Here - Vos Iz Neias

Where To Go • What To Do
A Guide for Chol Hamoed and the Spring
A Publication of
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THE JEWISH PRESS
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Friday, April 3, 2015
Visiting Jewish Greater Boston
By Michael Alan Ross
Spring – and Chol Hamoed especially – is a wonderful time of year for discovering Boston’s historic and present day Jewish connections. In much of
Greater Boston, you can walk or take public transportation to Jewish sites, including numerous shuls.
If you come to Brookline, Newton, or Cambridge,
you’ll have access to Boston’s public transportation,
the T, which will enable you to easily reach Jewish
historic and present day sites.
One location to begin your discovery is on the
north side of downtown Boston’s Beacon Hill at the
Vilner Center for Jewish Heritage and Culture.
Check out its hours before going there.
Once inside the Vilner Center, you’ll be amazed
at how well this one hundred year old shul has been
restored; and, depending upon current exhibits in the
ground floor below the sanctuary, you’ll learn both its
history and obtain a perspective of Greater Boston’s
Jewish history.
If you have a copy of my guidebook, you’ll be able
to find and walk from the Vilner Center to many additional historical Jewish sites.
On the west side of Beacon Hill, near the Charles
River, are former homes of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Louis Dembitz Brandeis and Filene’s
department store and Filene’s Basement magnate
Edward A. Filene.
Just north of Beacon Hill, in Boston’s North End,
are a number of former Jewish synagogues, homes,
and retail sites – as well as Boston’s Holocaust Memorial.
Somewhat farther away, in Boston’s Back Bay
and South End – a bit of a hike but walkable – are
more of the same.
These sites reflect Boston’s
late 19th century and early 20th
century Jewish immigrants who
consisted of earlier German/
Western European Jews and
later Russian/Eastern European
Jews. Their eventual integration
into Boston and Massachusetts
commercial, political, social, and
religious life was successful.
Today, many second, third,
and fourth generation native
American Jewish Bostonians
have returned to residing in
downtown Boston. To meet
some of them, visit the Boston
Synagogue, close to The Boston
Garden, home of the NBA team
Boston Celtics, coached for many
years by Red Auerbach.
After a half or full day exploring downtown Boston’s Jewish
sites, you can continue Jewish
touring using the T to proceed
into Cambridge via the T’s red
line or into Brookline and Newton via the T’s green line.
Jews have been participants
in Cambridge’s Harvard Uni- Brookline’s first synagogue, Kehillath Israel, completed in 1925.
versity since its first Hebrew insucceed Eliot. Brandeis, of course, went on to serve as
structor over 250 years ago.
One hundred twenty-five years ago, Louis Dem- associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court appointbitz Brandeis academically led his Harvard Law ed by President Woodrow Wilson.
School class. While there, he resided in Thayer
In the early 20th century, Leo Wiener became
Hall. Harvard President Charles W. Eliot later told the father of Harvard’s Slavic language department.
Brandeis that he (Brandeis) was someone who, in ElContinued on p.S6
iot’s opinion, would have made a good candidate to
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THE JEWISH PRESS
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The Return Of A Stolen World:
A Boston Museum’s Rothschild Collection
By Deahn Berrini Leblang
BOSTON – The first item that greets the visitor
to the Museum of Fine Art’s new exhibit, Restoring a
Legacy: Rothschild Family Treasures, is an oil painting by the 17th century Dutch artist Gabriel Metsu.
Metsu has been compared to Vermeer, but viewers
cannot see for themselves because the picture is hung
backwards.
Only the sturdy wooden frame, the unpainted wooden panel on which the canvas is set, and a
number of random scribbles and stickers are visible. These marks describe the “provenance” of the
painting, the line of ownership from the artist to the
present.
This backward hanging sets the perfect tone, be-
Pearl and diamond necklace, circa 1880. Silver, gold,
pearls, and diamonds. Gift of the heirs of Bettina
Looram de Rothschild.
cause everything in the exhibit, save
the jewelry, was stolen from the Baron and Baroness Alphonse and Clarice
de Rothschild of Austria by the Nazis
during the Anschluss, the annexation
of Austria to Germany in 1938. It took
the family over 60 years to have their
famed art collection – 3,500 pieces, generations in the building and valued at
several hundred millions of dollars –
returned.
The history of the ownership of the
186 items on display is as much a part
of the exhibition as the actual pieces
themselves. A detailed explanation of
the markings on the Metsu painting
decodes a fascinating and twisted history: newsprint from the Paris public
auction in 1816; a sticker from a sale
in 1859; a number placing the work in The Rothschild Family on November 20, 1937 (25th wedding anthe Rothschild family curating system; niversary of Clarice and Alphonse de Rothschild). (L-R) Albert de
two sets of numbers from the Nazis in- Rothschild (16), Baroness Clarice de Rothschild (43), Bettina de
dicating the painting was being saved Rothschild (13), Baron Alphonse de Rothschild (60) and Gwendofor Hitler’s private museum; and then, line de Rothschild (11). (Photos courtesy of the Museum of Fine
a number from the United States Forc- Arts, Boston.)
es in Austria, indicating the work had
been found in the Alt Aussee salt mines at the end of that cache they were able to extricate their daughthe war.
ters and flee to safety in America, but the Nazis took
The Rothschilds’ story is one in a larger narra- over their home, their businesses, and their immense
tive of massive and purposeful looting by the Na- collection of art.
zis, with the aim of cultural destruction of a people.
