Secrets of the Greatest Generation: stories our mothers never told us
September 20, 2016 talk at 7:15pm
Doors open at 6:30pm to view the exhibit
Ticket Info: Free for OJMCHE Members with RSVP, General Public $5, view of exhibit included
Talk by Suzanne Hertzberg, author of Katherine Joseph: Photographing an Era of Social Significance
When Katherine Joseph died in 1990, her daughter discovered a trove of memorabilia from her mother’s career as a Roosevelt-era photographer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU). Joseph photographed union leaders and progressive political luminaries as well as men and women at work in union shops and at play in union-sponsored cultural events. She traveled to Mexico in 1941 on an extended photojournalistic grand tour, returned to New York on the cusp of Pearl Harbor, and went on to document labor’s wartime Home Front efforts. Then, as did millions of American women after the war, she married and left her job to become a full-time homemaker. Closing the door firmly on her remarkable career and accomplishments, she rarely spoke of her past, sharing with her daughter only anecdotal snippets and the occasional photograph. Her path from traditional immigrant upbringing to independence, adventure, and professional success remained essentially a secret for the rest of her life.
Hertzberg embarked on archiving her mother’s work and researching her career, a project that bore fruit as Katherine Joseph: Photographing an Era of Social Significance, for her children to appreciate their grandmother’s accomplishments and for the preservation of an important historical legacy. She found the research process enlightening as she came to know her mother as a young woman—talented, accomplished, playful, adventurous, sexy—who kept her own trove of juicy secrets for nearly half a century. Readers often express that Hertzberg’s book made them think about their own mothers in a new light and sparked their own research journeys. “We have much to learn from the ‘Greatest Generation’ women,” Hertzberg notes, “who were raised not to draw attention to themselves or their accomplishments and who succeeded so well in doing so that we risk losing their legacy.” Yet, Hertzberg cautions, we have a responsibility as historians —even amateur/family historians. “As we learn about our mothers, we must resist the temptation to look at the past through the lens of the present, and when we uncover secrets, we need to contemplate and respect the question of who has rightful ownership of our life stories.”
Selichot Service: Join us for a casual selichot service with lots of discussion
7 pm Musical Havdallah with Rabbi Ruhi Sophia
Followed by 8 pm S’lichot Service
Temple Beth Israel, 1175 East 29th Avenue, Eugene, OR 541-485-7218 info@tbieugene.org www.tbieugene.org
Tradition tells us that the heavens are most open to prayer during the Days of Awe. Our Selichot Service will be held in Havurah’s Bet HaKnesset. We will begin the process of T’shuvah, of resolving those issues that have been heavy on our hearts and minds, and of welcoming the New Year. Please arrive early and bring a pillow to sit on and a candle in a container.
Led by Rabbi Joey and Karen St. Clair. Music by Beth Hamon.
What do you want Rosh Hashana to mean for YOUR child?
Enjoy a family bonding cooking experience – prepare delicious recipes, plan and discuss the Chag with your child.
The Jewish Holiday Culinary Experience is an innovative program for adults and children ages 5-12.
Oregon State University Press, the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, and the Oregon Historical Society invite you to celebrate the publication of The Jewish Oregon Story 1950–2010 by Ellen Eisenberg
What if you were Noah, and God told you the oceans were going to rise? Would you build an ark, or try to stop the flood? Award-winning musician, writer and Jewish educator Alicia Jo Rabins considers questions like these, creating art from the place where ancient Jewish texts intersect with contemporary life. Come enjoy songs, performance, and innovative Torah learning about some of Torah’s lesser-known characters and stories. Ancient Jewish texts come to life, re-imagined through a modern, personal lens which refracts the beauty and complexity of these ideas and considers how they relate to our lives today.
Cost: $10 per person
Register at www.oregonjcc.org/culture
Registration Code: CG106
Presented by the MJCC and the Judaic Studies Department at PSU
The MJCC proudly presents the 3rd Annual Israeli Film Series featuring three extraordinary films with special guests. Each film was selected for its quality and ability to excite, delight, enlighten, provoke and/or move viewers to tears or laughter. You will not want to miss out on these films! Co-sponsored by the Institute for Judaic Studies.
Opening Night – Article of Hope with special guest, Director Dan Cohen
The story of Israeli astronaut and Columbia crew member Ilan Ramon, who carried into space a miniature Torah scroll given to Israeli scientist Joachim Joseph during a secret Bar Mitzvah at the Nazi concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen. The documentary includes archival NASA footage of the astronauts preparing for the ill-fated mission; and remarks from Ramon’s widow, Rona, astronauts Garrett Reisman and SteveMacLean, and former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres.
Discussion to follow film.
Check out our other great films on October 6 (Rock in the Red Zone) and October 13 (Five Hours from Paris). We will also have a teen screen on November 3 and will be showing The Other Son.
$8 per film; MJCC members – $5
Registration Code for single ticket: CG107A
$20 series pass; MJCC members – $12
Registration Code for series pass: CG107E
Join us and other young families for special Shabbat filled with stories, singing and of course apples and honey!
Free and open to the community