The Southern Shmooze
October 2021
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A Southern Jewish Dedication |
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On Friday, October 1, our board and staff dedicated the Museum by affixing a mezuzah at our front door. In a brief ceremony led by Executive Director Kenneth Hoffman and Board Chair Jay Tanenbaum, board members took turns tightening the screws on a hand-made glass mezuzah crafted by local Southern Jewish artist Andrew Jackson Pollack. Board members present included Vice-Chair Morris Mintz, Vice-Chair Rusty Palmer, Deborah Lamensdorf Jacobs, Mark Stein, and Keith Katz.
If you missed the ceremony, you can watch it on our YouTube Channel by clicking the image below.
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Halloween is just weeks away. Here are some costume ideas with a Southern Jewish twist! |
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Yes, we know that Halloween is not a Jewish holiday. But from its Celtic pagan roots to its Christian evolution to its modern-day celebration of plastic pumpkins filled with "fun-sized" Snickers bars, Halloween has long been embraced by people of all descriptions. So why not show off your Southern Jewish pride this year while doing the Monster Mash? |
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Judge
No one will object to this costume especially if it is inspired by Justice Louis Brandeis. Born in Louisville, KY, Brandeis became known as "the people's lawyer" for his advocacy of progressive causes. In 1916 he became the first Jew appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Image Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
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Nurse
Today's heroes wear scrubs and masks. Amelia Greenwald, of Gainsville, AL, served as a nurse in the US Army during and after WWI. She later opened the Jewish Nurses' Training School in Warsaw, Poland, for which she received the Polish Golden Cross of Merit.
Image courtesy of Tulane University Special Collections, Tulane University
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Wrestler
An iceberg sank the Titanic, but a Goldberg sank countless opponents in the wrestling ring. Bill Goldberg, born, raised, and bar mitzvahed in Tulsa, OK, proudly used his last name as his pro-wresting moniker, as he impressively racked up championships and awards.
Image from the collection of MSJE.
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The Online Store is ready for Chanukah!
Are you?
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The Museum Store is fully stocked with all of your Chanukah needs! One-of-a-kind mezuzahs, Chanukah candles, kids baking sets, and more! There is something for everyone in-store and online! Remember, Members get 15% off all Museum Store items. |
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What's in a Name/Nom/имя/שם
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Many collections at the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience span not only time and space, but also languages. The family papers of Morris Coplan, who emigrated from Russia via Turkey in c. 1879, are just one example of the numerous multilingual collections at MSJE.
After arriving in America, Coplan peddled in the region surrounding Nashville, Tennessee, before settling in Florence, Alabama, and opening a successful grocery business and being elected to Florence City Council in 1901. The collection housed at MSJE primarily focuses on Coplan’s immigration journey, ranging from legal documents and recommendation letters to travel papers, including his 1892 naturalization certificate (currently on view at the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience). The collection features papers in German, Yiddish, French, and English, and the various names for Morris Coplan alone show the breadth of language – he is referenced at different points in the document as Moses/Moise/Morris Coplan/Kaplan/Koplan.
Part of our Museum’s outreach includes making these resources available for researchers, students, and genealogists. Thanks to the Scott and Donna Langston Archival Grant, selections from this wide-ranging collection will be digitized and made available online in the coming months.
Are you interested in helping the Museum translate and transcribe its historical documents? Become a Curatorial Volunteer and we'll put you to work. Email our curator Anna Tucker for more information.
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Say howdy to our new board members
Mark Stein and Keith Katz
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Mark S. Stein, born and raised in New Orleans, LA, is a Board Certified Tax Specialist, practices in the tax, corporate and commercial law area, and has extensive experience in estate planning, successions, real estate, corporate, and mergers and acquisitions. He represents individuals and local and national businesses and is recognized as one of the leading tax and business lawyers in the New Orleans legal community.
He has served on the board of directors of various charitable organizations, including the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, Firstline Schools, the Al Copeland Foundation, the Jewish Endowment Foundation, the Anti-Defamation League, and Congregation Temple Sinai in New Orleans.
"MSJE is the most important addition to cultural New Orleans since the World War II Museum. I am proud and honored to be a small part of it."
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Keith Katz was born and raised in Starkville, MS. Active in Temple Youth (and an officer in SoFTY), Keith went to LSU for undergraduate and graduate school, receiving his MS in Finance. After working initially for a regional bank, Keith started in the brokerage business. Now after 44 years he is an Executive Vice President with Morgan Stanley in New Orleans.
Keith has been involved in many organizations, including as a board member of Jewish Endowment Foundation, Temple Sinai (New Orleans), Lighthouse for the Blind, among others. Keith is married to Evie, with two children (Andrew and Katherine), four step-children, and ten grandchildren, with one on the way!
"This museum speaks to me personally, like no other. Of course I am thrilled to help share it, its stories, and its mission of acceptance with the world!"
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Hey Teachers! Come visit the Museum, on us!
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MSJE offers students wonderful opportunities to expand their understanding of the South, of the United States, and even of themselves. By seeing history through the eyes of others, or the eyes of their ancestors, students experience a unique side of American history, gain a new appreciation for diversity and community, and are challenged to confront stereotypes and prejudices.
If you are a teacher, we want to hear from you. What would you like the Museum to offer you and your students? How can we help you accomplish your goals of engaging and inspiring your students? Because we want you to get to know you, and we want you to get to know the Museum, we offer you a free visit to the Museum. Fill out our Teacher Questionnaire to claim your complimentary Museum ticket and add your name to our teacher email list.
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Watch our latest program on YouTube:
Groove & Shmooze with Glenn Hartman
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Watch our Public Programs Manager, Lizzi Meister, and Glenn Hartman discuss the history of Klezmer, Glenn's experiences being a Klezmer, and creating music in New Orleans! |
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This Month in Southern Jewish History |
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GEORGIA: October 12, 1956 |
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The Temple in Atlanta is bombed. Someone placed enough dynamite against the building to cause between $100,000-$200,000 worth of damage. As the explosion occurred at 3:30am, no one was injured. A number of white supremacists were arrested, one was tried, but none was convicted. The Temple's Rabbi Jacob Rothschild was a supporter of civil rights for African Americans, often drawing the ire of and threats from militant segregationists. The following day, Governor William Hartsfield condemned the bombing while visiting the site. |
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ALABAMA: October 21, 1894 |
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Congregation Sha’arai Shomayim (Gates of Heaven) in Mobile celebrates its 50th anniversary. Founded in 1844, the congregation was the first to be established in Alabama. In 1873, it signed on as a charter member of the Reform Union of American Hebrew Congregations. The 50th anniversary celebration took place in the synagogue pictured here, the congregation's second building, which it inhabited from 1857 to 1907. The congregation currently occupies its fourth building. |
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SOUTH CAROLINA: October 22, 1803 |
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The Charleston Daily Courier reports that the city's Hebrew Society for the Relief of Orphans and Indigent Children has elected new officers, including Emanuel De La Motta, Jacob De Leon, Philip Cohen, and Myer Moses, all prominent citizens and civic leaders in Charleston. At the meeting, the society raised $778 toward its mission ($19,000 in today's dollars). Charleston, with one of the oldest Jewish communities in the United States, was home of many Sephardic Jews who's families had immigrated from British and Dutch colonies in the Caribbean.
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On Episode 5 of the second season of Saturday Night Live, Kinky Friedman performs as the musical guest. Friedman, who grew up in Kerrville where his parents ran a Jewish summer camp, sang the song Dear Abby, by John Prine. Steve Martin was the show's host. One of the evening's skits depicted an episode of Jeopardy from 1999, giving a look at some social changes in the future. Friedman has made a career as a musician, social commentator, writer, and political campaigner. His band Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys made fun of western stereotypes with satirical songs.
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LOUISIANA: October 27, 1881 |
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The South-Western Presbyterian newspaper of New Orleans reports that, "A batch of Jewish emigrants arrived yesterday..." These emigrants would make up the first members of one of the first Jewish agricultural colonies in the United States, located in Sicily Island, Louisiana. Sicily Island is located 200 miles north of New Orleans near the Mississippi River. The colony would be made up of Jews fleeing pogroms (anti-Jewish riots) in Russia following the assassination of Czar Alexander II. But their lack of farming experience combined with heat, disease, and ultimately a flooding river, doomed the colony in 1882.
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MISSISSIPPI: October 27, 1936 |
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The Clarksdale Press Register's society page includes mentions of both Jewish and Syrian Ladies Club meetings. These types of notices are found in newspapers throughout the Mississippi Delta, revealing a diversity in the population that comes as a surprise to many. While predominantly a region of cotton farming, the Delta long attracted a diverse group of immigrants, each that added its unique skills, contributions, and cultures to an already unique part of the South. General stores, restaurants, and groceries were often owned by immigrants or their progeny.
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YOUR SUPPORT = YOUR MUSEUM
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GIVE ONLINE
MAIL A CHECK
to PO Box 15071, New Orleans, LA 70175
DONATE FROM YOUR IRA
required distribution
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DESIGNATE MSJE
as a recipient of your Donor Advised Fund
DONATE STOCK
or other marketable securities
INCLUDE MSJE
in your estate planning
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Shalom. Make yourself at home.®
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Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience
818 Howard Avenue | New Orleans, LA 70113
504-384-2480
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Banner images (l-r): Members of Congregation Beth Israel in Clarksdale, MS, c. 1910. Collection of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience; Blue Star campers, North Carolina, 2016. Courtesy of Blue Star Camps.
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