Litquake, San Francisco’s annual literary festival, comes to Berkeley’s Allston Way. The day starts at The Magnes with the appearance of Rabbi Joshua Plaut, author of A Kosher Christmas: ‘Tis the Season to be Jewish (Rutgers, October 2012). "With humor and insight Rabbi Joshua Plaut, Ph.D. recounts the meaning of Christmas to American Jews. This 'only in America' […]
This Sunday, downtown Berkeley closes its streets to automobile traffic so people get out and connect with their community. The galleries of The Magnes will be open to the public from Noon until 4pm. Come and enjoy our Fall Exhibitions and explore the wonders of The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life. Sunday Streets (also called […]
The Modern Jewish Studies Colloquium is inaugurated by a conversation about the formative history and the current state of the field of Jewish Studies, featuring Jeffrey Shandler (Rutgers) and John Efron (UC Berkeley), moderated by curator Francesco Spagnolo. Jeffrey Shandler is Professor of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University and current President of the Association of Jewish Studies. His most […]
Tinghir Jerusalem, Echoes from the Mellah Dir. Kamal Hachkar | France, Morocco, Israel | 2011 | 86min. The film traces Kamal Hachkar's rediscovery of a Judeo-Berber culture in Morocco through a personal journey that leads him from the country of his birth, France, to Israel and Tinghir. Introduced by Professor Emily Gottreich, Vice Chair of […]
An Academy Award-winning and Tony-nominated actor and internationally renowned folksinger, who was also active in the Soviet Jewry Freedom Movement will present a one-night-only special performance. This concert is in conjunction with a free conference, Captives of the Dawn: Remembering Soviet Yiddish Culture taking place Sunday, November 4 at The Magnes. Tickets for this performance are […]
This year’s conference is dedicated to Yiddish culture and literature in the former Soviet Union and brings together nationally renowned scholars in the field. Followed by a choral performance and poetry readings in Yiddish, Russian, and English. Participants : Yael Chaver, Department of German, UC Berkeley Marat Grinberg, Assistant Professor of Russian and Humanities, Reed […]
A Program in Commemoration of Kristallnacht: The Night of Broken Glass Best-selling author and noted historian Alex Kershaw discusses his latest book, The Liberator, which follows one American soldier’s 500 day odyssey from the beaches of Sicily to the liberation of Dachau. Presented by The Jewish Federation and The Jewish Community Foundation of the East Bay and The […]
Reception to honor the publication of the third in the four-volume series, Emma Goldman: A Documentary History of the American Years- 1890-1919 (Stanford University Press, November 2012). Readings from the work of the eloquent advocate of universal social justice.
Ronald Hendel will introduce his forthcoming book, The Book of Genesis: A Biography (Princeton, November 2012) in conversation with Rabbi Stephen Pearce of Temple Emanu-El, San Francisco, and the Very Rev. Jane Shaw, Dean of the Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. The book traces how Genesis has shaped views of reality, and how changing views of reality have […]
Artist Helene Aylon on her memoir- Whatever is Contained Must Be Released: My Jewish Orthodox Girlhood, My Life as a Feminist Artist (The Feminist Press, 2012). Aylon's book reading includes a slideshow and short video. "Never afraif to question sacred texts, ancient rituals, and religious bias- Aylon is a role model for all artists. Whatever is Contained […]
LIFE? OR THEATRE? Dir. Frans Weisz | Netherlands, Germany, USA, France | 2012 | 85min. In this documentary, Dutch filmmaker Frans Weisz traces the life of Charlotte Salomon, a German Jewish painter who defied the Nazi regime as a teenager by staying in Berlin and attending art school until 1938, when she was sent to […]
DRESSING AMERICA: TALES FROM THE GARMENT CENTER Dirs. Stepehen Fischler and Joel Sucher | USA | 2011 | 57min. Dressing America explores the ways in which immigrant Jews transformed a half-square mile of new York City into an urban village, packed with sewing machine operators, cutters, tailors, designers, trim manufacturers, machine and tool suppliers and […]
