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September 9- December 14, 2001
DELIVERING THE GOODS
CO-SPONSOR OF THE EXHIBITION:
THE PHILADELPHIA JEWISH ARCHIVES CENTER
DESCRIPTION: A humorous unique look at the celebrations and commemorations of Jewish life, or, how the butcher, the baker, the mohel, and others facilitated the fertile expression of Jewish cultural and religious life in Philadelphia.
BACKGROUND: In the fall of 1999 the Temple Judea Museum mounted, SEASONS OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT: Patterns and Passages of Jewish Life. This exhibition was a visual exploration of rituals, customs, and ceremonies of the Jewish Life Cycle.
Once the exhibition was over follow-up analysis led to a number of questions all based upon this one fact: The rituals of the Jewish life cycle require special foods, objects, clothing, professional expertise, etc., and, therefore, in order for these ceremonies and rituals to be observed, a supporting community of merchants, musicians, educators, ritual institutions, and the like, is necessary.
This exhibition was a result of that analysis. It was a joyous look at the riches of Philadelphia Jewish life.
COSPONSOR OF THE EXHIBITION: THE PHILADELPHIA JEWISH ARCHIVES CENTER
The Philadelphia Jewish Archives was established in 1972 as a joint project of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Jewish Committee. In the years since its establishment, the Archives has become the central repository for the records of one of the oldest and most important Jewish communities in America, documenting this community's social, cultural, economic, and political history. As the first Federation-sponsored archives in the country, the Philadelphia Jewish Archives has served as a model for many other communities and is recognized nationally for its outstanding records and collections. These materials chronicle a proud heritage of meeting the needs of a people through organized social services during an extraordinary time in history. The Archives preserves and maintains the countless personal treasures of individuals and families whose lives were, and, in many cases, still are, the very fabric of our community.