August 11, 2024

Vol. 5, No. 32



The Early 1970s:

Lemon v. Kurtzman

Jewish Encyclopedia:

Kayruv Van

Databases:

Rabbinic Writings

Register Now:

A Patchwork Life Stitching Circle

Exhibits:

A Woman's Place

Calendar:

Sept. 15: JGS Presents:

Holocaust Restitution



Community:

URA photographs

SHHS archives

"How We Got Here"

JCBA "Road-Trip"

Research Tools:

Newspapers, Cemeteries,

Memorial Plaques, Books,

Population Figures, Synagogues, Newsletter Archive,

Shul Records America

The Early 1970s:

Lemon v. Kurtzman

Selection from "Community Day Schools Get Aid from Court Ruling"—April 5, 1973.

—Jewish Chronicle

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

Through the Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1968, Pennsylvania began providing state funding for certain secular expenses at private schools, including parochial schools. Among sectarian schools, Catholic schools were most impacted, but it was also an important financial opportunity for Jewish day schools across Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh had three at the time: Yeshiva Schools, Hillel Academy, and the Talmudical College of Pittsburgh.

The statute was legally challenged and eventually argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in March 1971 in Lemon v. Kurtzman. The question before the Court: did the Pennsylvania statute violate the Establishment Cause of the First Amendment—the separation of Church and State. The Supreme Court ruled 8-0 (with one abstention) that the Pennsylvania statute was unconstitutional. 

As part of its opinion, the Supreme Court created the “Lemon Test.” It was a three-part doctrine for determining whether a statue honored the Establishment Clause. To be deemed constitutional, a statute must 1) have a secular purpose, 2) have a predominately secular effect, and 3) not foster “excessive entanglement” between government and religion. 

Lemon v. Kurtzman ultimately turned on the third part.

The Supreme Court worried that the statute would require Pennsylvania government officials to constantly monitor the operations of religious schools to ensure that public funds were being spent exclusively on secular purposes. 

The Lemon Test remained a crucial tool for the Court until it was abandoned with its decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District in 2022.

After the July 1971 ruling, Lemon v. Kurtzman was remanded to a District Court and eventually made its way back to the Supreme Court in 1973. The Court ruled that Pennsylvania could provide $23 million to parochial schools for expenses incurred before the statue was deemed unconstitutional. All three local Jewish day schools announced plans to apply for funds—tens of thousands of dollars at the time, equivalent to hundreds of thousands today.

Soon after the Lemon v. Kurtzman ruling, Pennsylvania passed the Parent Reimbursement Act for Non-Public Education. It created a voucher system, allowing parents to be partially reimbursed for private school tuition.

In a 6-3 decision in June 1973, the Supreme Court again struck down the Pennsylvania law. With more than 90 percent of the children who would be impacted by the law attending parochial schools, the Court determined that the law did not have a predominately secular effect—the second part of the test. 

The appropriateness of public funds for private schools continues, including the recent debate over the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success program.

All year, the Rauh Jewish Archives is highlighting stories of Jewish life in Western Pennsylvania in the early 1970s. If you would like to donate a material from this time period, or any historic materials documenting Jewish life in this region, contact the archive or call 412-454-6406.

Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania:

Kayruv-Van

Newspaper photograph of Kayruv-Van Coordinator JoAnn Spiegel and Hebrew Institute Director Dr. Ron Brauner standing in front of the Kayruv-Van—June 11, 1987.

—Jewish Chronicle

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

The Kayruv Van was a mobile educational unit bringing Jewish books, music, dance, art, and history materials to smaller Jewish communities.

The Hebrew Institute of Pittsburgh started the Kayruv (Hebrew for “outreach”) Van in 1987 with funding from the United Jewish Federation. The program included a van outfitted with books, audio-visual equipment, music, and films, as well as staff support from the Hebrew Institute. Through the years, Kayruv Van staff included coordinator JoAnn Spiegel, librarians Michaella Segall and Renee Abrams, music teachers Sharon Leibowitz and Julie Harris, Israeli dance specialists Beverly Steinberg and Cherie Maharam, art specialist Agnes Klein, and Jewish and Israeli history specialist Laurie Eisenberg.

The Kayruv Van was incorporated into the new Jewish Education Institute in 1991 and continued operating at least through 1993.

Database:

Rabbinic Writings

The bibliography of local rabbinic texts now includes 62 texts from 11 authors. We recently added works by Rabbi Goodman A. Rose (Congregation Beth Shalom), Rabbi Herman Hailperin (Tree of Life Congregation), Rabbi Leonard Winograd (various congregations), Rabbi Eliyahu Safran (Congregation Poale Zedeck), and Rabbi Harold S. Silver (Temple Emanuel of the South Hills).

