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Tag: jewish culture

  • Old Jewish posters at the Antwerp Archives

    the 'Felixarchief' – (c) photo by Gershon Lehrer

    The archives of the city of Antwerp (Felixarchief) mentioned in their last monthly e-newsletter the following interesting subject (source):

    Vooroorlogse Joodse affiches duiken op
    Vier jaar geleden ontdekten we in het Modern Archief twee dikke pakken met affiches.

    Het bleek een uiterst interessante verzameling van 144 affiches en pamfletten van Joodse verenigingen uit 1932-1934. De meeste zijn aankondigingen van culturele evenementen: concerten, toneelvoorstellingen maar ook lezingen, bals en feesten uit die periode komen aan bod. Over de herkomst weten we enkel dat een zekere heer Prinz ze al in 1934 aan het stadsarchief schonk.
    Het Joods Museum van Deportatie en Verzet reageerde enthousiast op de ontdekking en stelde meteen voor om de Hebreeuwse en Jiddische opschriften voor het FelixArchief te vertalen. Het leverde een schat aan informatie op.

    De reeks illustreert immers als geen ander het bruisende culturele en politieke leven van de Joodse gemeenschap tijdens het interbellum: het dynamische verenigingsleven, de culturele diversiteit, maar ook het onderbelichte verzet tegen Hitler-Duitsland, de Joodse Socialistische Partij en de immigratie naar Palestina. Een uiterst boeiende momentopname, voer voor verder onderzoek en uniek illustratiemateriaal.

    De affiches zijn nu deskundig beschreven, gereinigd, gevlakt en gedigitaliseerd. U kunt deze affiches hier digitaal bekijken. (Klik hiervoor op het plus-teken.)

    Nieuwsbericht gepubliceerd op 02-03-2012

    Translation:

    Prewar Jewish posters emerge
    Four years ago we discovered in the Modern Archive 2 large packages of posters.

    It was a very interesting collection of 144 posters and pamphlets of Jewish organizations from 1932-1934. Most of these are announcements of cultural events: concerts, theater performances but also lectures, balls and parties held from that period . About the origin, we know only that in 1934 a certain Mr. Prinz donated the posters to the city archives.
    The Memorial, Museum and Documentation Centre (Kazerne Dossin) responded enthusiastically to the discovery and immediately suggested to translate the Hebrew and Yiddish inscriptions for the FelixArchief. This yielded a wealth of information.

    The series illustrate like no other indeed the lively cultural and political life of the Jewish community during the interwar period: the dynamic associations, cultural diversity, but also underexposed resistance to Hitler’s Germany, the Socialist Party and the Jewish immigration to Palestine. A very interesting snapshot of further research and unique artwork.

    The posters are now expertly described, cleaned, flattened and digitized. You can view digital posters here. (Click on the plus sign.)

    News published on 03/02/2012

    As mentioned in the e-mail, you can (more…)

  • The State Archives in Belgium: Getting there

    (See also the links at the end of this article)

    How to get there:
    The State Archives of Belgium are on the following address:

    rue de Ruysbroeck 2
    1000 Brussels
    phone: +32 2 513 76 80

    [cetsEmbedGmap src=http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Rue+de+Ruysbroeck+2,+1000+Bruxelles,+Belgi%C3%AB&hl=nl&ie=UTF8&ll=50.842262,4.356058&spn=0.006436,0.014999&z=16&vpsrc=0 width=400 height=425 marginwidth=0 marginheight=0 frameborder=0 scrolling=no]

    It is easy to get there by taxi or public transportation. The national airport of Belgium, which is situated in Zaventem near Brussels, is about 14.4 km (8.95 miles) away and it takes about 16 minutes to drive by car (without traffic).

    The museum district “Kunstberg – Mont des Arts”:
    The archives are near the Kunstberg which in French is called Mont des Arts (hill of Arts).