Alphonse and Clarice Rothschild were the head
When the Nazis annexed Austria, Alphonse and Cla- of the Austrian branch of a Jewish banking family
rice Rothschild were visiting London, with their two that began with five brothers in five countries in the
daughters, Bettina, 13, and Gwendolyn, 11, at home 1700’s who then, over the next centuries, amassed an
in Vienna. The Baron had brought along his stamp
Continued on p.S7
collection and the Baroness her jewelry, and with
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THE JEWISH PRESS

Friday, April 3, 2015
New Exhibit Examines Jewish Contribution To Modernism
Designing Home: Jews and Midcentury Modernism, the first exhibition to explore the Jewish contribution to modernism, opened this past week at the
Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to
the Holocaust. This is the first time the exhibit will
be seen in New York.
The exhibition explores the role of Jewish architects, designers, and patrons in the formation of a
new American domestic landscape during the post
WWII decades of the twentieth century. Featuring
a dazzling array of vintage furnishings, textiles, ceramics, posters, dinnerware, photographs, and more,
Designing Home highlights the work of more than
thirty creative professionals who helped spark America’s embrace of midcentury modernism, a bold new
direction in design and thought.
The exhibition will showcase the essential contributions of both well-known designers and archi-
tects, among them Anni Albers, George Nelson, and
Richard Neutra; as well as others whose fascinating
life stories and important contributions have received much less critical attention. Designing Home
will also examine significant patrons, merchants,
and media figures who helped disseminate the midcentury modern aesthetic and worldview to a broad
audience.
Donald Albrecht, curator of architecture and design at the Museum of the City of New York, is the
guest curator of the exhibition.
David G. Marwell, director of the Museum of
Jewish Heritage, said, “This exhibit focuses on the
themes of exile, achievement, and expression that
were a vital part of the Jewish American experience
from the 1920s through the 1960s. We hope visitors
walk away from this exhibition with a newfound appreciation for the forward thinking designs and the
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men and women who created them.”
With more than 100 objects, Designing Home will
be organized around five key areas.
The first section features furniture and products
for the home as well as textiles, ceramics, and graphics. Here visitors can see original pieces
ranging from Alvin Lustig’s 1949 Lustig
chair made of gently curving molded
plywood and metal and George Nelson’s iconic 1956 marshmallow sofa to Henry
Dreyfuss’s
pink
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phone
and his Honeywell thermostat.
Tableware
by
Ernest Sohn is featured among other
examples of decorative and functional
The Alvin Lustig chair.
ceramics. A variety
(Photo: John Halpern)
of book and record covers
by designers such as Alex
Steinweiss, Paul Rand, and Elaine Lustig Cohen are
also on view. These pieces are presented within an
immersive environment of life-sized photographs of
period home interiors.
The second gallery features original furnishings
by Bauhaus architect Harry Rosenthal from Richard
Neutra’s 1938 Schiff House. The furniture was commissioned by Dr. and Mrs. William Schiff in Berlin
and was brought to San Francisco; Neutra was asked
to design the house for the furniture. Select pieces,
on loan from San Francisco Museum of Modern Art,
will be on view. This is the first time the Schiff House
furniture has been shown in New York.
A small gallery will be dedicated to examples of
Judaica designed by well-known designers such as
Anni Albers, Judith Brown, and Ludwig Yehuda
Wolpert.
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era are presented throughout the galleries including
areas dedicated to Joseph Eichler’s designs and the
Walker Art Center’s 1947 Idea House. The contributions of influential entities such as the Walker Art
Center, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Arts &
Architecture magazine, Black Mountain College in
North Carolina, Chicago’s Institute of Design, and
Pond Farm in Guerneville, Calif., as well as those
of individual patron and merchant tastemakers like
Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., the son of Pittsburgh department store owner Edgar Kaufmann, Sr., whose store
was one of the nation’s most trendsetting retail environments, are illustrated through a timeline within
the exhibition.
A final area will illuminate Hollywood’s role in
promoting modern design to the American public.
Movie clips featuring modern settings and fashion,
vintage commercials, and illustrated title sequences by such luminaries as Saul Bass will be featured.
Bass’s well-known movie poster designs are also a
Continued on p.S11
Friday, April 3, 2015
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THE JEWISH PRESS
Friday, April 3, 2015
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Ross
Continued from p.S2
Momentos of his tenor still can be found in Barker
Center.
