“The Jewish Mother” has become an icon in film, fiction and popular culture. On one hand, her image reflects the yearning for lost childhood, family and traditional community. On the other hand, this sense of enchantment and nostalgia is accompanied by a perception of the mother as an intimidating, somewhat demonic figure, who forces her […]
Robert Alter’s award-winning translation of the Hebrew Bible continues with the stirring narrative of Israel’s ancient history. To read the books of the Former Prophets in this riveting translation (published by W.W. Norton & Co., 2013) is to discover an entertaining amalgam of hair-raising action and high literary achievement. Alter's immense achievements in scholarship ranging […]
The Magnes is excited to welcome the Jerusalem-born musician, artistic director, and community organizer, Yair Harel to its weekly lunchtime PopUp Exhibition Series. His performance will inaugurate his residency at The Magnes this Fall. Yair Harel will perform a selection of Hebrew liturgical poems (piyyutim) about the sounding of the shofar horn, according to the […]
Join us for an exciting discussion about the rescue of Jewish cultural property looted by the Nazis across Europe, centering upon the photographs and letters (1945-1946) of Koppel Pinson kept in The Magnes Collection. Nazi era looted books and other items were processed after WWII at the Offenbach Archival Depot. The mission of the U.S. Monuments […]
Celebrate the magic of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, at the Magnes Collection! Join Rabbi James Brandt for an exploration of the meaning of Hanukkah today. Rabbi Brandt is the CEO of the Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Foundation of the East Bay. He joined the Federation in 2003 and became its Executive Director […]
Free and open to the public Meet Victoria Hanna and watch as she develops MAGIC SPELLS, a new performance repertoire based on Hebrew amulets in The Magnes Collection. The series is curated by Francesco Spagnolo, and presented in conjunction with his UC Berkeley course, Jewish Nightlife (Jewish 121-001, Music 139). During her Fall 2017 residency, […]
The 17th Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day Program honors survivors, and remembers those who were murdered, those who resisted, and those who rescued victims of the Holocaust.
Almog Behar is a poet, novelist, and critic. Born in 1978, Behar now lives in Jerusalem. He has published three books of poetry: Zim'on Be'erot (Well's Thirst, 2008), Chut Moshekh Min Ha-Lashon (A Thread Drawing from the Tongue, 2009) and Shirim Le-Asirei Batei-Ha-Sohar (Poems for the Prisoners, 2016); a collection of short stories, Ana Min Al-Yahoud (I am on one of the Jews, […]
Additional program dates: Tue, May 21, 2019 9am-3pm Wed, May 22, 2019 9am-5pm In Global Transit Forced Migration of Jews and Other Refugees (1940s – 1960s) May 20 – 22, 2019 German Historical Institute | Pacific Regional Office at the University of California, Berkeley Second Conference in the Series “In Global Transit” organized by the […]
Curators Francesco Spagnolo and Shir Kochavi present insights and connections emerging from the holdings of UC Berkeley's Magnes Collection, one of the largest Jewish museum collections in the world. Zooming In: I-Tal-Yah: An Island of Divine Dew. Italian Crossroads in Jewish Culture reflects on the Fall, 2016 exhibition I-Tal-Yah, and highlights how it will be […]
Curators Francesco Spagnolo and Shir Kochavi present insights and connections emerging from the holdings of UC Berkeley's Magnes Collection, one of the largest Jewish museum collections in the world. Zooming In: Pièces de Résistance: Echoes of Judaea Capta From Ancient Coins to Modern Art reflects on the Fall, 2018 exhibition Pièces de Résistance, and highlights […]
Bringing the Light On the occasion of Hanukkah, we are partnering with the Bay Area's six Jewish Community Centers to bring you the light from the 200 Hanukkah lamps in The Magnes Collection. We invite you to join us in discovering the culturally rich stories of these unique lamps collected from Europe, North Africa, the […]
