Confirmants in white robes are seated in two rows with Rabbi Aronson seated in the front middle row. Rabbi Aronson came to Beth El in 1924, and served the congregation for 35 years. Beth El, at the time the photo was taken, was on the North Side of Minneapolis. The congregation is now in St. Louis Park.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
A large group of young people sitting at a series of long tables in the Temple of Aaron in Saint Paul. United Synagogue Youth (USY) was founded in 1951 to promote living Jewishly to Jewish-American teens. Part educational and part service oriented, the organization encourages youth involvement in Jewish community service work; travel and service in Israel; and reflection on Jewish identity. USY is associated with Conservative Judaism. The photo was taken at Temple of Aaron in St. Paul
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Children of the graduating class of the Saint Paul Talmud Torah nursery school, wearing caps and hand-made costume. The St. Paul Talmud Torah was created in 1956 through the merger of several different Jewish education institutions as a beneficiary of the United Jewish Fund and Council. Oversight for Jewish education was centered in the Jewish Education Association, which planned and developed all forms of local Jewish learning, including weekday school and Sunday schools.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
The Hillel Israeli folk dance group gathered in front of Northrop Auditorium on the University of Minnesota Campus to celebrate the 34th anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Men and women sit at rows of long tables for anniversary celebration of the Duluth Talmud Torah. The Duluth Jewish community at its height in the 1930s numbered about 4,000. Duluth's profile mirrored that of larger cities to the south, including a mix of German and eastern European settlers. The fact that both groups arrived within the same decade helped prevent some of the same identity-based separation that occurred in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Duluth Talmud Torah is officially named the Ida B. Cook Hebrew school, after the founder and a prominent Duluth citizen.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Hadassah members met in small and large groups to socialize and to raise money for Israel. The pushke, or canister, in the picture, could be found in many, if not most Jewish homes in the 1950s and 1960s. The blue and white canisters with the outline of Israel were used to collect money for land purchases and reforestation efforts, and were a direct reminder of the bond between Israel and the American Jews.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Founded in 1911, the Ladies Auxiliary raised money for a variety Talmud Torah related functions by sponsoring dances and food and rummage sales. An early outcome of providing women with a role in Jewish education was a fortification of both Jewish and American identity .
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Pearl Bankman Sakol (4th from top right) and her family gather around two tables for the Passover Seder. The view of the photograph is from slightly above.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Cantor was a popular entertainer who traveled periodically during World War II to promote sales of U. S. War Bonds. He is shown here with the Lebedoff triplets; David, Jonathan and Judy. Arrangements for Cantor's visit were made by Minneapolis Hadassah.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Children are getting into costume and make-up in this publicity photo for the Stay at Home Camp Circus at the Saint Paul Jewish Education Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
A photograph of Julian Freeman standing behind a podium and giving a speech for United Jewish Appeal. The United Jewish Appeal was founded in 1934 to help provide financial and political relief to Jews in Europe. It unified fundraising efforts for European relief for an increasingly diverse American Jewish community. In 1947, U. J. A. shifted its focus from collecting funds for refugees to providing support for the proposed independent state of Israel.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Kokie Goldenberg standing at a podium and addressing attendants of a rally for the U. J. F. C.The United Jewish Fund and Council was founded in 1935 as the fundraising arm of the St. Paul Jewish community.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Abe Orbuch was born in a small town in Poland near the Russian border. He fled Poland at 21 to avoid conscription into the Russian military, settling in St. Paul. He bought a Model-T Ford and traveled to small towns outside of St. Paul where he sold fruit. He formed friendships with many in the Polish community in Foley and commuted to a poultry business he owned there for over forty years. He bought chickens, eggs and veal from Foley farmers and sold them sugar, flour and twine.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Abraham "Dutch" Kastenbaum was a trained social worker and established the first senior center in Minneapolis. He headed the United Way's Division of Aging, and hosted a poplar cable television show, Senior Citizens Forum, for twenty five years.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Confirmation students in graduation dress, posed with their teacher at Adath Jeshurun. Confirmation is a coming of age practice for post Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. It was originally developed by the Reform movement to follow bar- and bat-mitzvahs in the belief that thirteen year olds were not yet ready to be considered adult and should continue on in their religious education.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Confirmation students in graduation dress, posed with their teacher at Adath Jeshurun. Adath Jeshurun was located on the South Side in a building designed by the architect Jack Leibenberg. In the late 1990s the congregation relocated to Minnetonka. Rabbi Gordon is in the back row wearing the tallit.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
A photograph showing the front exterior of Adath Jeshurun Synagogue. Adath Jeshurun was founded 1884. It joined together two groups of Jews--immigrants from Russia and Romania--that had settled on Minneapolis's South Side. The building in the picture was, like Temple Israel, designed by Jack Liebenberg in the Neoclassical Revival style. The number three--corresponding to the number of doors--has several symbolic references, including to the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Members of the Adath Jeshurun Young People's League posing for a cast photo of their production, "Headin' South." Youth organizations in synagogues offered opportunities for socializing and other types of group activities. Adath Jeshurun's youth group organized theatricals and model Seders.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Established in 1924, AZA (Aelph Zedik Aelph) is the fraternity component of BBYO (B'nai Brith Youth Organization) for high school aged Jewish boys. The acronym stands for Ahavah (fraternal love), Tzedakah (benevolence), and Ahdoot (harmony). Photograph taken at the Lowry Hotel in St. Paul.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Aerial view of customers shopping amidst bookcases filled with books at the Mount Sinai Hospital Women's Auxiliary Book Fair, a fundraising event. Mount Sinai Hospital was built in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the 1950s to address the discrimination Jewish doctors experienced admitting Jewish patients to local hospitals. The Auxiliary members promoted the work of Mount Sinai Hospital and assisted needy members of the community through volunteer service, fundraising and public relations.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives