 |
|
|
|
|
My first job after finishing graduate school was as a music librarian at a medium sized college in Statesboro, Georgia. Georgia Southern College, today a university is located 50 miles southwest of Savannah. US Highway 301 that runs through Maryland also runs right through the middle of Statesboro. I’m sure it’s not surprising to hear that Statesboro was not exactly a hotbed of Jewish life and culture. However, for four days in May of 1981, this small southern town was just that. For four days Georgia Southern College was host to the first Festival of the Yiddish Spirit ever to take place in the United States. The brainchild of Bernie Solomon (z”l), an art professor at Georgia Southern, the festival also focused on Jewish contributions to Georgia and the South from colonial days through the present. Bernie brought together Yiddish-Jewish writers, composers, performers, and artists in a celebration that included public readings of poetry and stories; a theatrical production; four exhibitions of Jewish art; a Yiddish film series; and a symphony concert of Jewish music.
People came from all over the south to attend this historic event and last year,
nearly thirty years after the event took place, in my capacity as High Holiday
Rabbi and Cantor for a small community in South Carolina, I actually met several
people who had attended the festival. It
brought back a flood of memories.
Having only lived in Statesboro for two years, I felt lucky to have experienced
and been a part of such a momentous event. But as important as this festival of Yiddish-Jewish culture
was, sadly, it was a one-time event.
We in Lexington Park, however, are fortunate to be situated within a relatively
short distance from a permanent and notable fixture of Jewish culture. The Jewish Museum of Maryland, America’s
leading museum of regional Jewish history, culture, and community, was founded
in 1960 to rescue and restore the historic Lloyd Street Synagogue, and has since
become a cultural center for the Jewish community and for those interested in
Jewish history and traditions. On Sunday, December 4th Beth Israel Synagogue is
sponsoring a field trip to this museum, which will include a guided tour of the
two synagogues housed on site; the historic Lloyd Street Synagogue, as well
B’nai Israel, still home to a vibrant congregation.
We will also be given a guided tour of some of the museum’s current
exhibits, as well as participate in an activity related to small town Jewish
life. Once our tour is done we will
all sit down to enjoy a kosher lunch on site at B’nai Israel. It promises to be a fascinating outing and I encourage anyone
who can to join us for this day of intergenerational learning and fun.
Kol Tuv,a Ellie hemtov is currently a rabbinical student at the Academy for Jewish Religion (AJR) in the Bronx. After pursuing the cantorate at AJR for three years, Ellie had an epiphany, realizing that her calling as a spiritual leader embraced both sides of the bima. Ellie received her Bachelor’s degree in Music and Master’s degree in Library Science from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. More recently she completed the necessary coursework for a Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor certificate (CASAC) at Lehman College in the Bronx. Before moving to New York to attend AJR, Ellie worked for many years as a film librarian/archivist at a variety of institutions in the Washington, DC area, including the University of Maryland at College Park and the National Archives and Records Administration. Her most recent position before moving to New York was as Head of Film Cataloging at the Library of Congress. An early Jewish presence on the Internet, Ellie created and designed the website, Ellie’s Torah Trope Tutor. A tool for teaching others how to chant Torah, Haftorah, and the Megillot, Ellie’s web page has been a presence on the Internet since 1996. While there are many other web sites that teach the art of cantillation, Ellie’s Torah Trope Tutor was the first of its kind. Home | Privacy | Contact Us This page updated:
11.10.11 |
