The Magnes|Fall 2016 Exhibitions

and Programs
Fall Exhibitions | August 30 - December 16, 2016
Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday 11a.m.-4 p.m.

I-Tal-Yah: An Island of Divine Dew. Italian Crossroads in Jewish Culture

Never before the creation of the State of Israel did Jews of so many origins live together, and in such a stimulating
environment, as they did in the land they soon started calling in Hebrew i-tal-yah, an Island of Divine Dew. A
crossroad of world cultures, Italy has been for over two millennia a haven for Italian, Sephardic and Ashkenazi
Jews, in the heartland of Christianity. The Italian-Jewish symbiosis flourished with the Modern Era, in the Renaissance ghettos, continuing through the 19th-century Emancipation, and up to the present. This exhibition
presents a selection of manuscripts, books, ritual objects, textiles, photographs and postcards collected by The
Magnes over five decades to investigate the global significance of Jewish history in Italy. More at: bit.ly/italyah.

By Design: American Jewish Education in the World Over Cover Art (1946-1957)

Published for almost four decades, the World Over was edited by Ezekiel Schloss, who also designed its covers. The magazine offered select world news, short stories by major Jewish writers, information about cultural events and historical details about the Jewish communities in the global diaspora to Jewish school children in America. The publications bilingual
title also included the Hebrew idiomatic expression, olam u-meloo, or the whole world, thus signaling an alignment between mainstream Jewish education in the United States and the cultural agendas of the nascent State of Israel. The World
Over cover art still resounds today as a prime example of intercultural dialogue in an open society. More at: bit.ly/eschloss.

The Jewish World | A Book Installation

The Jewish World: 100 Treasures of Art and Culture, published by Skir-Rizzoli in the fall of 2014, is the first comprehensive catalog featuring the holdings of The Magnes. With art and material culture hailing from India, Spain,
Yemen, Germany, Tunisia, Turkey, Morocco, China, Russia, the United States, and other regions where Jews once
lived or continue to live, The Jewish World gives insights into the richness and variety of Jewish cultures. Select
pages from this lavishly illustrated volume populate an installation in the auditorium.
More at: bit.ly/thejewishworld.

From Mendelssohn To Mendelssohn: German-Jewish Encounters in Art, Music, and Material Culture

Moritz D. Oppenheim (1800-1882), often celebrated as the first modern Jewish painter, created Lavater and Lessing Visit
Moses Mendelssohn in 1856: an imagined mid-eighteenth century meeting among scholars and intellectual associates Moses
Mendelssohn (1729-1786) and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781), and the Swiss theologian Johann Kaspar Lavater
(1741- 1801), at the Mendelssohns residence in Berlin. This exhibition evokes the original setting of the painting and the
history of the Mendelssohn family by activating the extensive holdings of German-Jewish ritual art, books, manuscripts, and
material culture. More at: bit.ly/2mendelssohn.

THE MAGNES COLLECTION OF JEWISH ART AND LIFE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
2121 ALLSTON WAY, BERKELEY, CA 94720
510.643.2526 MAGNES.BERKELEY.EDU

Fall 2016 at The Magnes

Opening Reception and Performance: I-Tal-Yah: An Island of Divine Dew
Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 5 p.m.

PopUp Exhibition Series

Opening Remarks:
George Breslauer, Faculty Director, The Magnes
Paolo Barlera, Italian Cultural Institute, SF
500 Years from the Venice Ghetto
John Efron, Koret Professor of Jewish History
Francesco Spagnolo, Curator of The Magnes
Ars Minerva: Music from 17th-Century Venice
Cline Ricci, mezzo-soprano & Derek Tam,
harpsichord
RSVP by Sept. 1 at bit.ly/italyahopening.

Sept. 21; Oct.19, 26; Nov. 2, 9, 16, 30

No lecture on Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving).

The Bagel and the Archive: Celebrating Noahs Bagels Legacy at The Magnes
Sunday, Nov. 13; 10 a.m.
The Magnes is pleased to announce the acquisition of the
Noahs New York Bagels Collection (1989-1996) documenting
the early history of Noahs New York Bagels. Founded in
Berkeley by Noah Alper, resident entrepreneur, consultant,
and philanthropist, the Noahs Bagels brand rose to national
prominence as the largest kosher retailer in the U.S., until
sold to Einstein Bros. Bagels in 1996. Noahs neighborhood
stores, which Alper referred to as unapologetically Jewish,
served as a popular community gathering place for all manner
of West Coast Jews. Among the materials now archived at
The Magnes are business records, photographs, memorabilia,
recordings of radio and television broadcasts, promotional t-shirts, and even a
beach towel with the Noahs logo. The program will include an intimate display of
select items from the collection, Noah Alpers own reminiscences about the early
days of the business, and of course a bagelbased reception (shmear provided).
RSVP is required for this event. To RSVP, visit http://bit.ly/noahbagels.

Last Yiddish Heroes: Lost and Found Songs of Soviet Jews during World War II
Thursday, Sept. 29; 6:30-9 p.m., reception at 6:30 p.m.
Singer-songwriter Psoy Korolenko and historian Anna Shternshis (University of
Toronto) bring to life lost Yiddish songs of World War II in this concert and lecture
program. Collected by Moshe Beregovsky and other scientists of the Kiev Cabinet for
Jewish Culture, these previously unknown Yiddish songs were confiscated and hidden
by the Soviet government in 1949, and have only recently come to light. The program
features the performance and incredible stories behind these treasures.

Fall 2016 Israeli Film Series: Mizrachi Identities on the Israeli Screen

A year-long series on Israeli cinema, co-presented by the Berkeley Institute for Jewish
Law and Israel Studies and The Magnes. In the fall, the screenings will be devoted
to a retrospective of Ronit Elkabetz (1964-2016), an actress famous for her cinematic
roles portraying the experience of Mizrachi Jewish women in Israeli society and on the
Israeli screen. All programs are at The Magnes and start at 6 p.m., with a light reception
provided.

Sept. 27: The Bands Visit

Nov. 1: Gett: The Trial of

Viviane Amsalem

Nov. 29: Late Marriage

THE MAGNES COLLECTION OF JEWISH ART AND LIFE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
2121 ALLSTON WAY, BERKELEY, CA 94720
510.643.2526 MAGNES.BERKELEY.EDU

Wednesdays, Noon-1 pm

Each week, UC Berkeley faculty and students,

visiting artists and other notable guests present
brief lectures focused on selected treasures
from the The Magnes Collection. One speaker
and one object at a time, these flash exhibitions include the opportunity to view the art
and artifacts discussed intimately and up close.
Bring your own lunch, enjoy complimentary
refreshments, and take part in an exciting
learning program, free and open to the public.
Check The Magnes calendar and Facebook
page for updates.

Book Talk | Walter Zev Feldman Klezmer:

Music, History, and Memory

Thursday, Dec.1, 2016; 5:30 -7:30 p.m

Join musicologist
and klezmer music
pioneer, Walter
Zev Feldman, for
a fascinating talk
based on his new
book, Klezmer: Music, History, and Memory,
the first comprehensive study of the musical
structure and social history of klezmer music,
the music of the Jewish musicians guild of
Eastern Europe.

Melting Pots Compared? Italian Jewry and

Contemporary Israel | Sergio Della Pergola
(Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Wednesday, Dec.14, 2016, 5-7 p.m.
Sergio Della Pergola, the
Shlomo Argov Professor
Emeritus
of
IsraelDiaspora Relations at
the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem, will look
at how contemporary
Israels model of largescale
heterogeneous
Jewish migration followed by complex
processes of absorption and integration can
be studied using the long-term experiences of
Jewish communities in Italy as a framework.