January 28, 2024

Vol. 5, No. 4



The Early 1970s:

Samuel Rosenberg

Jewish Encyclopedia:

Tanchem Zewi Congregation

Jewish Encyclopedia:

Tree of Life confirmation classes



Calendar:

Feb. 4: Nolan Altman

Feb. 17: Soul to Soul

"The Sofer"

Community:

Fine Fellowship

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:

Samuel Rosenberg

[LEFT] Newspaper clipping announcing plans to commemorate Samuel Rosenberg at Identicom III—April 12, 1973.

—from Jewish Chronicle

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

[RIGHT] “Perpetual Light No. 1”

—bequest of James Rich

The Identicom III conference in 1973 was dedicated to the memory of the artist Samuel Rosenberg, who had died the previous year. In a joint statement, the conference chairs announced, “It is appropriate that we dedicate our conference to Samuel Rosenberg whose work and inspiration represented the spirit of Jewish cultural values and commitment.” The phrase “the spirit of Jewish cultural values and commitment” is easy to accept but hard to define. It means different things to different people. What did it mean to the chairs? 

Rosenberg was a painter who spent most of his life in Pittsburgh. Jewish themes recur throughout his work, even as he progressed across different styles—from social realism in the 1930s to abstract expressionism in the 1950s. If you visit the Rauh Jewish Archives on the sixth floor of the Heinz History Center, you will find his 1959 abstract painting, “Perpetual Light No. 1.” Its smoldering glow references the “ner tamid” found in most synagogues.

Black and white photograph of art class at the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House led by Samuel Rosenberg—c.1923.

—from Samuel Rosenberg Papers and Photographs [MSS 567]

Rosenberg’s commitment was also present in his classroom. Acclaimed as a painter, he was revered as a teacher. He had a gift for helping students advance their own artistic potential, without allowing his personal ideas to influence their work. An exhibit of Rosenberg’s students at the American Jewish Museum in 2011 was notable for its wide diversity of styles and sensibilities.

Throughout his long career in Pittsburgh, Rosenberg was closely associated with four local teaching institutions. He founded the Neighborhood Art School at the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House in the Hill District in 1917. He taught undergraduate students at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) from 1924 until 1965. He taught community art classes for adults at the Young Men and Women’s Hebrew Association in Oakland from 1926 to 1964. And he directed the art department at the Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham University) from 1937 to 1945. 

As an artist, Rosenberg was among the most honored members of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh. He was also principal founder of the Abstract Group in 1944. The group promoted modernism and abstraction at a time when the city and especially its art critics were resistant to the emergent artistic movement. The Abstract Group became Group A in the late 1960s.

Cover from program for “A Painter’s Legacy: The Students of Samuel Rosenberg” at the American Jewish Museum of the Jewish Community Center—2011.

Rosenberg instructed several generations of local artists—both Jewish and non-Jewish. Even those artists who never passed through his classroom often benefitted from the artistic climate he fostered in Pittsburgh. When he started teaching in late 1910s, the thought of becoming a working artist in Pittsburgh was quixotic. By the time of his death in 1972, it was a real possibility.

Reviewing the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh catalogs from the early 1970s reveals many Jewish artists active in the city. They include Rochelle Blumenfeld, Jerry Caplan, Florence Chernoff, Anna Foner Cohen, Janice Colker, Aaronel deRoy Gruber, Bunny Goldman, Julius Kahn, Henry Koerner, Sadie P. Shapiro, Alex Speyer III, Lois Kaufman, Sylvia Feldstein, Jane Haskell, Philip Mendlow, Ruth Drescher, Geri Taper Braunstein, Joan Newman Cohen, Shirley Gottfried, Phyllis Kindler, Eugene Kravits, Leonard Leib, Charlotte Rosenberg, Ruth Selwitz, Evelyn Mitchell Solomon, and Abe Weiner.

And many more to come.

This list is diverse. It includes professionals and devoted amateurs. It includes Rosenberg’s contemporaries and students, as well as artists who never worked with him directly but benefitted from the community he nurtured. It includes artists who were influenced by their Jewish identity in various ways. Some handled Jewish themes explicitly throughout their careers, while others handled hose themes implicitly through the particulars of their experiences. 

These artists often benefitted from the local Jewish community. In those years, many local Jewish organizations supported local artists through speaking engagements, commissions, and introductions to a network of artistic patrons. 

