The Southern Shmooze
November 2021
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Clockwise from top left: The Tampa Times, Tampa, FL, November 14, 1918; The Birmingham News, Birmingham, AL, November 30, 1905; News-Democrat, Paducah, KY, November 21, 1920; The Biloxi Herald, Biloxi, MS, November 30, 1895.
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One of the most important goals of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience is to show how Southern communities are strengthened by their diversity. When communities live, work, play, and even pray together, we see more clearly that our similarities outshine our differences. When we learn about each other from each other, we help facilitate dialogue, advance acceptance, and promote cooperation and compassion. These are the universal values and actions that MSJE believes in.
Across the South, it has long been a tradition to conduct unity services during the Thanksgiving season. The clippings above show that these gatherings go back into the nineteenth century. That may seem like a long time to be promoting unity, but promoting unity is an ongoing task that we should all embrace.
Please help us embrace the task.
Thankfully,
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Kenneth Hoffman
Executive Director
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Chanukah, Oh Chanukah!
Looking for eight great gifts?
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We are less than a month away from the first night of Chanukah– Sunday, November 28th. Starting today and lasting until the first night of Chanukah, we are offering 10% off our entire Museum Store and Online Store using code HOLIDAY10. We have lots of Chanukah gifts for kids of all ages. From Jewish Wisdom Balls to MSJE Chanukah cards to Shalom Y’all t-shirts, MJSE is sure to satisfy your holiday wish list. And don't forget to check out our newest assortment of mezuzahs, all hand-made by Southern Jewish artists!
In order to guarantee your gifts arrive by the first night of Chanukah, we ask that items be purchased by November 7th; however, we will do our best to ensure Chanukah delivery up until November 21st, 2021. Any order over $100 from the Online Store will receive free shipping!
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Remember: all Members get 15% off when they use their Member Code. |
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Matching Artifacts and Photographs |
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At the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, we are delighted when we come across photographs that make the objects in our collection come to life: the Gamm family portrait shows the faces of people who likely heard the c. 1900s farm bell ring on their farm in northern Louisiana, while Catherine Cahn Kahn’s photograph of Fred Kahn of New Orleans is displayed alongside the USAAF cap he wore while serving in the Pacific during World War II. What is rarer, but equally as thrilling, is when an artifact emerges from a photograph, as in the case of Henrietta Levine’s chopping bowl and hand chopper.
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Born and raised in Jefferson County, Arkansas, Henrietta Levine became a pillar of the Pine Bluff community from serving in various leadership roles at Congregation Anshe Emeth to volunteering with the Red Cross. If you’ve visited MSJE, she will no doubt be familiar to you. Levine is highlighted in Shalom Y’all: A Snapshot of Southern Jewish Life, currently on view in our Special Exhibition Gallery, as well as in our Bill Aron flipbook in Gallery 3: Entering a New Era, featuring stories from Vicki Reikes Fox.
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The bowl and chopper depicted in this well-known photograph by Bill Aron were donated by Henrietta and Jake Levine’s son, Morris Henry (MH) Levine. We look forward to expanding our history of Henrietta Levine’s life and are honored to have this important symbol of food, memory, and community in our permanent collection.
Do you have memories or stories of Henrietta Levine and the Pine Bluff community? Email our curator, Anna Tucker, at anna@msje.org to share your stories!
Special thanks to Jay and Deanie Stein for their sponsorship of “Entering a New Era,” and Rabbi Steven and Vicki Reikes Fox for their sponsorship of “Shalom Y’all: A Snapshot of Southern Jewish Life” and the Bill Aron Flipbook.
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Meet our newest Charles D. Zucker Jewish Studies intern
Carly Lerner
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Carly Lerner was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is a senior at Tulane University studying Sociology and Jewish Studies. Carly was interested in becoming a Charles Zucker Intern because, as a Southern Jew herself, she wanted to learn more about her own family and community's history. Carly hopes that her internship at MSJE will give her real-world experience working the Museum's talented staff. Carly is looking forward to gaining skills that will give her a ready advantage as she pursues a meaningful career working in a Jewish non-profit agency.