    That area in fact serves as the Museum District of Brussels which was conceived by King Léopold II. King Léopold II decided to turn the whole district into what today is known as the Mont des Arts. The King dreamed of making Brussels a modern and cultural capital city and Mont des Arts the treasure of his country and witness to the history of Belgium.

    A plate memorializing Belgian kings Leopold II for conceiving the Mont des Arts, king Leopold III for implementing it and king Baudouin/Boudewijn I for establishing it. The Mont des Arts was dedicated to the memory of king Albert I

    The Mont des Arts is situated in about the same area which was known as the “Jewish (more…)

  • The source of the song En Den Dino

    “La Queue Leu Leu” , sheet music with illustration from a French children’s book Vieilles Chansons pour les Petits Enfants: Avec Accompagnements

    This was first published on my blog on November 10th, 2009 (12:43:01). I am reposting it now with some minor changes:
    I did first send an e-mail on March 1st, 2009 to the jewishgen newsgroup (soc.genealogy.jewish) in which I asked if someone knows more about the song “En Den Dino” (with spelling mistakes removed):

    From: gershon.lehrer@gmail.com (lehrer)
    Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.jewish
    Subject: Children’s song: “En den dino”
    Date: 1 Mar 2009 13:55:30 -0800

    Dear all,

    This is more a historical question then a genealogy related question:

    My daughter of 3 came from her preschool with the following song:

    “En den dino / sof al hakatino / Elik Belik Bom / Shabat Shalom / Un deux trois et vous n’y êtes pas!”

    I remember myself singing this song as a kid. Kids sing this when they want to decide which kid will have its first turn when playing a game.

    I also remember once seeing a documentary about rhymes from preschoolers. Quite often such rhymes appear to be very old with sources that go back till the middle ages.

    As this song sounds Spanish or Portuguese (except for the French part which obviously was added later), I am wondering whether this song’s source can be from the Inquisition’s times?

    Best Regards,

    Gershon Lehrer
    Antwerp, Belgium

    I’ve received many replies to my question and have compiled an overview of what I managed to learn about this song.

    What it is:
    Most of the (more…)

  • Jewish Law – a TV series filmed in the Manchester Orthodox Community

    I came recently across a series which about Jewish Orthodox religion. I’m not sure when the series were filmed, but I’d like to know.
    There are three episodes for you to watch. Have fun!

    Content:
    Episode 1
    An explanation of Jewish culture begins with kosher cooking. Why are there two sinks and two fridges in all Jewish kitchens? What makes food kosher?
    Jewish Law: Episode 1 (Part 1 of 5)
    Jewish Law: Episode 1 (Part 2 of 5)
    Jewish Law: Episode 1 (Part 3 of 5)
    Jewish Law: Episode 1 (Part 4 of 5)
    Jewish Law: Episode 1 (Part 5 of 5)

    Episode 2
    Follow a Manchester rabbi and his family as they prepare for Passover in this insightful exploration of the Jewish faith.
    This next installment deals more with Jewish tradition, holidays and practice. How the sabbath is observed, Passover, circumcision, family purity…
    Jewish Law: Episode 2 (Part 1 of 5)
    Jewish Law: Episode 2 (Part 2 of 5)
    Jewish Law: Episode 2 (Part 3 of 5)
    Jewish Law: Episode 2 (Part 4 of 5)
    Jewish Law: Episode 2 (Part 5 of 5)

    Episode 3
    This part concludes the series and deals with more areas of Jewish practice, such as the festival of Purim, niddah, mourning…
    Jewish Law: Episode 3 (Part 1 of 5)
    Jewish Law: Episode 3 (Part 2 of 5)
    Jewish Law: Episode 3 (Part 3 of 5)
    Jewish Law: Episode 3 (Part 4 of 5)
    Jewish Law: Episode 3 (Part 5 of 5)


    An explanation of Jewish culture begins with kosher cooking. Why are there two sinks and two fridges in all Jewish kitchens? What makes food kosher?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojWgRS3wpqA
    (more…)