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Shedding light on Jewish immigrants in America
By MICHAEL SCHUMAN
". . . to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance."
"In America you can say what you feel without fear of a Cossack." LOS ANGELES -- In the Skirball Museum here, in a gallery called the Pursuit of Liberty, is a menorah that can only have real meaning in America. In Israel, in Russia, in England, it would mean little. Instead of nine ordinary holders for candles, this Hanukkah lamp has nine miniature Statues of Liberty, each reaching out its arm to hold a lit candle instead of a torch. It connotes appreciation for a nation that has treated its freely arriving immigrants pretty well. And it sums up what the Skirball is all about: the Jewish experience in America. The museum, part of the Skirball Cultural Center complex located high in the Santa Monica Mountains, opened in April 1996. Its purpose, in the words of Center president Uri D. Herscher, is to "tell the story of how Jewish tradition, Jewish values and Jewish vision intersect with the fabric of American life." Yet Herscher insists that the Skirball should not be regarded as simply a Jewish museum, "Because, even though the story is particular, the values embodied in it belong to everyone." Indeed, one gallery in the labyrinth of interactive exhibits, titled "Struggle and Opportunity," illustrates the adjustment of immigrants to life in America: A reproduced settlement house kitchen, crammed with a boxy white stove, a wooden table topped with cooking implements, a wicker doll carriage and other homey furnishings, represents the center of family life for newly arrived immigrants, including the Eastern European Jews who poured en masse into the United States. The story told here is that of Jews and New York social worker Lillian Wald, who helped introduce these newcomers into this land. But it could easily represent the story of any other group. Wald instructed new arrivals on how to care for and keep a tenement apartment. They swore to abide by the "soap and water pledge," which included taking a bath once a week. Other individuals are highlighted, including an Eastern European peddler who immigrated to San Francisco to sell dry goods. He built a thriving business making rugged pants of denim, with copper rivets, for use among California gold miners. His name was Levi Strauss. That is not to say it was smooth for any of the newly arrived immigrants. Italian-Americans had Sacco and Vanzetti. Irish-Americans had the Know-Nothing Party of the 1850s. Jewish-Americans may not have had to fear the the Czar's Cossacks, but they did fight American laws based in bigotry. For instance, during the Civil War, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant issued a field command expelling Jews from territory held by the Union Army in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. Grant blamed Jews for rampant smuggling in that region. His order was overturned by President Abraham Lincoln. A deep look at the relationships of both Lincoln and George Washington to their fellow Americans who were Jewish is a focus of the museum's recent expansion. The Skirball's three introductory galleries provide needed background: the origins of the Jewish people and where in the world they lived before discovering America. Finds from archaeological digs in Israel, such as original Roman-era items, are in the "Beginnings" gallery. Those unfamiliar with Jewish history but aware of contemporary headlines from the Middle East may encounter some surprises in the next gallery, "Journeys." For example, Jews and Muslims got along swimmingly in Spain, from the eighth to the 14th centuries -- a period known as the Golden Age. But with the Catholic Spanish royalty back in control of the country, the same year that Ferdinand and Isabella sent off Columbus on his search for a new route to India, the rulers ordered all Jews out of Spain. Also on display in "Journeys" is a Torah case dating from the 18th century and lacquered with a distinctive Chinese technique, to illustrate that there were Jewish communities in China. The first synagogue in China was built at Kaifeng in 1163, likely by traders from Iraq and Persia. Jews came to North America as early as the mid 17th century. The ways American Jews have celebrated holidays are examined in another gallery. Visitors can press a button on a computer to hear the sound of the shofar (ram's horn), traditionally blown on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Various galleries have relevant "discovery kits" that contain hands-on games, puzzles and other activities for kids ages 4 through 8. In Ziffen Discovery Center, geared toward making archaeology fun, children can create rubbings of ancient alphabets or excavate a site in an interactive computer game. - Michael Schuman is a freelance writer who lives in Keene, N.H. If you goIn addition to the museum galleries noted, the Skirball complex includes an auditorium. Lecturers have included actor-directors Carl Reiner and Richard Benjamin; authors Larry McMurtry, Tobias Wolff and Gary Soto, and former secretaries of state Alexander Haig and George Schultz. SPECIAL EXHIBITS: Now through Jan. 6: "Romance & Ritual: Celebrating the Jewish Wedding," with mroe than 200 works of art and artifacts including illuminated 17th century wedding contracts. Now through Feb. 24: "Contemporary Polish Papercuts by Marta Golab: A Revival of a European Folk Art," showcasing new depictions of a folk art that thrived in Jewish communities in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Feb. 24-May 26: "Myer Myers: Jewish Silversmith in Colonial New York" highlights one of the major silversmiths of colonial America and his contemporaries. A total of 170 objects, including works of silver and gold, paintings and documents, will be on view. ADMISSION: The Skirball Cultural Center is open noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission: $8 for adults, $6 students and those aged 65 and older, free for those younger than 12. Docents lead tours three times daily Tuesday through Sunday. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact the Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049; call (310) 440-4500. The Web site is www.skirball.org.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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