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Blogs Categories: Jewish American History

Blogs Categories: Jewish American History

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

World Storytelling Day: Stories of Strong Women

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March 20 is World Storytelling Day.  Tying storytelling with the equinox in March is thought to have originated in Sweden as Alla berättares dag (all storytellers day) in 1991 or 1992. Other countries joined to celebrate storytelling on the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere and the first day of autumn in the …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

A Tale of Two Hebrew Patronesses

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(The following post is by Ann Brener, Hebraic area specialist in the Library’s African and Middle Eastern Division.) Every age has its own image of the “woman of valor,” and in the crumbling Jewish world of post-exilic Spain, that image was embodied in the persons of two unique women: Doña Gracia Nasi and Signora Benvenida …

Woman with dark hair, fancy dress and pearls with eyes closed and mouth slightly open, singing

Mordecai Seter Centenary

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The following is a guest post from Dr. Uri Golomb (Editor, Israel Music Institute) and Dr. Ronit Seter (Jewish Music Research Centre, Hebrew University Jerusalem), both of whom recently visited the Performing Arts Reading Room to explore Mordecai Seter materials in the Music Division’s collections. February 26, 2016 marks the centenary of Mordecai Seter (1916-1994), …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

A Valentine for the Ages: The Biblical “Song of Songs”

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(The following post is by Ann Brener, Hebraic area specialist in the Library’s African and Middle Eastern Division.) With its rich nature imagery and enigmatic dream-like sequences, the “Song of Songs” (also known as the “Songs of Solomon”) is surely one of the world’s great love poems and one of the most popular books in …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

From Russia With Love: Illustrated Children’s Books in Hebrew

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(The following is a post by Ann Brener, Hebraic area specialist in the Library’s African and Middle Eastern Division.) Imagine that some brightly plumed bird-of-paradise has flown in amongst your backyard warblers, and you’ll probably know how I felt upon discovering a beautifully illustrated book in the vaults of the Library of Congress. Nestled between …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

A Friendly Feast

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This Thanksgiving, I’ll be celebrating “Friendsgiving” – a thankful gathering for those of us unable to spend the holiday with our families. The veritable smorgasbord of dishes everyone is bringing got me thinking about everyone’s food traditions, since Turkey Day usually revolves around sharing a meal. I imagine my friends’ dishes come from old family …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Searching for Nina Tarasova

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This week the Library of Congress historic newspaper resource, Chronicling America, will pass a milestone of making ten million digitized pages of American newspapers available free online. These papers were selected by institutions in thirty-eight states and territories, with more expected to be added. When I was working on an article, “Russian American Song,” for …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Collecting Comedy

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(The following is an article from the May/June 2015 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. Daniel Blazek, a recorded sound technician at the Library’s Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Preservation, wrote the story. You can read the issue in its entirety here.) Laughter, with its links to the development of the human brain, no doubt …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

What is it About May?

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I confess. I always get a little giddy in May. Maybe it’s because the longer, warmer days of May mark the impending arrival of summer, my absolute favorite season. Yes, I am one of the rare lovers of brutally hot, humid DC summers. Or maybe May brings out the giddiness in me because I admire …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Highlighting the Holidays: Happy Hanukkah

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In 2014, December 16 marked the first day of Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the forces of Antiochus IV. Also referred to as the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah recalls the event. According to the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism, at the re-dedication …