The Rauh Jewish Archives holds the papers of several Jewish artists who were active locally during this era: the Samuel Rosenberg Papers and Photographs [MSS 567] and the Ruth Westerman Collection on Samuel Rosenberg [MSS 899], the Aaronel deRoy Gruber Papers [MSS 335], the Jane Haskell Papers [MSS 1046], the Abe Weiner Papers [MSS 582], as well as individual works by Rochelle Blumenfeld, Janice Colker, and others. The Heinz History Center's Detre Library & Archives also holds the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh Records [MSS 399], which is one of the best sources for information about the local arts community. The Chatham University Archives holds the Jerry Caplan Papers [2013.0001].

Do you have information about the artists on this list? Is the list missing key artists of that era? If so, please contact the archive or call 412-454-6406.

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 historically relevant materials documenting Jewish life in this region, contact the archive or call 412-454-6406.

Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania:

Tanchem Zewi Congregation

Detail from charter of Tanchem Zewi Congregation—1932.

—from Allegheny County Charter Books

Tanchem Zewi Congregation was founded in the East End of Pittsburgh in 1932. Several members of the Lazar, Marchbein, Morvai, and Weisman families obtained a charter for the congregation in 1932 for “the support of public worship in accordance with the religious customs of Hungarian Jews, and to commemorate the religious teachings of Rabbi Tachem Zewi.” 

Charter members include Louis Lazar, Charlotte Lazar, Esther Marchbein, Eugene Marchbein, Julius Morvai, Elizabeth Morvai, Regina Morvai, Irene Morvai, Adolph Weisman, Ethel Weisman, and Albert Weisman. They lived in four houses on Highview, Mellon, and N. St. Clair streets in the East End.

Rabbi Theodore Marchbein (also known by his Hebrew name Tanchum Tzvi) came from a long line of chazzanim (cantors) in Hungary and Poland. After immigrating to the United States, Marchbein settled in Western Pennsylvania and became the spiritual leader of Congregation Gemilas Chesed in McKeesport, Pa. He was killed in an automobile accident in June 1928.

Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania:

Tree of Life Congregation

confirmation class photographs

Photograph of the 1950 confirmation class of Tree of Life Congregation of Pittsburgh. Pictured: (Back, from left) Phillip Friedman, Louis Mendelman, Marvin Reicter, Sidney Somers, Joel Miller, (center, from left) Roz Davis Shapiro, Sarah Hailperin, Shirley Phillips Farbman, Rabbi Herman Hailperin, Cantor Marcus Rosenthal, Bernice Newman, Betty Berg Miller, Sondra Lebovitz Gettleman, (seated from left) Barbara Shulman Chottiner, Jacqueline Gibbon Orlansky, Elinor Stein Welson, Harriet Levenson.

—Tree of Life Congregation Records [MSS 1292]

With demolition underway at the Tree of Life synagogue, many who love the building may be experiencing strong feelings. One way to process change is by reviewing the past. Just as viewing a large object from a distance can reveal its form better than a close study, the past can bring clarity to the present.

The Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania includes photographs of 65 confirmation classes at Tree of Life Congregation between 1901 and 2017. The collection includes photographs of hundreds of individual people, including, perhaps, you or someone you know. You can find the collection by clicking the link below and scrolling down to the “Photographs” section.

The Rauh Jewish Archives is eager to fill gaps in this collection. If you have a photograph of a Tree of Life confirmation class not included in this collection, or if you see erroneous information in the collection, please contact the archive.

February 4:

JGS Pittsburgh Presents:

Patronymic Naming and Cemetery Research

Headstone inscriptions provide one of the most important tools for researching Jewish genealogical history: patronymic naming, or names derived from paternal ancestors. This presentation will familiarize attendees with the evolution of family surnames and the practice of patronymic naming. Recognizing the components of patronymic naming, participants will learn how to take advantage of these clues to link their family through generations. Nolan Altman will review an actual case study using headstone inscriptions and will show participants online resources to help find headstone information.



Altman will also show examples of headstones and explain what you’re likely to find if you take a trip to the cemetery. He will explain the meaning of symbols that you will find on stones. Even if you can’t read Hebrew, you can understand the inscriptions. He will also show many examples of inscription trends, some odd inscriptions, and errors in inscriptions…even well-known ones. With a presentation on cemetery records, you wouldn’t expect to leave laughing, but he guarranties you will.

The program is on Sunday, Feb. 4, 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. 

"Patronymic Naming and Cemetery Research" is a collaboration between the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh and the Rauh Jewish Archives. Please register online. This program is free for JGS-Pittsburgh members and $5 for the general public. To become a member of the JGS-Pittsburgh and to receive a free membership code for this program, please visit its website.