Harry Austryn Wolfson was a professor of Hebrew
literature and philosophy at Harvard from 1925 to
1975.
Felix Frankfurter was a Harvard Law School pro-
fessor from 1914 until his appointment to the U.S.
Supreme Court in 1941. His rented home still exists
off Brattle Street.
In more recent times, Professor Alan Dershowitz
has been a well-known Harvard Law School professor who maintained his primary residence just west
of Harvard Square.
Some of Harvard’s buildings were donated by Jewish philanthropists: Semitic Museum and Library by
Jacob H. Schiff, Julius Rosenwald, and Lucius N.
Littauer; Graduate School of Public Administration
by Lucius N. Littauer; Lehman Hall by the Lehman
family of New York; music department and classical
library by the Loeb family of New York; and Straus
Hall by the Straus family of New York.
Another very prominent Jewish-sponsored building is Harvard University’s Hillel House designed
by architect Moshe Safdie. It’s located immediately
southeast of Harvard Square.
Jews made their way into Brookline as early as
1911 and Newton by the 1930s, some directly from
Boston’s North End and some via Roxbury and
Dorchester sections of Boston.
Brookline and Newton, since then, have remained
central Jewish residential areas.
In Newton, you can visit Temple Emanuel, just
east of Newton Centre, where Bob Kraft, the owner
of the New England Patriots, can sometimes be seen
davening on a Shabbat morning. His family has been
active in local Jewish synagogues for years, his dad
frequently serving as a shaliach tzibor in Brookline’s
Congregation Kehillath Israel many years ago. Also,
in Newton Centre, is Hebrew College, where Rabbi
Arthur Green was instrumental in developing an ongoing program for rabbinical ordination.
In Brookline, you can visit among a long-estab-
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Boston’s Vilner Center for Jewish Heritage and Culture.
lished variety of synagogues from Congregation Kehillath Israel, Brookline’s first synagogue, Young Israel of Brookline, Temple Sinai, Temple Israel on the
Boston-Brookline line, Temple Ohabei Shalom, Temple Beth Zion, and the shul of the Bostoner Rebbe.
On Brookline’s Harvard Street, you can find kosher
markets, restaurants, bakeries, bookstores, and gift
shops.
For all of these places, historical and present day
addresses are available in my guidebook, which uncovers many more of Greater Boston’s Jewish historical and present day sites.
Michael Alan Ross is the author of BostonWalks’
The Jewish Friendship Trail Guidebook and Phoenix
Scottsdale Jewish Friendship Trail Guidebook. To order, contact JewishFriendshipTrail@yahoo.com.
VISIT
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792 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, NY
to Kingston Avenue
to Eastern Parkway
Limited tickets available, advance purchase only. Strollers not permitted on exhibit floors.
Friday, April 3, 2015
Art Deco platinum, carved emerald and diamond
brooch, circa 1937. Platinum, white gold, emeralds,
and diamonds. Gift of the heirs of Bettina Looram de
Rothschild.
the pieces in the Rothschild collection would have appealed to Hitler. “Hitler’s taste was traditional, and
many of the finest of the 20th century artists, such as
Chagall and Picasso, he condemned as ‘degenerate.’”
For those interested in learning more about recovered art stolen by the Nazis, Abrams recommended
Hector Feliciano’s book, “The Lost Museums,” as well
as the upcoming movie starring Helen Mirren, “The
Woman in Gold,” which tells the story of Holocaust
survivor Maria Altmann’s successful effort to retrieve
W · NEW
·
NE
Chol Hamoed Schedule:
Hourly tours 9am-9pm Daily
Men-only tours 8pm nightly,
Untill 12 midnight “
.
No appointment necessary
during Chol Hamoed.
YIDDISH
TOURS
· NEW
EW
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international fortune.
Well-known as collectors, the Austrian Rothschilds’ fortune had certainly been targeted by Hitler before the annexation. Hannah Rothschild, of the
French branch of the family, has written that “between 1939 and 1944 the Nazis confiscated and stole
(or, in some cases, bought at knock-down prices) tens
of thousands of works of art from European Jews or
other ‘undesirables’ and political opponents. Some estimate that they stole more than 20 percent of all the
art ever made in Europe.”
After the war, Clarice Rothschild visited the salt
mines where, with the help of the Allied “Monument
Men,” she found her family’s collection. Most of it was
returned soon thereafter. However, in order to take
the art back with her to America, the Austrian government pirated 250 of the finest pieces, valued in
today’s terms near to $200,000,000.
Over the next 60 years, Alphonse and Clarice’s
daughter, Bettina Looram de Rothschild, and then
her daughter, Bettina Burr, a trustee at the museum,
worked to reclaim the art from the Austrian government. They visited some of their own pieces in Austrian museums. Finally, in 1999, the government came
around and the art was returned.
A large percentage was sold at auction, and what
was left was donated to the MFA as a gift of the heirs
of Bettina Looram de Rothschild.
