The Southern Shmooze
December 2021
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Happy Holidays from MSJE! |
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From left: Lizzi Meister, Public Programs Manager, Krista Toussant, Membership & Marketing Coordinator, Emma Storm Herr, Development Director, Kenneth Hoffman, Executive Director, Anna Tucker, Curator, Abbey Lewis, Visitor Services Manager
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2021 has been quite a year for MSJE: we triumphantly opened the Museum in May despite the challenges of the global pandemic; we received great write-ups in The New York Times, USA Today, The Houston Chronicle, AAA Explorer, and The Jerusalem Post; we weathered Hurricane Ida with no damage; we won multiple exhibit awards; and we recently welcomed our 3,500th visitor. If you've been following our progress, you know what a wonderful place of memories and meaning we've created for our communities and beyond.
Here are some favorite memories from our staff...
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"Since starting at the Museum in August, my favorite memories are all around people's stories! During virtual tours of the Museum, participants have shared their family's stories of coming to the United States for the first time. I get to overhear our fantastic volunteers share their family stories about their merchant store history with our visitors. I've talked with visitors who see their stories in our "Summer Camp Sweetheart" exhibition. It brings me so much joy each time someone shares that they see themselves in the Museum"
–Lizzi
"My favorite memory is from my second day on the job when we had our soft opening! I moved to New Orleans the day before and 24 hours later, I was at an event at MSJE with all of our amazing supporters. It was in that moment, I knew I had made the right decision to move and, that I would be working with a great team."
–Krista
"I have many favorite memories over the past year but I have especially enjoyed watching our supporters show their children and grandchildren their names on the Founding Donor Wall, knowing that their legacy will be a permanent part of the Museum. I love when a family spots their own mezuzah on the Mezuzah Society Wall. And of course, I love when a visitor has such a special experience walking through our galleries that they decide to make a gift on the spot to support the future of the Museum! It takes a village to reach our campaign goal of $10 million and we are almost there!"
–Emma
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"When I reflect on my favorite memories of working with MSJE, I realize they all have something in common: they all involve people sharing their stories. Some stories stretched back generations, others began only a few decades ago; some were from Southern Jewish perspectives, others were from experiences that span regions, religions, and ethnicities. All of them, however, taught me something new and expanded my perspective. I am so grateful for people giving of their time and sharing their memories with me."
–Anna
"My favorite memory thus far of working at the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience is being able to share my Southern Jewish story with everyone. I have always known that I have lived a very unique "Southern" and "Jewish" life; however, I never knew how much the two connected until working for MSJE. I am looking forward to sharing my story with future visitors to come!"
–Abbey
"I have two favorite memories: 1) eating lunch at Willie Mae's Scotch House with Museum Chair Jay Tanenbaum and Vice-Chair Morris Mintz; and 2) eating lunch with Vice-Chair Rusty Palmer and his lovely wife Suzanne (and Anna) at Mandina's. There is nothing more Southern or more Jewish than sitting around a table full of good food swapping stories, sharing opinions, and making plans (usually for the next meal). Of course, you don't have to be Southern or Jewish to have lunch with me. Just sayin'.
–Kenneth
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End of Year Giving
A Message from MSJE Director of Development Emma Storm Herr
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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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Is MSJE the Best?
According to USA Today, we might be!
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MSJE has been nominated for USA Today's 2021 10Best Readers' Choice travel awards in the Best New Attraction category! To win, we have to get the most votes, and we're up against some heavy hitters (Van Gogh)!
Please VOTE for the Museum using the link below and SHARE it with friends, family, and on social media. You can vote once a day, every day until Monday, December 20. The winner will be announced on Friday, December 31.
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Upcoming Event:
A peek into the past with Bill Aron and Vicki Reikes Fox
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WHAT: A Shalom Y'all evening with Bill Aron and Vicki Reikes Fox!
Bill Aron, photographer, and Vicki Reikes Fox, curator and scholar, will share memories from select photographs as they explore the Museum's special exhibit, Shalom Y'all: A Snapshot of Southern Jewish Life, now on view. Don’t miss this great opportunity to reminisce, reconnect, and rejoice in our Southern Jewish experience!
WHEN: Thursday, December 9, 6:00-7:00pm Central
WHERE: Virtually, via Zoom*
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*MSJE Members are invited to the Museum for refreshments and a pre-presentation walk-through of Shalom Y'all: A Snapshot of Southern Jewish Life, followed by a watch party of the virtual conversation with Bill and Vicki. Please RSVP using the information in November's Kibbitz & Bits Member newsletter.