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

Nolan Altman was bit by the “genealogy bug” when he was inspired to write his family history in 1996 in memory of his mother. After making use of the valuable information on JewishGen, he volunteered to do data entry on various projects. In time, he was asked to become the Coordinator for JewishGen’s Holocaust Database and subsequently the Coordinator for the JOWBR (JewishGen’s Online Worldwide Burial Registry) project. Nolan works with volunteers from around the world helping to grow both databases for the benefit of family members and researchers. Nolan currently holds the position of JewishGen’s Director for Data Acquisition and focuses on growing the JOWBR, Holocaust and Memorial Plaques databases. In 2021, JOWBR won the IAJGS Outstanding Project Award.

Feb. 17:

Congregation Beth Shalom Presents:

Soul to Soul

Soul To Soul follows the experience of the African American and Jewish communities and their paths to America’s promise of freedom in a dazzling multi-media program. 

Celebrating its 109th season, the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF), under the direction of Zalman Mlotek, is visiting Pittsburgh for the first time to stage Soul To Soul.

Sung by brilliant performers with careers spanning from Broadway to the pulpit, these stirring songs range from spirituals, jazz, civil rights era anthems to Yiddish traditional and theatre songs from the Great American Songbook, culminating in a high-energy collection of enthralling music, highlighting the historic partnership between Blacks and Jews. 

The recently restored Kaufmann Center’s state-of-the-art Elsie H. Hillman auditorium in the city’s historic Hill District is the perfect venue for this concert. The Hill District embodies the shared history of these two communities in Pittsburgh: It was the center of Jewish life from the late 1880s into the early 1930s and, "the Hill" was the cultural center of Black life and a major center of jazz since before World War I. The venue is run by ACH Clear Pathways and serves as a vibrant artistic hub of the neighborhood and repository of this cultural legacy. 

The concert features the talents of Lisa Fishman (NYTF's Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof), Elmore James (Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast), Tony Perry (Broadway's Five Guys Named Moe) and Daniella Rabbani (NTF's Amid Falling Walls.) Conceived in 2010 by NYTF Artistic Director Zalman Mlotek, the show is accompanied by multimedia imagery and video curated by Motl Didner that reflects the ongoing need for unity and healing. The musical ensemble includes Brian Glassman, Dmitri Zisl Slepovitch, and Matt Temkin with music direction by Mlotek. 

Immediately following the concert will be a talkback with the cast on the genesis and creation of the show as well as a presentation by a respected academic from University of Pittsburgh's History department about jazz and the collaboration between Black and Jewish musicians in the Hill. 

Soul To Soul will be staged on Saturday night, Feb. 17 at the historic Kaufmann Center in the Hill District. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at bethshalompgh.org.

through March 18:

Rodef Shalom Congregation Presents:

"The Sofer: A Tribute To My Zayde"

The Sofer is a multi-generational narrative about Pittsburgh artist Rosabel Rosalind's relationship with Zayde, her grandfather, a retired Orthodox rabbi with whom she lived for the first twelve years of her life. (He spent part of his career in Western Pennsylvania, leading Beth Samuel Jewish Center in Ambridge.) Fragmented by time and memory, the story recounts details from the years Zayde and Rosalind lived as roommates, interspersed with historical reimaginings and stark cultural observations that span past and present. 

The book follows Zayde and Rosalind, as she came of age in a Conservative Jewish household and as she continues to come to terms with her Jewishness. The Sofer is about the haunting of memory, history, and tradition in the face of a resurgence of anti-Semitism, through an intimate and inherited perspective. 

The original manuscript of The Sofer is 185 pages and is entirely hand-painted with beet juice, citing Zayde's affinity for Manischewitz brand borscht and the complexities of diasporic Jewishness. Sofer, translates to a Jewish scribe of ancient texts, and it is also Rosalind's maternal name; her Zayde’s last name. Thus she transcribed the familial, ancestral, and historical, using an untraditional hand-made ink, per scribal ritual, with a combination of painting and comic techniques and specific Sofer lettering of Rosalind's design.

Community

The Fine Fellowship

Jewish Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh and the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center announce the inaugural Fine Fellowship for the study of the October 27 attack. This $4000 fellowship will provide funding for a scholar to travel to Pittsburgh and work with local materials related to the attack and its aftermath and to engage with the local community.

A committee of representatives from the Jewish studies faculty of University of Pittsburgh, the Rauh Jewish Archives, and the 10.27 Healing Partnership will consider the applications. They will offer the award to an outstanding scholar whose research promises to make excellent use of local materials, stands to gain from thoughtful conversations with the people of Pittsburgh, and will prove instructive to local community-members seeking to better understand the contexts and repercussions of the October 27 attack.

Applications due March 15, 2024. For more information, click link below.

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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