Although the Baroness’s jewelry was the most popular item on the day of this visit, the exhibit contains
many beautiful objects. In addition to paintings and
drawings, other treasures on display include a book of
prints illustrating Netherland history in the 16th and
17th centuries, a mechanical pencil encrusted with diamonds and emeralds, and a pendant of a delicately
painted topless duchess.
Izzi Abrams, who teaches a class at La Salle Village in Newton, called “The Art of War, the History
of the Nazis and the Monuments Men,” explained that
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Continued from p.S3
a Gustave Klimt painting worth almost $200 million.
Strolling through the exhibit, it’s hard not to wonder at all the miles these items traveled before finding
a home on Huntington Avenue, goods that were for a
large portion of time under the supervision of governments that took more care with their artwork than
ALL ANIMAL
EXHIBITS
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Rothschild Collection
For details call:
877-PLAN-A-TOUR
8 7 7 - 7 5 2 - 6 2 8 6
Brooklyn: 1601 41st St • Brooklyn, NY 11218
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THE JEWISH PRESS
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Page S7
with their people.
Restoring a Legacy: Rothschild Family Treasures is
on view until June 21 at the Museum of Fine Arts, 465
Huntington Ave., Boston. Visit mfa.org.
This article was first published in the Jewish
Journal Massachusetts.
Page S8
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THE JEWISH PRESS

Friday, April 3, 2015
New Lincoln Exhibition Explores Relationship
Between President Lincoln And Jewish Americans
Marking the 150th anniversary of the end of the Lincoln and the Jews traces the events in Lincoln’s
Civil War and Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, the life through the lens of his Jewish friends, such as
New-York Historical Society will present the exhibi- his fellow lawyer and politician Abraham Jonas and
tion Lincoln and the Jews, on view now through June his enigmatic chiropodist (podiatrist) and confidant
7. Through several never-before-exhibited original Issachar Zacharie, as well as Lincoln’s profound interest in and connection to the
writings by Lincoln and his
Hebrew bible. The exhibition
Jewish contemporaries, the
paints a portrait of a politician
exhibition brings to light Linand president who worked for
coln’s little-known relationship
the inclusion of Jews as equals
with the Jewish community
in America – a leader truly
and its lasting implications
committed to “malice toward
for Lincoln, for America, and
none.”
for Jews. The exhibition is in“With so many museum exspired by the recent publicahibitions focused on Lincoln,
tion of Lincoln and the Jews:
especially as we commemorate
A History (Thomas Dunne
the sesquicentennial of the
Books), by Jonathan D. Sarna,
Civil War, the obvious question
a professor of American Jewish
that arises in the wake of anhistory at Brandeis University,
nouncing a new exhibition on
and Benjamin Shapell, foundLincoln is, ‘Is there anything
er of The Shapell Manuscript
new to convey?’ ” said Dr. LouFoundation.
ise Mirrer, president and CEO
Lincoln and the Jews illusof the New-York Historical
trates how America changed as
Society. “Indeed, the story of
its Jewish population surged
Lincoln and the Jews will be
from 3,000 to 150,000, and
unknown to most visitors, and
how Abraham Lincoln, more
even to those who know somethan any of his predecessors,
thing of it, the treasure trove of
changed America in order to
Photograph of Lincoln by Samuel Alschuler
evidence they will find in this
accelerate acceptance of Jews
wearing Alschuler’s velvet trimmed coat for
as part of the mosaic of Ameri- this photo. (Courtesy of the Library of Con- show regarding Lincoln’s profound sense of human equality
can life. Showcasing more than gress)
will offer much that is new.”
80 artifacts documenting the
Presented in collaboration with The Shapell Manconnection between Lincoln and Jews – including
letters, official appointments, pardons, and person- uscript Foundation, the exhibition will premiere at
al notes, as well as Bibles, paintings and Judaica – the New-York Historical Society before traveling
to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in
Springfield, Illinois. The exhibition is guest curated
by Dr. Ann Meyerson, independent museum curator,
and Dina Grossman,
under the leadership
of Benjamin Shapell.
Harold Holzer, the
Roger Hertog Fellow at
the New-York Historical Society and chairman of the Abraham
Lincoln Bicentennial
Foundation,
serves
as chief historical advisor.
Visitors to Lincoln and the Jews will
move chronologically
through Lincoln’s life, Abraham Jonas photobeginning with items graph. (Courtesy of the
and documents from Wells Family Collection)
before his presidential
inauguration and ending with his untimely death in
1865.
Lincoln’s relationship with Abraham Jonas, a
Jewish member of the Illinois State Legislature
whom Lincoln called “one of my most valued friends,”
is explored in the show, with an 1860 letter on view
from Jonas that warns of an assassination plot before
Lincoln’s first inauguration, rumors of which Jonas
learned from his extended family in the South. Also
on display is the illustration of a Hebrew flag that
Abraham Kohn, a leader of the Jewish community
in Chicago, bestowed upon then-president-elect Lin-
Continued on p.S9
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Lincoln Exhibition
Continued from p.S8
coln shortly before his departure from Springfield for
his inauguration in Washington. Quoting the Book of
Joshua, it urged Lincoln to “Be strong and of a good
courage… Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed;
for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou
goest.”