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Who Dat say they gonna... |
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If you live in New Orleans, then you know what black and gold means. Show your Southern Jewish team spirit in a new black and gold long sleeve tee. Win or lose, you'll be marching in that number!
And even though Chanukah is almost over, for the entire month of December you can Spin-the-Dreidel to receive big discounts on everything in our Museum Store, from shirts, hats, and toys to mezuzahs, books, and more!
Click the link below to order our Black & Gold Long Sleeve Tee!
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Meet Our Newest Intern
Hannah Snyder
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Hannah Snyder is a senior at Tulane studying Jewish Studies and Public Health with a minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies. Coming from California, Hannah wanted to be an intern with MSJE to learn more about the Southern Jewish experience. She was also eager to gain experience working in a museum setting and learn from its staff. After graduation, Hannah hopes to continue working in the Jewish community, either with a non-profit or in education.
Through the generosity of the Charles D. Zucker Fund, MSJE offers internships to Jewish Studies students, giving them real-world experience working in museums, non-profit spaces, and the Jewish community.
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Give the 🎁 of 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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GEORGIA: December 2, 1735
Mordecai Sheftall is born in Savannah, Province of Georgia, two years after his parents immigrated from England. Sheftall served as a colonel in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, becoming its highest-ranking Jewish officer. He helped defend Savannah, lent a considerable amount of his fortune to the American cause, was captured and served time on a British prison ship.
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MISSISSIPPI: December 7, 1863
Maj. Simon Mayer, of the 10th Mississippi, Confederate Army, writes in his diary:
On the 7th all quiet in front – weather dark and cloudy. Today meets the Congress at Richmond, as also does the Congress at Washington. Both have fearful responsibilities before them. The people of both Countries will look to them for relief from the miseries and calamities of direful war.
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FLORIDA: December 7, 1893
Paula Herskovitz Ackerman is born in Pensacola. She taught religious school at Temple Beth El, eventually marrying the rabbi there, William Ackerman, and relocating with him to Meridian, MS. When her husband died in 1950, Congregation Beth Israel asked her to assume his position. Despite the refusal of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations to sanction her, she agreed, becoming the first American woman to lead a Reform congregation.
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NORTH CAROLINA: December 11, 1879
Gertrude Weil is born in Goldsboro. Schooled as a teen in New York, she became the first woman from North Carolina to graduate from Smith College. She took that liberal education back to Goldsboro, where she organized Women's Suffrage Leagues, lobbied for tighter child labor laws, and helped Jewish refugees coming to North Carolina in the 1930s and 40s. In the 1960s she chaired the state's Interracial Committee.
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VIRGINIA: December 16, 2011
A statue of Uriah P. Levy, the Navy's first Jewish commodore (admiral) is erected outside Mikveh Israel Synagogue on Independence Mall in Philadelphia. In 1834, Levy, who had earlier led the effort to abolish flogging in the U.S. Navy, purchased Thomas Jefferson's Virginia home, Monticello, restoring it to its original splendor and preserving it for future generations.
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OKLAHOMA: December 27, 1966
William Scott Goldberg is born in Tulsa. He became a bar mitzvah at Temple Israel there, played football at University of Georgia, and then pro football with the Rams and the Falcons. But it was as a professional wrestler that "Goldberg" made his mark, becoming WWE's 1998 Rookie of the Year, winning multiple world championships, and being induced into the Hall of Fame in 2018.
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KENTUCKY: December 28, 1862
In Paducah, Cesar Kaskel, a Jewish merchant from Prussia, sends an urgent telegram to President Abraham Lincoln, protesting General Ulysses Grant's Order No. 11 expelling "the Jews as a class" from his department of the war. Kaskel then set off for Washington, D.C., and on January 4, 1863, met with the president to personally ask for his intercession. This meeting, together with complaints from politicians and the press, led Lincoln to rescind the order days later.
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As the end of 2021 nears, please remember us in your end-of-year giving plans. We hope you don't need any other reason to support the Museum, but in case you do, ask your tax preparer about possible tax advantages from a donation to MSJE.
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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 Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience; Blue Star campers, North Carolina, 2016. Courtesy of Blue Star Camps.
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