Boy oh boy! YUM is on Facebook! Come check us out in person! We're opening two new exhibitions this week, and have one of the best illuminated manuscript shows you'll ever see!
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Operating as usual
LOVE (Hebrew) by Robert Indiana, steel sculpture, ca. 1997
Collection of Yeshiva University Museum, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Loria in memory of Dr. Martin and Harriet Loria Popowitz
#LOVE #Ahava #RobertIndiana #Sculpture #Art #MuseumCollection #YeshivaUniversityMuseum #YUMuseum #YUM
Shabbat Shalom!
“Sabbath” by Mathilde Hahn Meyer, Germany, late 19th/early 20th century, oil on canvas
Collection of Yeshiva University Museum, gift of Hilda Meyer
#ShabbatShalom #Shabbat #Challah #Wine #Kiddush #Painting #OilPainting #StillLife #MuseumCollection #YeshivaUniversityMuseum #YUMuseum #YUM
Shabbat Shalom!
Challah cover, Mir, Russian Empire (now Belarus), late 19th century
Collection of Yeshiva University Museum, gift of Alice Bergman
#ShabbatShalom #Shabbat #Challah #Hallah #ChallahCover #YeshivaUniversityMuseum #MuseumCollection #YUMuseum #YUM
Snow-covered Jerusalem, ca. 1930s
Collection of Yeshiva University Museum, gift of Av Rivel
#Snow #SnowDay #Jerusalem #Winter
Spice container, Rome, ca. 1825
Collection of Yeshiva University Museum, The Max Stern Collection
This spice container would have been used during the Havdalah, the ceremony that marks the end of the Sabbath on Saturday evening and ushers in the new week.
#SpiceContainer #SpiceBox #Besamim #Shabbat #Havdalah #Judaica #StartingTheWeek #Scent #Spices #ShavuaTov #SilverJudaica #YUM #YeshivaUniversityMuseum #YUMuseum
Tu BiShvat poster, issued by the Jewish National Fund, Jerusalem, 1962
Collection of Yeshiva University Museum
#TuBiShvat
#WeRemember
Rudolf Jacobson was born into a Jewish family in Berlin in 1908. He was living in hiding in Berlin when he was arrested in August 1944. He was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp and from there to the Buchenwald concentration camp, where he was liberated in April 1945. This provisional identification card was issued to Rudolf Jacobson in Buchenwald in May 1945. It includes the concentration camp serial number that he was assigned upon his arrival in Auschwitz.
Rudolf Jacobson’s parents Max Jacobson and Charlotte Woditzky Jacobson, and his brother Hans Jacobson were among the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust by the Nazis and their collaborators.
Identification card from the collection of Yeshiva University Museum, gift of Norbert Moelke
#InternationalHolocaustRemembranceDay #Holocaustsurvivor #Holocaust
Cholent pot, Eastern Europe, pre-20th century
Yeshiva University Museum, Max Stern Collection
Cholent is a traditional Shabbat stew that is prepared on Friday before Shabbat begins and then placed in the oven, where it cooks slowly overnight. It is served for lunch on Shabbat.
#cholent #shabbat #shabbatfood #jewishfood
In honor of #MLKDay, we share this collection item of the week:
Letter from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Paula Pappenheim, Atlanta, Georgia, June 23, 1964
Collection of Yeshiva University Museum, gift of Lucy Lang
Collection item of the week:
Ceremonial chair, made by Catriel Sugarman, Israel, 1992
Gift of Belle Rosenbaum in honor of Sylvia A. Herskowitz
This ceremonial chair was designed to be used for different holidays and occasions. The inlaid panel with the Hebrew inscription “Kisseh Eliyahu” on the upper back of the chair identifies the chair as “Elijah’s Chair.” The panel can be removed and replaced with one of the six panels with inscriptions for other occasions that are stored in a drawer at the back beneath the seat.
“Yoo-hoo! Mrs. Bloom!” - When did you have your last window conversation?
Collection item of the week:
"The Goldbergs" Puzzle. Color lithograph published by Pepsodent Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1932
The Goldbergs was a popular radio comedy-drama that ran from 1929 to 1946 on American radio. It featured the home life of a fictitious Jewish family.
HAPPY NEW YEAR AND SHABBAT SHALOM!
Hallah cover, made by Edith Maccabee Goodstein, New York, 1930
Collection of Yeshiva University Museum, gift of Laurence M. Lerner
Collection item of the week:
Image on the right:
Cake pan for Rehrücken cake, Vienna, pre-1938
Gift of Alice and John Morawetz
Bertha Stecher Tauscher emigrated from Vienna in 1938 with her husband and two daughters. She was able to bring some of her household ware with her, which provided a sense of continuity and comfort to the family’s disrupted life during this period.
Image on the left:
Rehrücken cake, baked by YU Museum staff in a modern Rehrücken cake pan, 2020
Rehrücken is German for “rack of venison.” The cake is thought to resemble a rack of venison.
Collection item of the week:
Cover and first page of the children’s book Ish Sheleg (Snow Man), Vilna, 1937
The Jean Sorkin Moldovan Collection, Gift of the Jesselson Family
Written and illustrated by Moshe Levin (1907-1942) under the pseudonym Ber Sarin and translated into Hebrew by Shlomo Yahalom, Ish Sheleg tells the story of the short life of a snowman. A group of children builds a snowman; they warn him not to get warm as he would melt; one of the children lets the snowman into his house for the night to keep warm, and by the morning the snowman has melted into a puddle.
Collection item of the week on the last day of Hanukkah:
Hanukkah lamp, Eastern Europe, late 19th century
This late 19th century wooden and brass Hanukkah lamp features a decorative floral pattern and a double-headed eagle. An eye hook secured to the top suggests the lamp may have been affixed to a post or wall.
Post by Baruch-Lev Kelman, Leon Charney Research Associate, Center for Israel Studies
YU Center for Israel Studies
Post by Baruch-Lev Kelman, Leon Charney Research Associate, Center for Israel Studies
YU Center for Israel Studies
Fundraising poster for Keren Hayesod, Nahum Gutman (1898-1980), 1936
Gift of the Jesselson Family
This fundraising poster for Keren Hayesod plays on Hanukkah themes by likening contributions to the fund to lighting the Hanukkah candles. Echoing the Hanukkah poem Hanerot Halalu, the poster reads: “We kindle these candles.” Then, in the spirit of Tractate Shabbat, the poster asks rhetorically “with what shall we light?” and answers “with our donations to Keren Hayesod, the national fund for the development of the Land.” The image featured on the poster echoes the triumphal frieze of the Arch of Titus. Whereas the Arch depicts the Menorah being borne through Rome, this poster depicts pioneers returning the Menorah to Jerusalem, a metaphor for the Zionist endeavor.
Hanukkah post by Baruch-Lev Kelman, Leon Charney Research Associate, Center for Israel Studies
YU Center for Israel Studies
Authentic Costumes for Jewish School Plays Hanukkah Series, New York, 1945
Collection of Yeshiva University Museum
The Jewish Education Committee of New York issued this pamphlet to inform school productions of Hanukkah plays. The pamphlet provides twelve costume patterns that allegedly reflect authentic Maccabean and Seleucid dress. Featured on the cover are depictions of the High-Priest with incense censer, a sacerdot sounding a shofar, and a sandaled Maccabee. The featured Maccabee, complete with a black skullcap and curly sidelocks, appears to be a stand-in for the hypothetical Hebrew school student.
Happy Hanukkah!
A Dreidel for Eleazar the Horani, by Avi Biran, Jerusalem, 1997
Collection of Yeshiva University Museum
Check out this Hanukkah dreidel by silversmith Avi Biran! This contemporary take on the classic spinning top draws inspiration from the tale of Eleazar the Horani, fourth son of Mattathias the Hasmonean. According to the First Book of Maccabees, Eleazar slew a Seleucid war elephant at the Battle of Beth Zechariah but was himself slain as the beast fell upon him. In homage to Eleazar, this silver-gilt top is composed of four adjacent elephant figures whose trunks converge to form the dreidel’s stem.
