The Early 1970s:
Lillian Holstein
Jewish Encyclopedia:
Partnership 2000
Resources:
Aaronel deRoy Gruber
Louise Silk: A Patchwork Life
Quilting Revival
Exhibits:
A Woman's Place
Calendar:
Nov. 10: Pittsburgh Jewish Book Festival
Nov. 13-20: 3 Rivers Film Festival
Nov. 18-19: Commemoration
Nov. 20: Reckoning with Antisemitism
Dec. 15: Shaping Family Stories
Community:
URA photographs
SHHS archives
JCBA "Road-Trip"
Research Tools:
Newspapers, Cemeteries,
Memorial Plaques, Books,
Population Figures, Synagogues, Newsletter Archive,
Shul Records America
| |
|
The Early 1970s:
Lillian Holstein
| |
Black and white photograph of B'nai B'rith Women International President Lillian Holstein (right) shaking hands with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, c. 1971.
—Lillian Holstein Photograph [PFF 53]
| |
Lillian Holstein had a counterintuitive approach to cultivating membership.
“People join things for a variety of reasons, the least of which is the purpose of the organization,” she explained in an oral history with the National Council of Jewish Women-Pittsburgh Section in 1977. Only after joining the organization did that new member actually become “wed” to its mission.
Holstein was a renowned organizer. In an obituary in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2000, Sally Kalson wrote that Holstein could “walk into a room of strangers in an unfamiliar city, take the podium and, with a single eloquent speech, move them to join her organization and become active in its mission."
Holstein's organization was B’nai B’rith Women, known today as Jewish Women’s International. As the International President of B’nai B’rith Women from 1971 to 1974, Holstein became one of the few people from Pittsburgh who held the top office of an international Jewish organization.
Holstein wasn’t a native Pittsburgher. She came here from New York in 1935, after marrying lawyer Nathan Holstein. She initially struggled to find a place in the Jewish community. She attended various group meetings out of curiosity but was not drawn to continue with any of those Jewish organizations.
Through her friend Mildred Feldman, Holstein was invited to start a second local chapter of the B’nai B’rith Women’s Auxiliary, as it was known at the time. The hope was to encourage greater active participation in the organization by fragmenting a large membership—around 1,000 people—across smaller “groups” or “chapters,” each with its own slate of directors.
This group started B’nai B’rith Women Menorah Chapter in 1938. It led to a great expansion of B’nai B’rith Women activity throughout the region. By the mid-1950s, B’nai B’rith Women had 24 chapters locally. In addition to Holstein, the local BBW also sent Dorothy Binstock to the international presidency.
In her oral history, Holstein said she never wanted to lead, only to “help out,” but B’nai B’rith Women kept advancing her. She was elected president of the Menorah Chapter in 1943, graduated directly to the presidency of the B’nai B’rith Women Pittsburgh Council, and then to the presidency of B’nai B’rith Women District No. 3 covering Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. “I was like the teacher who stayed one day ahead of the class, and I tried hard not to let anybody know how little I knew,” she said.
As B’nai B’rith Women International President in the early 1970s, Holstein “supported programs fostering understanding between young Arabs and Jews, found against American college quotas for black and Jews, and labored on behalf of Soviet Jewry,” as Kalson wrote. These were also important years for the Women’s movement. As a result of her position, Holstein was granted privileges that were unique at the time, including being invited to speak from the pulpit at her congregation, Temple Sinai. She also led B’nai B’rith Women through the Yom Kippur War in 1973, leading to numerous trips to Israel to meet with high-ranking officials, including Prime Minister Golda Meir.
| |
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:
Partnership 2000
| |
Black and white photograph of park in Karmiel, Israel, celebrating the Partnership 2000 relationship with the Jewish communities in Baltimore and Pittsburgh—Aug. 8, 2002.
—Jewish Chronicle
Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project
| |
The Rauh Jewish Archives recently published a finding aid and meeting minute index for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Records [MSS 287]. As part of that effort, we’ve using this space to summarize the history of the organization and to profile some of its predecessors and projects.
