The Southern Shmooze
February 2021
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An Important Part of Our Mission |
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Fort Worth Star-Telegram, TX, Jan 22, 1937
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Last month we witnessed some of the worst examples of American political and social behavior, fostered by age-old tropes of racism, antisemitism, and anti-intellectualism. It is our fervent hope that the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience serves as an important source of education, community building, understanding, and mutual respect, safeguarding our democracy for ourselves and future generations.
We invite you to join us in this mission.
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Sick of seeing those political maps that so starkly divide us? Let's make a map that brings us all together in support of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience. So far, we have wonderful supporters in all 13 of our Southern states, plus 20 more. This is a great testament to our donors, near and far, who are excited to see MSJE reborn in New Orleans.
But we want even more national unity–and you can help. Do you know anyone who grew up Jewish in the South, but now lives in Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, or Wyoming? Tell them about MSJE and our mission to expand people's understanding of what it means to be an American by exploring the unique history and culture of the Southern Jewish experience.
And always remember: You don't have to be Jewish and you don't have to be Southern to be part of the Southern Jewish Experience!
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From the Collection: Dear Anna, Love Charles
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With February comes Valentines Day–that greeting-card industry holiday that sends so many of us scurrying to the drug store for a last-minute gift. This Valentines Day, we are seeking inspiration in the form of hand-written love letters.
Our collection includes the papers of Rabbi Charles Mantinband, an active supporter of civil rights who served congregations in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and Longview, Texas, in the 1950s and 1960s. Amid the newspaper clippings and institutional memos of Rabbi Mantinband’s professional life, we have numerous personal letters from Charles to his wife, Anna. Their daughter, Carol Ginsburg, recalled to author Terry Ruscin that “one each morning awaited [Anna] on the breakfast table. Love letters. I saved all of them.”
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These handwritten letters span decades and are often hurriedly written on hotel stationary, providing a breadcrumb-trail of Charles’ travels: the Dagon Hotel in Ashkelon, Israel; the Cumberland Hotel in London, England; the Baker Hotel in Dallas, Texas; the Monte Carlo in Miami Beach, Florida. The letters provide hints to the joys and challenges of their lives, from politics and civil rights to rabbinical duties and the exhaustion of the road. They also reveal tender affection and wisdom that transcend the eras, as illustrated in this Oct. 11 letter (unknown year) from Charles to Anna: |
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Sleep in and refresh yourself. I am content. Another day and night, in this nightmarish speed-up anxious world. Again I urge – let us snatch from life whatever pleasure we can – tomorrow, to employ a cliché, might be too late. Let’s have a fling – Shreveport, Gulfport, Atlanta, Washington - … Let’s play Robinhood music (de Koven) and Brown October Ale and get some pumpkin pie. Love, Charles.
Many thanks to Carol Mantinband Ginsburg for the donation of her family’s papers to the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience. Do you have family letters you would like to donate to the MSJE? Contact us!
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Mezuzah Society Wall Going Up |
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Our collection of donor mezuzahs continues to grow, each with its own special dedication to ancestors, family members, congregations, and communities. If you have already donated at the Mezuzah Society level or above, already received your commemorative MSJE mezuzah, and have not yet sent us a mezuzah to add to our display, please do so in the coming weeks. This is your chance to say, "My family is in the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience!"
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Just as families come in different shapes and sizes, so, too, do mezuzahs. Whether it's old or new, simple or ornate, from Israel or hand-made at summer camp, each represents a connection to Judaism, to family, to tradition, and to home. |
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Prominently displayed in the Museum's entrance lobby, the Mezuzah Society Wall (a portion shown here) will hold our first 160 donor mezuzahs. Visitor will be able to search for mezuzahs by name and read their dedications. |
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Learn more about joining the Mezuzah Society: |
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The Stores & Stories of a Southern Jewish Childhood
A Conversation with Author Julie Sternberg
Sunday, February 21, 2021, 7:00 Central
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The Southern Jewish experience can be explored through history, food, music, sports, art, and so much more. Join us for a conversation with Julie Sternberg, award-winning author of children's books and Baton Rouge native, as we discuss the inspirations for her upcoming book – her family's department store (Goudchaux's), their immigrant history, and growing up in the South. It's just one more way to approach the Southern Jewish experience.
To participate in this Zoom program:
You can also watch it on Facebook Live or later on our YouTube channel.
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If you missed our latest program
A Southern Jew Boycotts Hitler's Olympics
The Herman Neugass Story
you can watch it here:
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If your congregation or community would like to learn more about the
Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience...
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"Get Ready to Visit New Orleans" |
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When Forbes Magazine lists your new museum just behind Jazz Fest and French Quarter Festival as a reason to get excited about coming to New Orleans, you know you're being recognized as an important part of the city's tourist revival.
Before Covid, New Orleans welcomed 18 million visitors a year. We look forward to welcoming as many of these returning visitors, including you, when we open this year.
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This Month in Southern Jewish History
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MISSISSIPPI: February 1, 1908 |
Congregation B'nai Israel in Columbus dedicates its new synagogue. Dr. M. Samfield, of Memphis, gave the dedicatory sermon and was joined by Rabbis Sol Kory, of Vicksburg, Abram Brill, of Greenville, S.G. Notteigheimer, of Natchez, and Max Raisin, of Meridian. Reverend J.W. Shoaf, of the First Methodist Church, spoke the following day on behalf of the city's Pastors' Alliance. |
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Actor Brent Spiner is born in Houston. In 1987, Spiner first portrayed Lieutenant Commander Data on the series Star Trek: The Next Generation, continuing that role through seven seasons and four movies. Spiner, along with William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Walter Koenig from the original Star Trek series, makes the USS Enterprise perhaps the most Jewish spacecraft ever.
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VIRGINIA: February 10, 1971 |
Rebecca Pearl Lovenstein dies in New York City. An immigrant from Vilna, Russia, Lovenstein was grew up in Durham, NC, and eventually settled in Richmond. After attending law school at night while taking care of her children during the day, she campaigned to have women be allowed to practice law in the state and, in 1920, became the first woman admitted to the bar in Virginia. She is buried in Beth-El Cemetery in Richmond. |
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KENTUCKY: February 13, 1939 |
Louis Brandeis retires from the bench after serving 23 years on the Supreme Court. Born in Louisville to Jewish immigrants from Prague, Brandeis became the first Jew to sit on the nation's highest court after being nominated by President Woodrow Wilson and confirmed by the Senate. A progressive jurist, Brandeis also became a leading voice in the American Zionist movement. |
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FLORIDA: February 23, 1981 |
Josh Gad is born in Hollywood to immigrant Jewish parents, his father coming from Afghanistan and his mother from Germany. An award-winning actor and singer, Gad is best known for his roles voicing Olaf in the movie Frozen and playing Arnold Cunningham on Broadway in The Book of Mormon. His portrayal of a Jewish lawyer opposite Chadwick Boseman in Marshall, touches on the shared struggle for equality between African Americans and Jews.
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TENNESSEE: February 22, 1870 |
J. Wechsler, minister of the Reform Congregation in Nashville writes a letter to the editor protesting the mandatory Sunday closing law, which he says discriminates against Jewish merchants. He writes, in part, "...the law of the State that the Israelite shall not be permitted to transact business on the Christian Sunday, virtually destroys freedom of religion." |
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Do you have a This Month in Southern Jewish History item to share with us for our March issue? Send it to info@msje.org.
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YOUR SUPPORT = YOUR MUSEUM |
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GIVE ONLINE
MAIL A CHECK
to PO Box 15071, New Orleans, LA 70175
DONATE FROM YOUR IRA
required distribution
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DESIGNATE MSJE
as a recipient of your Donor Advised Fund
DONATE STOCK
or other marketable securities
INCLUDE MSJE
in your estate planning
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Shalom. Make yourself at home.®
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Banner images (l-r): Members of Congregation Beth Israel in Clarksdale, MS, c. 1910. Collection of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience; Blue Star campers, North Carolina, 2016. Courtesy of Blue Star Camps.
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