As always, we are thankful to the trustees of the Charles Zucker Donor Advised Fund of the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana for their continued support of our internship program.
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Happy Thanksgiving!
With Thanksgiving and Chanukah coming so close together this year, why not make a Thankful Chanukah Turkey decoration with your kids or grandkids?! It's easy, fun, and will get them away from their screens (and we can all be thankful for that)!
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And join us at the JCC's Maccabeats Chanukah Concert on Sunday, November 28th, from 2-4 p.m. for more fun Chanukah kids crafts! Registration for the concert is required, and admission is free and open to the community.
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🎁 Give the gift of an MSJE Membership 🎁
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An MSJE Membership is the gift that keeps on giving! Not only are you helping to ensure MSJE’s continuing success, but your gift also includes:
• Unlimited, free admission throughout the year
• 15% discount at the Museum Store and online store
• Priority reservations for MSJE events and programs
• Access to special rates for event rentals
Don't forget to check out our Patron Memberships that include all the above and so much more.
Click the button below to gift a membership today! Your gift recipient will receive a letter alerting them of their new membership and a membership card.
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This Month in Southern Jewish History |
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LOUISIANA: November 3, 1912
Ida Kohlmeyer is born in New Orleans. Kohlmeyer studied art at Newcomb College and the Hans Hoffmann school in Massachusetts. She was greatly influenced by abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, when he was a visiting artist at Tulane. Kohlmeyer would go on to reach great acclaim as an abstract artist and sculptor, and her works can be found in museums and public spaces across the country.
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KENTUCKY: November 4, 1848
Isaac Wolfe Bernheim is born in Schmieheim (Germany) and immigrated to New York in 1867, supposedly with only $4 in his pocket. He left New York to peddle in Pennsylvania, and eventually settled in Kentucky, where he went on to create a profitable bourbon distillery, become a renowned philanthropist, and establish the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, outside Louisville. Happy Birthday, I.W.!
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VIRGINIA: November 7, 1922
The New Leader in Staunton reports that Jefferson Levy has offered to sell Monticello to the Thomas Jefferson National Memorial Association for $500,000. Financing of the deal would be guaranteed if the people of Virginia raised $50,000 within three week. They did and it was. Levy's father had purchased Monticello in 1830 and the Levy family maintained it for more than 90 years.
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TEXAS: November 10, 1929
Temple Israel, the only synagogue at the time in the panhandle, is dedicated. Rabbi David Lefkowitz of Temple Emanuel in Dallas officiated, assisted by Rabbi J. Blatt of Oklahoma City. The Amarillo Globe-Times reported that local ministers of various denominations attended the ceremony. The temple served people over a wide territory, including the towns of Pampa, Borger, and Dalhart.
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LOUISIANA: November 24, 1934
Lillian Hellman's play, The Children's Hour, premieres on Broadway and runs for 691 performances. The New Orleans-born playwright and screenwriter is also known for her works Watch on the Rhine, The Little Foxes, and Toys in the Attic (set in New Orleans). Before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952, Hellman refused to "name names" and was blacklisted in Hollywood.
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ALABAMA: November 26, 1899
Temple B'nai Sholom in Huntsville is dedicated. Coverage of the dedication in The Weekly Democrat included this assessment of the town's Jewish population, “The Jews of Huntsville are examples of industry and thrift…There are Jewish merchants who came to this town with little more than their clothes…and have become the leading merchants and desirable citizens.”
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As the end of 2021 nears, it's time to think about end-of-year giving. We hope you don't need any other reason to support the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, but in case you do: ask your tax preparer about possible tax advantages from a donation to MSJE.
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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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Have questions about naming opportunities or end of year giving?
Email Emma Herr, or give her a call at 504.384.2480 x103
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Shalom. Make yourself at home.®
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Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience
818 Howard Avenue | New Orleans, LA 70113
504-384-2480
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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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