Lincoln often took unpopular stands in defense of
Jews and Judaism, and the exhibition explores Lincoln’s two most important wartime interactions with
the Jewish community. One was his role in amending
the chaplaincy law so that Jews and other non-Christians might serve as chaplains; he also appointed the
first-ever
Jewish
military chaplains
in the United States.
The other was his
countermanding of
General Ulysses S.
Grant’s
notorious
General Orders No.
11 that expelled
“Jews as a class”
from the territory
then under his command. Lincoln had
the order revoked as
soon as he learned
of it, explaining that
he did “not like to
hear a class or naCarte-de-visite of Issachar tionality condemned
Zacharie. (Courtesy of The on account of a few
Shapell Manuscript Collec- sinners.”
tion)
Lincoln also supported the promotion and decoration of Jewish Civil
War soldiers. On view in the exhibition will be dueling pistols presented to the Civil War hero Edward
S. Salomon by the Citizens of Cook County, Illinois
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THE JEWISH PRESS
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Page S9
in 1867. Salomon led the
so-called “Jewish Company” from Illinois and was
commended for his battlefield bravery, exhibited at
the Battle of Gettysburg
and beyond.
In 1862, just as he
was preparing to deliver
the preliminary Emancipation
Proclamation
to his cabinet, Lincoln
was treated by podiatrist Issachar Zacharie,
who soon became a close
confidant. Lincoln entrusted Zacharie with
several secret missions,
even sending him to
New Orleans to promote pro-Union sentiEdward Salomon’s pistols. (Courtesy of The Shapell Manuscript Collection)
ments among his Jewish
“countrymen.” Zacharie
also worked to win Jewish voters to Lincoln’s side in Holzer will assess both the high cost of war and the
the 1864 election. In return, when Savannah was re- debatable cost of peace.
• Lincoln’s Last Speech: Wartime Reconstruction
stored to the Union, he sought Lincoln’s permission
to visit his family there. In a remarkable 1865 let- and the Crisis of Reunion (April 14): A talk by Louter bluntly titled “About Jews,” which is on view in is P. Masur, author and distinguished professor of
the exhibition, Lincoln instructed Secretary of War American studies and history at Rutgers University,
Edwin Stanton to grant passage for Zacharie. He will trace the evolution of Lincoln’s ideas and the dealso ordered a hearing for a dismissed Jewish pro- bate over reconstruction policies during the war.
• Antebellum New York (May 19): Architectural
vost marshall (head of the military police) whom, he
wrote, “has suffered for us & served us well.” In an historian Barry Lewis provides a look at the city in
era when anti-Semitism was commonplace, Lincoln the decades leading up to the Civil War, as Abraopenly sided with these Jews, against the advice of ham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee knew it, before the
country was plunged into war.
his Secretary of War.
• Lincoln and the Jews (June 2): Celebrated historian Jonathan D. Sarna discusses Lincoln’s remarkUpcoming related programs include:
• Toward Appomattox: The Last Gasp (April 8): able relationship with American Jews and how it
A discussion with renowned authors and historians impacted his presidency, his policy decisions and, as
William C. Davis, James M. McPherson, and Harold a result, broadened America. Moderated by Holzer.
“WITH
MALICE
TOWARD
NONE.”
LINCOLN
AND
THE JEWS
THROUGH
JUNE 7
nyhistory.org
—Abraham Lincoln
Presented in collaboration with The Shapell Manuscript Foundation. Support for this exhibition has been provided by: David Berg Foundation, Ed and Sandy Meyer, Offit Capital, Anonymous, Martin Lewis and Diane Brandt and Jean Soman.
Page S10
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THE JEWISH PRESS
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Friday, April 3, 2015
Gazelle Valley In Jerusalem Opens At Last
The new city park represents an innovative urThe Jerusalem municipality is putting the finishing touches on the first nature park of its kind in ban approach of open spaces located in the heart of
the city, such as CenIsrael. Slated to open at
tral Park in New York,
the end of this month,
Hampstead Heath in
Gazelle Valley stretches
London, and Parc St.
over 250 dunams, and
Jacques in France. This
features five ponds, both
approach, applied nonatural and manmade,
where else in Israel,
two flowing streams,
stresses the importance
bird and rodent watchof creating a green lung
ing areas, the natural
composed of natural
habitat of untamed anigreenery and hosting a
mals, a manmade island
variety of animals and
accessed via wooden
birds capable of living
bridges, and the park’s
in the heart of an urban
namesakes – dozens of
environment, to be enwild gazelles roaming
joyed by city residents
free.
as well as visitors from
The completion of
Israel and abroad.