Post by Baruch-Lev Kelman, Leon Charney Research Associate, Center for Israel Studies
YU Center for Israel Studies
HAPPY HANUKKAH!
Collection item of the week:
Hanukkah record for children, 1951
Shabbat Shalom!
Collection item of the week:
Hand-carved stone candleholder for Shabbat, Cyprus, 1946-47
Gift of David Ebin
S. Deborah Ashinsky Ebin, the donor’s mother, was devoted to the work of American Mizrachi Women. In 1943, she became chair of the organization’s National Youth Aliyah, responsible for the relocation of Jewish children from Europe. After the war, her work also took her to Cyprus, where she investigated the state of children in the British detention centers. This candelabrum, depicting a guard tower, was a gift to her from a grateful internee.
Need any last-minute ideas for desserts for Thanksgiving? Take a look at our collection item of the week:
Page from collection of hand-written recipes, New York, 1875
Gift of Nancy Bookman Hoffman
Collection item of the week:
Turkish smoking hat, 19th century
Gift of Hana and Walter Geber
Ever wondered if there was a hat that was socially acceptable to wear indoors?
The smoking fez otherwise known as a Turkish Lounge Cap was an indoor hat used by men in smoking lounges in order to protect their hair from smelling like cigarette smoke. The smoking cap was most often used in the winter months as it helped keep the head warm in the cold, drafty smoking lounges. Its name is due to the fact that it was inspired by Ottoman fashion. This cap was all the rage in the mid to late 19th century. This exquisite smoking cap is from Czechoslovakia and dates back to the 19th century.
Post by Deborah Coopersmith, Research Associate, Rabbi Arthur Schneier Program for International Affairs
Schneier Program for International Affairs of Yeshiva University
Collection item of the week:
“Stamps for Heroes” booklet front cover, 1942
Gift of Cami Green
The booklet consists of four pages with 48 stamps, each of which reads “Hurry Up! This Is For The Army.”
REMEMBERING KRISTALLNACHT
On November 9-10, 1938, the Nazis unleashed pogroms against the Jewish population of Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland. Violent mobs attacked Jews and looted and destroyed Jewish-owned businesses, homes, and synagogues. Nearly 100 Jews were killed and some 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and incarcerated. The November pogroms came to be known as Kristallnacht (Crystal Night in German) for the shards of glass on the streets in the wake of the destruction.
Steiff bears, Germany
Gift of Juliana Biro
8-year-old Juliane Bing and 13-year-old Gabriele Regensteiner were brought from Munich to Gabriele’s grandmother’s home in a suburb of Munich to be shielded from the destructive effects of Kristallnacht. During their stay, the girls received these bears and made clothing for them.
The Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Collection item of the week:
Let There Be by Ina Golub, New Jersey, 1983
Gift of the Artist’s Estate
In this exuberant depiction of the Sixth Day of Creation, Golub represents the world opening like a flower to show the seas surrounding the Garden of Eden, which is inhabited by myriad creatures, including humankind. “Color,” the artist said, “is the essence of my art. There must be a connection between my love for color and the fact that the earliest known reference to color appears in the story of the creation: ‘Let there be light’ (Genesis 1:3).”
Collection item of the week:
Wedding dress of Safira (Samuel) Sumbulovic, Sarajevo, 1890
Gift of Joseph Levi
In 1890, this velvet dress was worn by Safira Danon for her marriage to Samuel Sumbulovic in Sarajevo, then part of the Habsburg monarchy. In 1978, Ruth Levi, a descendant of Safira Sumbulovic, wore this dress over her contemporary white bridal gown.
Were white wedding dresses always the style?
White wedding dresses are actually a recent phenomenon. In the past, wedding dresses had no set style or color as most women could not afford to create a dress that would only be worn on their wedding day. The wedding dress was generally the women’s best dress and she would continue to wear it for other occasions. The style and color usually depended on the person’s financial status and resources available. Once Queen Victoria’s wedding took place in 1840, the wealthy began to copy the white wedding dress. Over time, this trend became common practice.