Aug. 18:

The Patchwork Life Stitching Circle

[LEFT] Color photograph showing a pair of hands framing a patch from The Witness Quilt reading, “Do a mitzvah.” [RIGHT] Patchwork Life Stitching Circle sewing kit.

On Sunday, September 1, the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center will open a new exhibition titled, “Louise Silk: A Patchwork Life,” a retrospective of the 50-year career of local quilter and fiber artist Louise Silk.  

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a new work called “The Witness Quilt,” a collection of 1,152 folk wisdoms embroidered onto recycled fabric from Silk’s personal fabric collection. Throughout the run of the exhibit, Silk will work in the gallery space with volunteer community stitchers to expand the Witness Quilt. Once complete, the patches will be given away to museum visitors. 

On Sunday, August 18 from 1-4 p.m., Silk will host a special training session at the Detre Library & Archives of the Heinz History Center for anyone who would like to participate. No expertise or materials are required, just a desire to join a community of stitchers who will assist with this special project.  

All participants will receive a special sewing kit created by Silk and will leave with an embroidery project already underway. If you are unable to attend the workshop but would still like to participate, please contact the archive.

NOW OPEN:

A Woman's Place: How Women Shaped Pittsburgh

“How Mrs. Enoch Rauh ushered in the year 1913 — on Dec. 31st 1912.”

—from Richard E. Rauh Papers [MSS 301]

From pioneering investigative journalism to leading their country to Olympic gold, Western Pennsylvania women have made an immeasurable impact in America, but too often, their stories have been overlooked.

The Heinz History Center is taking an unprecedented deep dive into the lives of these fierce and unflappable women who helped change the world inside a major new exhibition, A Woman’s Place: How Women Shaped Pittsburgh.

Take an interactive, thematic journey through Western Pennsylvania women’s history from the early 1800s to modern day that will showcase the stories of entrepreneurs and activists, artists and athletes, scientists and inventors, and changemakers and barrier breakers. Through more than 250 artifacts, immersive experiences, and striking archival images, A Woman’s Place will reveal how women have made Pittsburgh and the world a better place.  

Sept. 15

JGS Pittsburgh Presents:

Restitution and Remembrance:

Finding a Thousand Heirs

Some 20 years ago, over 9,000 books looted by the infamous Nazi officer Julius Streicher were handed over to the Jewish community in Nuernberg and are now held by the Stadtbibliothek there. The owners of more than 2,000 of them could be identified. An ongoing research project coordinated by Leibl Rosenberg in Nuernberg to identify descendants has resulted in the return of over 1,000 of them. Hundreds are still in the library collection awaiting return.

Karen enlisted assistance from the Leo Baeck Institute’s staff and volunteers, as well as volunteers from the Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Center at the Museum of Jewish Heritage and a college intern, to review the list of books with heirs yet unidentified, and within a few weeks, the descendants of over a dozen original owners of the book had been located and notified. In this talk, Karen will discuss new case studies and demonstrate the research techniques she and the volunteers undertook to find the heirs.

The program is Sunday, September 15 from 1-3 p.m. ET. This is an online program, occurring exclusively on Zoom. The program will be recorded, and the recording will be made available to current JGS-Pittsburgh members. 

“Restitution and Remembrance: Finding a Thousand Heirs” with Karen Franklin is a collaboration between the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh and the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center. Please register online. The program is free for JGS-Pittsburgh members and $5 for the general public. To become a member of the JGS-Pittsburgh and receive a free membership code for this program, please visit its website.

This program is possible through the generous support of the William M. Lowenstein Genealogical Research Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation.

Karen S. Franklin, a leader in the fields of Jewish genealogy and Jewish museums, has been Director of Family Research at the Leo Baeck Institute for over twenty years and is Consulting Director of the Peter and Mary Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Center at the Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. She has served as president of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, chair of the Council of American Jewish Museums, chair of the Memorial Museums Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), and co-chair of the Board of Governors of JewishGen.org. Karen received the service citation of the International Council of Museums-US in 2012 for her work in Holocaust-era Looted Art, and the IAJGS Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.

Community

Urban Redevelopment Authority Archives

The City of Pittsburgh Archives has launched a new digital archive containing thousands of photographs and documents spanning more than two centuries. Of particular interest to local Jewish history is a collection of more than 2,000 photographs of properties in the lower Hill District taken by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in the late 1950s prior to demolitions in the area. 

Squirrel Hill Historical Society Archives

Squirrel Hill Historical Society has added a collection of 60 historic images of Squirrel Hill to the Historic Pittsburgh website. The collection contains selected images from three organizations: the Squirrel Hill Historical Society, Squirrel Hill Urban  Coalition, and Mary S. Brown Memorial-Ames United Methodist Church. The photographs document many aspects of life in Squirrel Hill, including many beloved businesses from the 1990s that no longer exist.

From the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh

"How We Got Here"

Each family is unique. 

Each family has its own traditions, its own spirit, and its own dynamics. 

Despite all these differences, every Jewish family in Western Pennsylvania has at least one thing in common: They all have a story about how they got here.

Perhaps your family sailed in steerage across the Atlanti in the 19th century.

Or perhaps your family drove the Pennsylvania Turnpike in a station wagon in the 1960s to work for the universities and hospitals during Renaissance.

Or perhaps your arrival into one of the many Jewish communities of Western Pennsylvania involves marriage, or conversion, or a surprising DNA discovery.

Each of these stories is special, and each contributes to the larger story of our community. To collect and honor these origin stories, the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh is launching a new initiative called “How We Got Here.” To participate, just write a short account explaining how you or your ancestors came to settle in Western Pennsylvania. All stories are welcome.

Stories will be eligible for inclusion in the JGS-Pittsburgh’s monthly newsletter Z’chor and also for preservation in the Rauh Jewish Archives. For more information about this initiative, or to contribute, contact Eric Lidji.

From the Jewish Cemetery & Burial Association

"Road Trip: The Jewish Cemeteries of Western Pennsylvania"

The Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association of Greater Pittsburgh has released a new documentary showcasing Jewish cemeteries in Western Pennsylvania.

“Road Trip: The Jewish Cemeteries of Western Pennsylvania” is a one-hour tour of the many cemetery properties overseen by the JCBA, as well as an overview of the organization’s ongoing work to care for these sacred burial grounds. The video is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate these special Jewish cultural sites in our region. The video includes many historic photographs and documents from the collections of the Rauh Jewish Archives. 

Research Tools

The Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project contains digitized, searchable copies of four local English-language Jewish newspapers between 1895 and 2010. It is a valuable tool for researching almost any topic about Jewish history in Western Pennsylvania. For a primer on using the website, watch our video.

Western Pennsylvania Jewish Cemetery Project

The Rauh Jewish Archives launched the Western Pennsylvania Jewish Cemetery Project in 1998 to preserve burial records from Jewish cemeteries across the region. Over a period of fifteen years, the information was compiled into a searchable, online database containing approximately 50,000 burial records from 78 Jewish cemeteries throughout the region.

Western Pennsylvania Yahrzeit Plaques Project

The Rauh Jewish Archives launched the Western Pennsylvania Yahrzeit Plaques Project in 2020. The goal was to create a comprehensive collection of burial records from memorial boards at synagogues across the region. Volunteers are currently transcribing these boards and records are being added monthly to our online database. The database currently contains more than 2,700 listings.

Rauh Jewish Archives Bibliography

University of Pittsburgh librarian and Rauh Jewish Archives volunteer Laurie Cohen created this comprehensive bibliography of the Rauh Jewish Archives library holdings from 1988 through 2018. It lists nearly 350 volumes arranged by type and then by subject. This a great tool to use early in your research process, as you’re surveying available resources on a given subject.

Jewish Population Estimates

Looking to figure out how many Jews lived in a certain part of Western Pennsylvania at a certain moment in time? This bibliography includes more than 30 estimates of the Jewish population of Pittsburgh and small-towns throughout the region, conducted between 1852 and 2017.

Synagogues

A database of buildings throughout Western Pennsylvania known to have hosted Jewish worship services. Includes links to photographs and citations with original source material. Database currently includes 90 locations from 2 institutions

Rauh Jewish Archives Newsletter

The Rauh Jewish Archives has been publishing a weekly newsletter since 2020. The newsletter contains a variety of articles about local Jewish history, including much original research not found anywhere else. You can find and read every issue—more than 150!— in our new index.

Shul Records America

Online finding aid from JewishGen listing congregational archival collections held at publicly accessible repositories across the United States. Includes 63 listings from the Rauh Jewish Archives, as well as other repositories with Western Pennsylvania congregational records.

The Rauh Jewish Archives was founded on November 1, 1988 to collect and preserve the documentary history of Jewish life in Western Pennsylvania and to make it available to the world through research assistance, programing, exhibits, publications, and partnerships.

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