The Jewish Agency for Israel launched Project Renewal in 1978 to help distressed cities and neighborhoods throughout Israel. The project was built on a new “twinning” program that paired Jewish communities throughout the diaspora with communities in Israel. Pittsburgh was an early adopter of Project Renewal. The United Jewish Federation included a $2.5 million goal for the project on top of its usual fundraising campaign for 1979. Pittsburgh was paired with the small city of Tirat Carmel, just south of Haifa.
By the early 1990s, the Jewish Agency for Israel was facing criticism from some diaspora Jewish communities about the structure of Project Renewal. It addressed those concerns through a new initiative called Partnership 2000.
Partnership 2000 also paired diaspora Jewish communities with Israeli cities and regions, but it gave those diaspora communities greater latitude to choose partners and initiatives. Pittsburgh was slightly ahead of this effort. Through its relationship with Tirat Carmel, the United Jewish Federation had already begun supporting a cryosurgery initiative at Misgav Medical in northern Israel. The partnership allowed the UJF to connect the Israeli medical team with similar work being done at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Partnership 2000 is now known as Partnership2Gether.
| |
The Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania brings together numerous online resources into a clearinghouse for conducting research about Jewish history in this region. As we migrate information to this new website, we’ll be announcing new entries and resources in this section of the newsletter. | |
Resources:
Aaronel deRoy Gruber project files
| |
Black and white photograph of Aaronel deRoy Gruber with her sculpture "Luv In" in Gateway Center, c. 1968.
—Aaronel deRoy Gruber Papers [MSS 335]
| |
Throughout her six-decade artistic career, Aaronel deRoy Gruber (1918-2011) worked in many media: painting, sculpting, jewelry, and photography.
Her sculpture career was pioneering. She was among the first local artists to work in steel and one of the first artists nationally to work in plastics. These sculptures required specialty manufacturing, which made Aaronel an important link between Western Pennsylvania manufacturers and the fine art world.
The Aaronel deRoy Gruber Papers [MSS 335] at the Rauh Jewish Archives document this connection in great detail. Aaronel kept extensive project files for many of her individual works of art. These files include sketches, plans and photographs, as well as correspondence with factories, foundries, manufacturers, galleries, museums, supporters, and other artists.
With support from the Irving and Aaronel deRoy Gruber Foundation, the Rauh Jewish Archives is digitizing these project files. Our archivist Catelyn Cocuzzi recently added the first batch of files to the Historic Pittsburgh website. It includes hundreds of images from 84 project files dating from the 1960s and 1970s, documenting her transition from metal to plastic sculpture.
| |
Louise Silk: A Patchwork Life
Quilting Revival
| |
Color photograph of Louise silk hold her first quilt, a grandmother's flower garden, c.1973.
—Louise Silk Papers
| |
Louise Silk taught herself to quilt in 1972. Her self-guided training was occurring during the earliest days of an American quilting revival. This revival had two points of origin, each gazing off in different directions.
The 1971 exhibit “Abstract Design in American Quilts” at the Whitney Museum in New York was among the first to hang quilts like paintings. Seen in full, these antique quilts from rural Pennsylvania and New York revealed a visual sophistication that was decades ahead of trends in modernist painting. The exhibit launched an international art-quilt movement, where quilting techniques were used to create fine art objects. Louise bought a used copy of the exhibition catalog and referenced it as a guide for her early quilts.
The U.S. Bicentennial in 1976 renewed interest in American craftwork. Quilting groups were emerging all over the country to share supplies and techniques and to deepen human connection through community. As she gained technical skill, Louise organized quilting retreats among her circle of friends in the Women’s Movement in Chicago, where she was living at the time. Since returning to her native Pittsburgh in 1978, she has enthusiastically pursued a career in quilting along both of these pathways: artist and community builder.
| |
The next installment of our Gut Yontif! series is Dec. 28 with a fiery Chanukah celebration from Rosabel Rosalind, then on Thursday, Feb. 13 with an intimate Tu B’shvat seder from Lydia Rosenberg, and finally on Wednesday, March 12 with an all-embracing Purim party from Olivia Devorah Tucker.
