Browse Items (1664 total)

Dr. Kuhlman wrote this letter, dated April 12, 1944, to Elbogen's wife Regina, to initiate negotiations to obtain the Elbogen library. A stream of correspondence between Kuhlman and Mrs. Elbogen led to the finalization of the purchase in December…

The Judaica Collection had its beginnings with the purchase of the library of Ismar Elbogen in 1945. Dr. Elbogen, a noted authority on Jewish history and religion, taught in Berlin from 1902 until 1933. He immigrated to the United States to escape…

Dr. Kuhlman, director of the Joint University Libraries from 1936 to 1960, was the driving force behind the creation of the Judaica Collection. As a scholar librarian with a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago, he was dedicated to…

Ismar Elbogen’s major work, Der Judische Gottesdienst in Seiner Geschichtliehen Entwicklung (1913), is a comprehensive historical study of the Jewish public liturgy. It covers the areas traditionally treated by liturgical scholars, and, in addition,…

During the Nazi occupation of Paris, the artist Benn was sheltered by various Christian families. While in hiding, he made simple line drawings of biblical verses until he was captured and interred in the Beanne le Rolande camp. After the war, he…

This set of 120 medals commemorates people and events in Jewish history. Themes depicted in the engravings include Jewish belief, creativity, history, and religious life. The last coins in the set deal with the return to Israel. Nahum N. Glatzer…

The Bird’s Head manuscript, the earliest surviving illustrated Ashkenazi Haggada, is named for the figures drawn with birds' heads on human forms. These composite creatures are most probably griffins. Many scholars believe the use of imaginary…

Artist Ben Shahn was part of the Social Realism movement originating around 1930. It was during this period that he created many of the originals for the Hagadah shel Pesah, drawing on the movement’s themes of defense of the innocent, the persecuted…

Spice containers are used during the Havdalah ceremony, which marks the closing of the Shabbat and other holidays. The spices (in Hebrew, besamim) are stored in a dedicated container. Their smell should be sweet. Traditionally the spices include…

Der Stern der Erlösung (The Star of Redemption) is Rosenzweig’s major philosophical work. The first draft was written in the trenches and in a military hospital while serving in the German Army during W.W.I. In this work, he describes the…