Post by Deborah Coopersmith, Research Associate, Rabbi Arthur Schneier Program for International Affairs
Schneier Program for International Affairs of Yeshiva University
Collection item of the week:
Challah cover, embroidered by Naomi Rosen, Rozwadów, Poland, 1929/1930
Gift of Anna Pasternak, Lea Kraus and Sara Zeidman
Collection item of the week:
Table Cover for Sabbath and Holidays, Germany or Italy, 1787
Gift of the Jesselson Family
This woodblock printed cotton textile features the complete text of kiddush for Sabbath and holidays (the sanctification prayer recited over wine), as well as the text of Eruv Tavshilin, recited to allow food preparation on the day of a holiday when the next day is Sabbath. Tablecloths such as this one bridge the sacred and domestic, illustrating the importance of ritual and ceremonial foodways in Jewish life.
Collection item of the week:
Simchat Torah flag, Israel, c. 1950
Check out this vintage Simchat Torah flag from the early years of the State of Israel!
The palladian-style Torah Ark is decorated with images evoking the Tabernacle, such as the High Priest’s breast plate, incense censer, Menorah, and the Tablets of the Law. Children dance in the foreground, some wearing modern clothing and waving Zionist flags, others in traditional garb carrying Torah scrolls.
Post by Baruch-Lev Kelman, Leon Charney Research Associate, Center for Israel Studies
YU Center for Israel Studies
Collection item of the week:
Etrog container, Okinawa, Japan, 1954
This etrog container is decorated with the etrog (citron) on one side and a lulav (palm frond) on the other side. The etrog and lulav are two of the four species (palm frond, myrtle, willow branch, and citron) used during the holiday of Sukkot.
Schneier Program for International Affairs of Yeshiva University
Collection item of the week:
Sheet music for the Yom Kippur anthem “Kol Nidre” arranged by popular Yiddish musician A.R. Zagler, New York, 1913
Kol Nidre introduces the beginning of the Day of Atonement by allowing the readers to proclaim their previous and future vows to be considered annulled.
Post by Rebecca Zami, Leon Charney Research Associate, Center for Israel Studies
Collection item of the week:
Rosh Hashanah greeting card, featuring a textile pattern designed by Lotte Frömel-Fochler for the Wiener Werkstätte, Austria, c. 1910. Greetings in Hebrew and German.
Collection items of the week: two very different 20th century watercolor depictions of heder. Samuel Rothbort’s (1882-1971) horrified teacher finds his class drawing portraits of him. Albert Dov Sigal’s (1912-1970) teacher smilingly interacts with his studious young charges.
15 W 16th St
New York, NY
10011
Yeshiva University Museum is located inside the Center for Jewish History between 5th Avenue and Avenue of the Americas (6th Ave). Tours are available (with a reservation) 9:30 - 4 pm, Sundays, and Tuesdays - Thursdays. To make a reservation, please call 212-294-8330, extension 8805, or email [email protected], Mon - Thur 10 - 5, and Fri 9 - 12. Subway: Q, N, R, 4, 5, 6 to Union Square; F, M to 14th Street and 6th Ave; 1, 2, 3 to 14th Street and 7th Avenue; A, C, E to 14th Street and 8th Avenue. Bus: M2, M3, M5, M6, and M7 lines. Parking: University Parking 55 West 14 Street (entrance on 14th & 15th Sts.); Creative Parking (Sundays only!) 16 West 16th Street. Visitors to the museum must bring their parking ticket to the Security desk to be validated. The Museum is wheelchair accessible.
| Monday | 09:30 - 20:00 |
| Tuesday | 09:30 - 17:00 |
| Wednesday | 09:30 - 20:00 |
| Thursday | 09:30 - 17:00 |
| Friday | 09:30 - 15:00 |
| Sunday | 11:00 - 17:00 |
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