The “Gut Yontif!” series is made possible thanks to a generous grant from the SteelTree Fund of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
| |
Exhibit:
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.
| |
Nov. 10-13:
Pittsburgh Jewish Book Festival
| |
Nov. 13-24:
Three Rivers Film Festival and Pittsburgh Shorts
| |
|
Film Pittsburgh will present the 2024 Three Rivers Film Festival (43 years strong--recently voted #1 film festival the 2nd year in a row by City Paper’s Best of PGH reader’s poll!) from November 13th-20th at the August Wilson Center, the Harris Theater, and The Lindsay Theater. Tickets can be purchased online at https://filmpittsburgh.org/. Use the code RAUH2024 at checkout to receive a $3 discount on general admission tickets.
Questions? Call us at 412-426-FILM (3456) or go to filmpittsburgh.org/.
| |
Nov. 18-19:
18 Cheshvan Commemoration
| |
For the third year, the 10.27 Healing Partnership is hosting a day of Jewish learning to commemorate 18 Cheshvan, the Hebrew yahrzeit of the October 27 attack. The yarhzeit this year falls on the evening of Nov. 18 into Nov. 19.
There will be an evening of in-person study with local teachers on Monday, Nov. 18 from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill.
- Rhonda Rosen: “Introduction to Contemplative Judaism”
- Kalix Jacobson: “Lamentations: How the Music of the Jewish People Brought us Through Times of Despair”
- Eric Lidji: “On The Importance of Minyan”
- Amitai Ben-Nun: “The Weekly Parsha: Vayera”
- Jill Joshowitz: “Hanoten Teshua: the Jewish Prayer for the Government”
There will also be two lunch-time sessions of virtual Torah study with visiting teachers Rabbi Irving Greenberg, Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt, and Cantor Joanna Dulkin on Tuesday, Nov. 19 from 11-1 p.m.
To register, please visit the 10.27 Healing Partnership website.
| |
Nov. 20:
Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh Presents:
Reckoning With Antisemitism
| |
On Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m., Christian Associates and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh welcome a panel of Jewish leaders to share how antisemitism has affected their lives and community and what they hope their Christian neighbors will come to understand about the Jewish experience.
The panel will include Eric Lidji, director of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center; Sara Stock Mayo, a spiritual leader, musician, poet, and activist; and Alan Iszauk, Pittsburgh Jewish community member.
"Reckoning With Antisemitism: Listening to Jewish Voices" will occur at the John Knox Room at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary at 616 N. Highland Ave.
| |
Dec. 15:
JGS Pittsburgh Presents:
Strategies for Shaping Your Family Story
| |
Using the life of Moische, later known as Morris, Sana Loue will explore various strategies and resources to shape the background of our family stories of immigration and adjustment to life in the United States.
The program is Sunday, December 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.
“Strategies for Shaping Your Family Story” with Sana Loue 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.
| |
Sana Loue is a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in the Department of Bioethics. She has been researching her family’s origins for several years, tracking documents and stories through Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, and Russia. Her recent publication, From Public Policy to Family Dynamics: A Case Study of the Impact of Public Policy on Two 20th Century Jewish Immigrant Families, tells the stories of her brother Michael, born with Down syndrome, and the impact of Russian and U.S. eugenics policy on family dynamics, as well as that of her grandfather Moische and the effects of U.S. immigration and welfare policy on family structure and relationships. | |
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 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.
| |
Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project | |
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. | |
|
|
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. | |
|
|
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. | |
[IMAGE: Marian Schreiber and employees at the Schreiber Trucking Company, c.1943—from Schreiber Family Papers and Photographs, MSS 846.]
If you like this newsletter, why not forward it to a friend? We want to share the story of Western Pennsylvania Jewish history with as many people as possible.
If you've received this newsletter from a friend or neighbor, and you want to read more, just click on the link below to start receiving future editions.
| |
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. | | | | |