebration sponsored by MSDE in Annapolis. Education leaders from around the State of Maryland and three countries celebrated International Education Month during the kick-off event that showcased international curricular programs and teacher exchanges in fine arts, social studies, and world languages. Storyteller Jennifer Rudick Zunikoff and our three storytellers from the JMM's latest educational initiative
Student Immigration Stories, shared stories of their recent immigration experiences. Ilene also attended a meeting with representatives from The Jewish Salons, an international network that addresses Jewish identity through arts and culture. Currently, this project is being done in cities Amsterdam, Mexico City, Vienna, Budapest and Tel Aviv. The salons network connects young Jews from different communities by co-producing community events that present contemporary international Jewish culture.


On Tuesday. Anita Kassof and I met with Trustee Lee Rosenberg and architect John Srygley to discuss plans for the Museum's future expansion. Meanwhile, Rachel Kassman and Jennifer Vess are organizing a steering committee for the 2010 Purim Pandemonium, our annual young adult extravaganza.


Karen Falk, Deb Weiner, and Heather Besch were out at Trader Joe's in Pikesville this week, running a pilot for a video interview project we are calling
Stories We Live By as part of the preparation for a training session next week with Dr. Jayne Guberman, a consultant on oral history.


Lots of other, ongoing activities took place, as well. I hope that everyone enjoys a peaceful Sabbath and a brisk, but clear fall weekend. Best to one and all.

Avi

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Come Visit Us at the Jewish Health, Weath & Lifestyle Expo!


The Jewish Museum of Maryland will have a table at the Jewish Health, Wealth & Lifestyle Expo this Sunday, November 15th. Held at the Hilton in Pikesville from Noon to 5:00pm, we hope to see you there!

Check out www.jewishbusinessconnection.com to find out more!

Spring Semester Internship Announcements

Spring semester internships can begin as early as January 15, 2010


LIBRARY INTERN


The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks a qualified graduate intern to assist in the Library department. The Library Intern will be responsible for entering a backlog of library materials into Past Perfect, conducting a full shelf read in the open stacks, and assisting with new acquisitions.


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. The internship is 12 weeks long and requires a minimum of 8 hours/week. This internship can be used for academic credit.

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



JMM PHOTO INTERN


The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks a qualified intern to assist in the photo archives. The Photo Intern will be responsible for processing, cataloging and digitizing the photographic collections of the museum. The photo intern may also be asked to assist with other collections tasks such as photographing objects, exhibition de-installation, exhibition installation, and photographing museum events.

Interested students should be working toward a degree in history, art history, material culture, Jewish studies, museum studies, photography or library science. Previous museum or library experience is not required. The internship is 12 weeks long and requires a minimum of 8 hours/week. This internship can be used for academic credit.

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



BHU ARCHIVES INTERN


The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks 1-2 qualified graduate interns to assist in the processing of the Baltimore Hebrew University archive collection.

Interested students should be working toward a degree in archival science, library science or history with an archives concentration. Equivalent experience outside an academic environment may be substituted. Previous museum or library experience is not required. The internship is 12 weeks long and requires a minimum of 10 hours/week. There is a small stipend available for these internship, dependent on number of hours worked. This internship can also be used for academic credit.

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



BHU PHOTO INTERN


The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks a qualified intern to assist in the processing of the Baltimore Hebrew University photograph collection. The BHU photo intern will be primarily responsible for cataloging the photograph collection into Past Perfect and scanning images, as time permits.

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. The internship is 12 weeks long and requires a minimum of 8 hours/week. There is a small stipend available for this internship, dependent on number of hours worked. This internship can also be used for academic credit.

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



EXHIBITION INTERN


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 visual and newspaper research for exhibition development, conducting and/or transcribing oral histories, cataloging new donations and loans, data entry, gallery preparation, 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. The internship is 12 weeks long and requires a minimum of 8 hours/week. 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.



COLLECTIONS INTERN


The Jewish Museum of Maryland seeks a qualified intern to assist in the Collections and Exhibitions 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 conducting 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. The internship is 12 weeks long and requires a minimum of 8 hours/week. 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.

Friday, November 6, 2009

New Feature: JMM Weekly Report 11.06.09

JMM Weekly Report
From the Desk of Avi Decter, Executive Director
November 6, 2009
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends,

This has been an eventful, productive week at the Museum. On Sunday, the JMM welcomed the Baltimore Chapter of Brandeis Women for a private program with noted scholar Dr. Melvin Urofsky, who has just published Louis D. Brandeis: A Life. Following his morning lecture, Dr. Urofsky spoke at a public program and book-signing. On Monday, the Lloyd Street Synagogue Steering Committee, chaired by JMM Trustee Lee Rosenberg, held its final Phase 2 progress meeting, marking the conclusion of our $1 million restoration project. Also on Monday, we held our quarterly Board meeting, with a lively discussion about budgets. On Tuesday, the Museum sponsored the Herbert and Irma Risch Memorial Program at Patterson Park Charter School (more below). And so on. Here are some other highlights of the week that was:


GIFTS: I am delighted to report that the Herbert Bearman Foundation (Drs. Sheldon and Arlene Bearman, Trustees) have committed $18,000 to support the re-dedication of Lloyd Street Synagogue, the kick-off event in our 50th Anniversary programming, and to provide General Operating Support. We are very appreciative of the Bearman Family's continuing generous support and encouragement.


PROGRAMS: On Monday and Tuesday, the JMM hosted patrons Frank and Helen Risch during their recent visit to Baltimore. On Monday, the Risches participated in a class at Patterson High School and met with the students who are sharing the stories of their journeys to America with other students. The JMM is working with storyteller Jennifer Rudick Zunikoff and intern Tamara Filipovic on this educational initiative. On Tuesday, three student storytellers from Somalia, Uzbekistan, and Togo shared their stories of immigration at an assembly of 160 students and 30 invited guests at Patterson Park Charter School, one of the JMM's Museum-School partners. The Herbert B. and Irma B. Risch Memorial Program Coming to America - Then and Now featured Student Immigration Stories and a presentation of the Leo V. Berger Immigrant's Trunk. The Risch Memorial Program is funded through the generous support of the Frank & Helen Risch Philanthropic Fund at THE ASSOCIATED. This was a wonderful event


The Museum's October 29th program at the Park Heights JCC, Finding Refuge: The Holocaust and Latin America, was an enlightening and enjoyable program. The group of 43 participants, who included Holocaust survivors, area teachers, members of the Baltimore Jewish Council's Hispanic Dialogue, and the Latino Providers Network, listened intently as speaker Christina Chavarria from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) explained Latin America's unique role in Holocaust history: notoriously sheltering fleeing Nazi criminals and, more significantly, accepting Jewish refugees from Hitler's Europe. Jewish refugees and their lives in Latin America represent a new focus by the USHMM. As a result of this gathering, Christina was also able to collect family names, contributing to the USHMM's research and Registry of Survivors. A follow up program, featuring a trip to the USHMM, is planned for spring 2010. The program was moderated by Lois Rosenfeld of The American Jewish Committee.


On Friday, the JCC and JMM partnered for a Tot Shabbat Program geared for downtown families of very young children. Participants listened to a Shabbat Story, sang and danced to Shabbat songs and finished the morning with juice and challah for snack. These Tot Shabbat programs are part of the JCC's program, "JCC Beyond the Borders" funded by the The Jacob & Hilda Blaustein Fund for the Enrichment of Jewish Education. Also on Friday, B'nai Israel Young Adults will hold a Shabbat dinner in our lobby.


COLLECTIONS: The oral history archive of the Museum received a gift of two hours of tapes about Ner Israel Yeshiva in the 1970's when it was located on Garrison Boulevard. The interview of Jonathan Zylberman, a former Ner Israel student, was conducted and recorded by JMM special Project Consultant Dr. Barry S. Lever.


Collections volunteer Debbie Farthing photographed all of the cases, bases, vitrines, and platforms in the Museum. These images have been added to the database to further assist us in tracking our exhibition display materials. The collections staff held a lively meeting on Wednesday to discuss the library collecting policy. On Thursday the collections staff discussed their budget with Susan Press. Both meetings were very helpful and have made us more aware of how we can improve our collections spending and oversight.


EDUCATION: On Tuesday, Mother Mary Lange (Baltimore City Catholic School) brought around 35 middle school students to tour the Museum and listen to survivor Vera Kestenberg discuss her life in Hungary. On Thursday, Running Brook Elementary (Howard County Public School) brought 46 3rd graders to listen to the Leo V. Berger Immigrant's Trunk and tour the Museum. At a Wednesday session, seventh grade students at Chizuk Amuno's Kreiger-Schecter Day School, engaged Dr. Barry S. Lever, JMM Special Project Consultant, in an oral history interview to develop skills necessary to conduct successful oral histories of their own family members.


The Education Department met with JMM docents to discuss plans for the upcoming Synagogue Speaks exhibition in the Lloyd Street Synagogue. We also discussed ways of improving current tours for adult and student groups. Many thanks to Ilene Cohen for arranging the meeting and for our dedicated volunteer docents who attended.


STAFF ACTIVITIES: Thursday, Jobi Zink led a training session on Past Perfect for Mindy Glaser McShane, Heather Besch, and Jessica Levine. Jobi also began posting advertisements for winter and spring interns this week and interviewed one candidate.


Anita Kassof and Deb Weiner are completing the exhibition script for our new Core Exhibition, The Synagogue Speaks. Curator Karen Falk has been working on our Jewish foodways show, our projected Judaica exhibition, and a retrospective exhibition of work by artist Nancy Patz. Program Director Ilene Dackman-Alon with Harriet Lynn to discuss programming for the 50th anniversary year of the JMM. Deb Weiner, Rachel Kassman, and I reviewed layouts for our next issue of Generations magazine, and I sent in my final edits for a book review that will appear in American Jewish History.


All in all, a very exciting week for the Museum and the communities we serve. Best wishes for a peaceful Sabbath and lovely fall weekend to one and all.

Avi