Center for Jewish History
Encyclopedia
The Center for Jewish History is a partnership, or consortium
, of five Jewish organizations based in Manhattan
. It is a partnership of five organizations of Jewish history
, scholarship, and art: the American Jewish Historical Society
, the American Sephardi Federation
, the Leo Baeck Institute
, the Yeshiva University Museum
, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. It is also an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution
.
to New York City
. A $670,000 grant awarded in 2007 helped with the cataloging of these materials.
The museum's collection includes the original handwritten copy of Emma Lazarus
' 1883 "Give me your tired, your poor" poem that was later inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty
, Sandy Koufax
's Brooklyn Dodgers jersey, a letter from Thomas Jefferson
to New York
's oldest Jewish congregation, the first Hebrew prayer books printed in America, and correspondence from Sigmund Freud
, Albert Einstein
and Franz Kafka
.
in 2000 after six years of construction and planning with a goal of creating synergy among the five member organizations, each offering a different approach to Jewish history, scholarship and art. This was one of the first attempts at uniting differing views on Jewish culture and resulted in the largest repository documenting the Jewish experience outside of Israel leading some to refer to it as the Jewish Library of Congress
.
Despite a large collection, the Center has struggled with financial problems since it opened in 2000 and there has been some discussion of a partnership with NYU's Skirball Department for Hebrew and Judaic Studies to the benefit of both organizations.
The Center for Jewish History in New York has raised $30 million to retire its construction debt. The amount was raised and donated by the chairman and founder of the center, Bruce Slovin; board members William Ackman and Joseph Steinberg; the Fairholme Foundation; and 19 other donors, the center announced last week in a news release. The center was created 10 years ago after raising $100 million to bring together five historical organizations under one roof: the American Jewish Historical Society; the American Sephardi Federation; the Leo Baeck Institute; the Yeshiva University Museum; and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. It features more than 500,000 books and 100 million documents that include pieces of art, textiles and ritual objects, as well as music, films and photographs. The collections range from the early modern era in Europe and pre-colonial times in the Americas to present-day materials from across the globe. The center provides access to a comprehensive collection of historic archival materials, including from Franz Kafka, Theodor Herzl
, Moses Mendelssohn
, Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein.
Consortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
, of five Jewish organizations based in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. It is a partnership of five organizations of Jewish history
Jewish history
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Since Jewish history is over 4000 years long and includes hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes...
, scholarship, and art: the American Jewish Historical Society
American Jewish Historical Society
The American Jewish Historical Society was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of the American Jewish heritage and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and dissemination of materials relating to American...
, the American Sephardi Federation
American Sephardi Federation
The American Sephardi Federation, a member of the Center for Jewish History, is a non-profit Jewish organization that strengthens and organizes the religious and cultural activities of Sephardic Jews, preserves Sephardic heritage, tradition and culture in the United States and assists in the...
, the Leo Baeck Institute
Leo Baeck Institute
The Leo Baeck Institute-New York in Manhattan is a library, archive, and exhibition centre devoted to the study of the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry. The Institutes's offices and collections are housed in Center for Jewish History in New York City...
, the Yeshiva University Museum
Yeshiva University Museum
The Yeshiva University Museum is a teaching museum and the cultural arm of Yeshiva University. Along with the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Foundation, the Leo Baeck Institute, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, it is a member organization of the Center for...
, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. It is also an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
.
Collection
The new center was 125000 square feet (11,612.9 m²) and was created from four existing buildings and two new buildings. The Center's collections included more than 100 million documents, 500,000 books and thousands of art objects, most of which had been poorly housed in the member institutions and were at risk of damage or destruction. The Center is heavily involved with the preservation of records that define moments in Jewish immigrationImmigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. A $670,000 grant awarded in 2007 helped with the cataloging of these materials.
The museum's collection includes the original handwritten copy of Emma Lazarus
Emma Lazarus
Lazarus began to be more interested in her Jewish ancestry after reading the George Eliot novel, Daniel Deronda, and as she heard of the Russian pogroms in the early 1880s. This led Lazarus to write articles on the subject. She also began translating the works of Jewish poets into English...
' 1883 "Give me your tired, your poor" poem that was later inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
, Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...
's Brooklyn Dodgers jersey, a letter from Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's oldest Jewish congregation, the first Hebrew prayer books printed in America, and correspondence from Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
, Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
and Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
.
History
The Center officially opened in Manhattan's Union SquareUnion Square (New York City)
Union Square is a public square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York.It is an important and historic intersection, located where Broadway and the former Bowery Road – now Fourth Avenue – came together in the early 19th century; its name celebrates neither the...
in 2000 after six years of construction and planning with a goal of creating synergy among the five member organizations, each offering a different approach to Jewish history, scholarship and art. This was one of the first attempts at uniting differing views on Jewish culture and resulted in the largest repository documenting the Jewish experience outside of Israel leading some to refer to it as the Jewish Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
Despite a large collection, the Center has struggled with financial problems since it opened in 2000 and there has been some discussion of a partnership with NYU's Skirball Department for Hebrew and Judaic Studies to the benefit of both organizations.
The Center for Jewish History in New York has raised $30 million to retire its construction debt. The amount was raised and donated by the chairman and founder of the center, Bruce Slovin; board members William Ackman and Joseph Steinberg; the Fairholme Foundation; and 19 other donors, the center announced last week in a news release. The center was created 10 years ago after raising $100 million to bring together five historical organizations under one roof: the American Jewish Historical Society; the American Sephardi Federation; the Leo Baeck Institute; the Yeshiva University Museum; and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. It features more than 500,000 books and 100 million documents that include pieces of art, textiles and ritual objects, as well as music, films and photographs. The collections range from the early modern era in Europe and pre-colonial times in the Americas to present-day materials from across the globe. The center provides access to a comprehensive collection of historic archival materials, including from Franz Kafka, Theodor Herzl
Theodor Herzl
Theodor Herzl , born Benjamin Ze’ev Herzl was an Ashkenazi Jew Austro-Hungarian journalist and the father of modern political Zionism and in effect the State of Israel.-Early life:...
, Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah is indebted...
, Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein.