Religion

Content type
Collection

Joan Nathan

Project
Washington D.C. Stories

Deborah Ross interviewed Joan Nathan on July 12, 2011, in Washington, DC, as part of the Washington D.C. Stories Oral History Project. Nathan reflects on the significance of food to Jewish life, as she recounts her career as a cookbook author, cultural historian, and food writer who combines recipes with stories to educate about Jewish life, tradition, and history.

Cover of Uncultured book and co-authors of book

During Shmita, Finally Learning to Let Go

Brandi Larsen

In the year after co-writing a memoir, also the year of shmita, I learned how to let go of my failures and begin anew. 

Shmutz Book Cover by Felicia Berliner

“Shmutz” Subverts the Traditional Ex-Orthodoxy Narrative

Chanel Dubofsky

Felicia Berliner's debut novel Shmutz upends the notion of a binary choice so frequently seen in literature concerning Jews living unhappily in insular communities.

Sara Mayeux

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Sara Mayeux on September 21, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Mayeux talks about her family, moving between cities, meeting her husband in California, their decision to move to New Orleans, her involvement in the Jewish community, and her role in the city's recovery after Hurricane Katrina.

Deborah Markowitz

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Sandra Stillman Gartner and Ann Buffum interviewed Deborah Markowitz on July 12, 20005, in Montpelier, Vermont, as part of the Vermont Jewish Women's Oral History Project.  Markowitz explores her Ukrainian heritage, family history, the influence of music, her Jewish education, her commitment to Tikkun Olam, her role as Secretary of State in Vermont, and her efforts to improve civic engagement and support victims of domestic violence.

Theodore Lichtenfeld

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Theodore Lichtenfeld on August 21, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Lichtenfeld reflects on his upbringing, ​​his arrival in New Orleans as a rabbi, the challenges faced during the storm and its aftermath, and his optimism for the future of Shir Chadash and the New Orleans community.

Malka Lew

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Malka Lew on October 12, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Lew talks about her Orthodox Jewish upbringing, her transformation to an observant lifestyle, surviving cancer surgery before Hurricane Katrina, evacuating to Houston, and finding strength in her faith.

Frank Levy

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Frank Levy on September 3, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Levy recounts his family history, connection to New Orleans, the discovery of Judaism, a career in education and theater, experiences during Hurricane Katrina, involvement in relief efforts through interactive theater, support of the Jewish community, and the post-storm changes.

Bernice Mossafer Rind

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Pamela Brown Lavitt interviewed Bernice Mossafer Rind on June 5 and July 20, 2001, in Medina, Washington, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Rind recounts her family's history, her upbringing in Seattle, her musical career, meeting her husband, raising their son, volunteer work, Sephardic rituals, a trip to Israel, and her perspectives on family, Jewish heritage, aging, and personal philosophies.

Bluma Rivkin

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Bluma Rivkin on October 12, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Rivkin shares her Chabad upbringing, involvement in the New Orleans Jewish community, experiences during Hurricane Katrina, evacuation to Houston, spiritual guidance, return home to devastation, and joyful celebrations of Sukkot and Simchat Torah.

Nathan Rothstein

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Nathan Rothstein on July 22, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Rothstein talks about his family history, parents, Jewish upbringing, his experience in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, his work with nonprofit organizations, and his efforts to foster interfaith collaboration in the city, providing insights on race and the Jewish community.

Mark Samuels

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Mark Samuels on August 2, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Samuels discusses his childhood, love for music, his wife's death, the impact on his Jewish community involvement, evacuation from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, rebuilding his business, and his positive outlook for the future of the city.

Lonnie Zarum (Schaffer)

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Lonnie Zarum, formerly Schaffer, on August 30, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Zarum reflects on her experiences growing up in a modern Orthodox Jewish family in London, her move to New Orleans, surviving Hurricane Katrina, the challenges faced by her synagogue, and her personal growth and gratitude in the aftermath of the disaster.

Miriam Latter

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Miriam Latter in Metairie, Louisiana, on September 26, 2006, as part of the Katrina’s Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Latter reflects on her upbringing, running Tujague's Restaurant, her leadership in the Jewish community, and the impact of Hurricane Katrina, highlighting the community's resilience and the significance of community-wide prayer services.

Emily Langowitz

Project
Meet Me at Sinai

Jayne Guberman interviewed Emily Langowitz on February 8, 2015, in New York City, as part of the Meet Me at Sinai Oral History Project. Langowitz discusses her Jewish upbringing, her passion for Jewish learning, her experiences at Yale, her reflections on gender disparities in Judaism, and the influence of her renowned rabbi grandfather and Holocaust scholar grandfather on her spiritual journey.

A white cloth with the words "Gut Morgen" (Good Morning in Yiddish) followed by the initials R.L.

Restoring Hope Along with a Family Heirloom

Sheila Solomon Shotwell

Restoring my great aunt’s linen is a tribute to her for embracing my non-Jewish mother, in defiance of her family.

Topics: Crafts, Marriage, Prayer

Mark Schleifstein

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Mark Schleifstein on December 10, 2006, in Metairie, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Schleifstein talks about advocating for hurricane preparedness, experiencing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and struggling to reconcile his faith in science and belief in God while finding solace in the unity of the Jewish community.

Figurine of woman playing drum

From the Archive: Woman Playing Frame Drum

Deborah Dash Moore
Mimi Jessica Brown Wooten

The Posen Library shares a nearly 3000-year-old figurine of a woman playing a hand-drum.

Topics: Sculpture, Music, Bible

Florence Schornstein

Project
Women Who Dared

Abe Louise Young interviewed Florence Schornstein on January 11, 2005, in New Orleans, Louisiana as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Schornstein recounts her upbringing and journey with Judaism, highlighting her involvement in various organizations, including her role in the Civil Rights Movement, and reflects on the importance of humanitarian causes and encouraging young Jewish women to be active in their communities.

Irwin Lachoff

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Irwin Lachoff on August 24, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina’s Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Lachoff reminisces on his upbringing in New Orleans, his involvement with Beth Israel Synagogue, his experience during Hurricane Katrina, and his concerns for the future of the local Jewish community.

Jeffrey Kurtz-Lendner

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Rabbi Jeffery Kurtz-Lendner on December 4, 2006, in Metairie, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina’s Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Rabbi Kurtz-Lendner discusses the impact of Hurricane Katrina on his congregation, including damage to the synagogue, economic hardships, and the healing power of community support during a "refugee Shabbat," while highlighting the government's failures in response to the disaster.

Stephen Kupperman

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Stephen Kupperman on September 8, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina’s Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Kupperman speaks about his childhood in New Orleans, his involvement in Jewish non-profits, and his experience during Hurricane Katrina, including his evacuation to Baton Rogue, reflecting on the changes in the city since then.

Ruth Kullman

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Ruth Kullman on November 8, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina’s Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Kullman discusses her career in community activism, including her work with Planned Parenthood, her involvement in helping her synagogue recover from Hurricane Katrina, and her contributions to various boards and local politics.

Alan Krilov

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Alan Krilov on October 18, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina’s Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Krilov, a member of the Chabad community, recounts his challenging experience during Hurricane Katrina, including his evacuation and subsequent efforts to rebuild his life and reconnect with the Jewish community.

Janet Krane

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Janet Krane on November 2, 2006, in Metairie, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina’s Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Krane recounts her experience during Hurricane Katrina, including the challenges faced at Memorial Hospital and the controversy surrounding euthanized patients, as well as her reflections on family, community, and rebuilding New Orleans.

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