the park is an unprecJerusalem
Mayor
edented victory for the
Nir Barkat said: “The
municipality and the
park’s guiding principublic over the real esple is revolutionary in
tate tycoons who sought
terms of Israeli urban
to build high-rises on
public spaces – a nature
the land. Just before Pereserve in the middle of
sach, the park opened to
Jerusalem. Gazelle Valthe public, seven days a
ley is one of the biggest
week with free admisand most important
sion. So far, the muJerusalem projects in
nicipality has invested
recent years, representNIS 22 million into the
project and will put in A poster announcing the opening of the Gazelle Valley ing above all communipark.
ty involvement in the
another NIS 70 million
city and the power of
in the next few years,
from both the municipal budget and donations raised joint brainstorming and planning by City Hall and
residents. For us, the Gazelle Valley project repthrough the Jerusalem Foundation.
resents the direction in which we want to take the
city: developing Jerusalem’s green spaces together
and in partnership with the community and with
the backing of many municipal entities working to
enhance the environment and protect Jerusalem’s
natural assets.”
In fact, over the years, the park, located in the
city’s southwestern corner at the foot of Highway 50
(Begin Boulevard) and Pat Junction, became a symbol of the public and civil struggle for open spaces in
the city, and is considered by many Jerusalemites to
be a kind of atonement for the scandal of the Holyland affair.
In the past, the grounds were home to many fruit
orchards, but in the 1980s these were abandoned
and the location acquired a new identity: it became
known as “gazelle valley” for the herd of gazelles that
inhabited the site. Over the years, the herd became
trapped among busy highways, the Malha Mall and
various residential projects, with no habitat left. Because of harm caused by human agents and stray
dogs, the herd shrank to only five gazelles.
As the herd was dying off, real estate developers
“discovered” the spot and applied for permission to
build more high-rises there. In an unprecedented
move, various segments of Jerusalem’s population
united – religious and secular, old-timers and new
immigrants, members of the entire span of the political spectrum – with the help of the Society for
the Protection of Nature in Israel and other environmental organizations and social activists, and
began a persistent fight against planning and zoning authorities to establish an urban nature park
in the valley. Six years ago, Barkat joined the residents’ struggle, and it was decided to establish the
Continued on p.S11
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TUESDAY, MAY 26
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Friday, April 3, 2015
Jews And Modernism
Continued from p.S4
highlight of this section.
Designing Home: Jews and Midcentury Modernism is accompanied by
a full color comprehensive exhibition
catalog published by The CJM that includes an essay by guest curator Donald Albrecht, biographies on all of the
designers, and a reader featuring four
key texts published by distinguished
authors and historians. The catalog
will be available in the museum shop
30/03/2015
and online.
Related programs will explore the
historical and creative legacy of the creative forces who launched the midcentury modernism movement. Schedule
of events to be announced (see www.
mjhnyc.org/designinghome for details).
Walk-up tours will be offered on
Sundays in April and May at 1 p.m.
included with the price of admission.
Tours for groups of 10 or more can
be scheduled during the museum’s
operating hours and require advance
reservations. Contact groupvisits@
mjhnyc.org or 646-437-4304.
Julius Shulman, Kaufmann House
(Julius Shulman Photography Archive, Research Library at the Getty Research Institute)
Gazelle Valley
Continued from p.S10
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THE JEWISH PRESS
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Page S11
it will be possible to borrow binoculars, deck chairs and mats. In the future, it will be possible to buy readyto-eat picnic baskets as well.
The park will offer guided tours,
educational activities on topics of the
environment and sustainability for
school children, communal Friday evening Sabbath services, small chamber
music concerts played by local ensembles, and more.
first urban nature park of its type in
Israel.
Landscape architects from Israel
and abroad paved walking trails and
bicycle paths, built a wading pool for
young children, and set aside shaded
spots perfect for observing nature. In
the future, the park
will also feature an orchard and a farm pond
as well as an educational center devoted
to the mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella),
which is native to this
part of the Middle East,
and will be home to
the Jerusalem Center
for Urban Nature. Gazelle Valley will also be
part of the Jerusalem
Municipality’s master
plan, featuring bicycle
paths that will go all
around the park and
link up with two already existing bicycle
paths running along
Sacher Park and Mesila Park. At a future The Gazelle Valley park logo.
date, a wooden promenade will be built above Gazelle Valley
The park is being built by the Jeruand link the park to the surrounding salem municipality with help from the
neighborhoods.
Society for the Protection of Nature
The fully accessible park is open in Israel, the Jerusalem Development
to the public all week long and will Authority and the Jerusalem Foundacharge no admission. At the entrance, tion.
Page S12
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THE JEWISH PRESS
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Friday, April 3, 2015
Hippos In Israel? New Museum Re-Animates Forgotten Biblical Wildlife
By Orit Arfa
At the recent official opening of the Biblical Museum of Natural History in Beit Shemesh, Israel,
Rabbi Natan Slifkin – also widely known as the “Zoo
Rabbi” – unveiled a huge skull, asking Beit Shemesh
Mayor Moshe Abutbul and leading local rabbis to
guess which animal the skull belongs to.
Rabbi Slifkin gave some clues. It was mentioned
in the Book of Job as a “behemah.” It lives in swamps
and eats grass.
“For a long time, nobody knew how to identify it,
so instead of translating it, it was just translated as
‘behemoth,’ ” explained Rabbi Slifkin, the museum’s
founder. “That is how the word ‘behemoth’ entered
the English language, to refer to a monstrous animal. But we can identify it.”
The answer: a hippopotamus, an animal indigenous to the land of Israel.
“They were on the coast as far north as Zichron
Yaakov, and one of our
guides here has a hippo
tusk that he found in the
Kinneret,” he said.
The hippopotamus is
just one example of an
animal people associate
more with African safaris
than the land of Israel.
During biblical times, the
land was covered in dense
forests, providing cover to
a slew of creatures that
these days Jews see only
in zoos, the National Geographic channel, and Disney movies.
One of the goals of the Rabbi Natan Slifkin, founder of the Biblical Museum of Natural History in Beit
new museum is to bring Shemesh, Israel, speaks at the museum’s opening. (Photo: Orit Arfa)
Jews back in touch with
biblical wildlife, a subject ignored by the people of Is- rael as they were exiled from the land, evolving into
the so-called “people of the book” – only to return to
the land as “people of the start-up.” But the land of
Israel, located at the nexus of Europe, Asia, and Africa, actually occupies a very special place from a zoogeographic perspective, according to Rabbi Slifkin.
“It’s our connection to historical Israel,” Slifkin
told JNS.org in his British accent, wearing one of his
signature animal-themed ties. The rabbi made aliyah with his family 20 years ago from Manchester,
England, to emerge as one of the foremost experts
on biblical zoology. His other lifelong “pet project”
– “The Torah Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom”
– will be launched in time for Passover.
“Every nation, every culture, has animals that
are part of that culture – animals that appear in its
cultural texts and traditions,” he said. “For the Native Americans, it’s the buffalo and wolf. For the Aboriginals of Australia, it’s the kangaroo and emu….
The people of Israel have lions, leopards, bears, vultures, crocodiles, and hippos. These are not animals
from the shtetls of Europe.”
But the animals that figure prominently in the
Torah have largely been exiled or killed off, mostly
due to deforestation and Roman-era hunting. The
last bear in Israel was seen in Nahal Ammud, in the
Galilee region, in 1917. Crocodiles lived in a place
called Nachal Taninim (Crocodile Creek) until the
early 20th century. Today, exactly four leopards
Continued on p.S13
Friday, April 3, 2015
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Arfa
THE JEWISH PRESS
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Page S13
eight sheratzim (crawling animals)
that the Book of Leviticus mentions
as imparting impurity upon their
death. When guiding a tour, Rabbi
walk the Negev desert.
Rabbi Slifkin plans to put as many biblical ani- Slifkin lets children pet and hold
mals as possible on interactive display at the muse- the friendly reptiles, including the
um, whether as live creatures in cages or taxidermy pythons.
Rabbi Slifkin, a religious Zionmounts. The taxidermied lion named Simba serves
as the centerpiece, since the lion figures most prom- ist, has been a controversial figinently in biblical tales and allegories, with Pirkei ure within the haredi community,
Avot teaching, “Be bold as a leopard, light as an ea- which banned his books reconcilgle, swift as a deer, and strong as a lion to do the ing modern science – such as the
will of your Father in Heaven.” Samson is recorded theory of evolution – with Torah.
to have encountered lions a few miles from the new But he intends for the museum to
serve as a form of “animal theramuseum.
Rabbi Natan Slifkin unveils a hippo skull at the opening of the Biblical
The bird section makes for an interactive discus- py” for Jewish unity, and the first Museum of Natural History in Beit Shemesh, Israel. (Photo: Orit Arfa)
sion on kosher fowl. Animal skulls are used to demon- real tourist attraction in the largestrate how kosher animals chew their cud. The reptile ly religious city that the museum
section seeks to identify which reptiles make up the calls home.
JOIN US for CHOL HAMOED PESACH
at
“Beit Shemesh is a
rapidly growing city with
already 100,000 people,
and we’re going to double
in the next few years,” he
said. “So, it’s short on cultural attractions. But it’s
8&`Q<&.AHON <ABA3JV(H
a unique institution. It’s
biblical national history.
It’s something that has
tremendous appeal, but is
little understood. And we
Thursday April 9, 2015
see how people appreciate
The 4th day of Chol Hamoed Pesach
it when they come here
11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
and absolutely love it. No
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matter which stream they
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come from, whether it’s
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Purchases include tokens and merchandise sold only at the register.
Beit Shemesh Mayor Moshe Abutbul with a python at the opening. (Photo cour- loves it.”
Please notify the cashier you are participating in our organization’s fundraiser.
Please do not buy tokens from vending machines as they do not benefit our organization's fundraiser.
tesy of Biblical Museum of Natural History)
(JNS.org)
For:
Continued from p.S12
1"
Get Close.
Getting close to our animals, brings you closer together.
MaritimeAquarium.org
Page S14
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THE JEWISH PRESS
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Friday, April 3, 2015
Imagine That! – A Land Of
Make-Believe In New Jersey
Imagine That!, A children’s museum located within one hour from Brooklyn and less than
50 minutes from Monsey, offers over 50 hands-on
exhibits.
Exhibits include a kid’s size grocery, diner, authentic fire truck and real airplane, dance area, studio, science room, doctor/dentist, pet/vet and multicultural area. With over 16,000 square feet, children
can experience the excitement of being in a Medieval castle. All the exhibits stress learning, using the
imagination and hands-on participation. Touching is
not only permitted, but encouraged.
Each exhibit area is separated from the next by
partitions, giving children the thrill of discovering
something new around every corner. Come be a future Amelia Earhart as pilot, Ted Koppel as television reporter, or Vincent van Gogh in the art gallery.
The museum is geared towards children
toddlers through 10, providing them with activities,
theme settings and a wonderful time of discovery, education, learning and play that children have become
accustomed to.
Additionally, Imagine That! is donating one dollar of your child’s and adult admissions and matching each of these dollars and donating to the Sassoon
Family of Midwood, Brooklyn.
FREE and Reduced-Rate Admission
Please call in advance for cost information
Share Her Story...
Visit The Anne Frank Center USA
Free admission to those who
mention this advertisement.
44 Park Place, New York, NY 10007
212.431.7993
www.AnneFrank.com
Info@AnneFrank.com
Free Every
Tuesday!
990 Washington Avenue,
Brooklyn, NY 11225 | 718-623-7200
to Eastern Parkway,
to Franklin Avenue,
or
to Prospect Park
Jan Karski was an emissary of the Polish
Underground who traveled to the west to meet
with world leaders to alert them to the horrors of
the Holocaust. He is listed by Yad Vashem as
one of the Righteous Among the Nations.
Now through April 19, 2015
Brooklyn College Library, First Floor Art Gallery
2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
Travel: 2/5 train to Flatbush Avenue; B6, B8, B11, B41, B44,
B49, Q35
If visiting without a Brooklyn College or CUNY ID card, first
contact bevans@brooklyn.cuny.edu
The World Knew: Jan Karski's Mission for Humanity is organized by the Jan Karski
Educational Foundation. It was created by the Polish History Museum. Funding was provided
by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs with additional funding from the National Endowment
for Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this
exhibition publication do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the
Humanities.
To Advertise
Simcha Services
Your Simchas
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Call The Jewish Press
7183301100 ext. 301
Friday, April 3, 2015
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Page S15
Annual Jerusalem Show To Light Up Old City
The fifth annual Jerusalem Light Festival, the
largest event of its kind, will take place June 3-11.
For artists who express their vision in light, this is
an opportunity to change the Old City’s visage with
color, pattern, light and shadow.
Dozens of light installations, displays, shows and
sales of one-of-a-kind lighting products
will be featured throughout the Old City
from 8-11 p.m. each night of the festival
(except Friday; on motzei Shabbos, the
events move to 9 to midnight).
The Festival of Light in the Old City
will provide, through the use of light, a
dramatic and artistic dimension to the
Old City’s nights.
From the illumination of architecture
to light statues, the festival will be a public and family oriented celebration that
artists from different fields will partake in.
In the last three years artists from
Israel and from abroad took part in the
festival and used light in order to create statues, installations, performances
and artwork. During each year, the fesLotus Dome at Zedekiah’s Cave by Daan Roosegaarde (Nether- tival brought
250,000 visilands) from the 2013 show.
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visit BLDG 92.org or call 718-907-5992 for details about upcoming tours or programs
BLDG 92 is a program of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation 63 Flushing Ave (at Carlton) Brooklyn NY 11205
tors to the Old City and succeeded in introducing a
new trend in Jerusalem nightlife.
This year the festival has grown and will include
ten international artists who will display the best
artistic work in the field alongside dozens of performances, tours, artists, sites and more. Admission is
free.
Page S16
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THE JEWISH PRESS
Friday, April 3, 2015
three
concerts

pesach
Yaakov
SHWEKEY
Wednesday, April 8, 2015 • 10pm
Avraham
FRIED
Tuesday,
April 7, 2015
10pm
Yoely
GREENFELD
Sunday, April 5, 2015 • 10pm
Avraham Fried & Yoely Greenfeld will be joined by
Mezamrim Choir starring Chilu Posen
followed by Kumzitz!
For Reservations:
www.gatewayspesach.org
845-352-0393 ext. 110
Hilton Hotel
1 S TA M F O R D P L AC E | S TA M F O R D, C T
the david h.
&
carol feinberg leadership center