In how many ways can a postcard be Jewish? According to Anna Bella Korbatov and Zoe Lewin, a dynamic team of Undergraduate Research Apprentices working at the Magnes, postcards can be convey a Jewish message in a variety of ways. They can appeal to the sender's or receiver's nostalgia through depictions of famous European synagogues in Prague or in Berlin; they can convey Yiddish folksongs and Chassidic tunes in singable form. Postcards can also evoke a Zionist message centered on the development and modernization of Palestine prior to 1948; and finally they can appeal to spiritual values by showing Jewish rituals in an idealized setting. Though mass-produced and a product of the industrial era, the Jewish postcards in the Magnes Collection generally carry a personal message of belonging and community. The two presenters have been working to make that personal message accessible to an online audience through tools such as Findery and Flickr. Join them as they discuss their work! More at http://www.magnes.org/visit/exhibitions-programs/programs/popup-exhibition-anna-bella-korbatov-and-zoe-lewin-jewish-postca

1. Jewish Postcards
in The Magnes Collection
Zoe Lewin & Anna Bella Korbatov
Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program (URAP)
University of California, Berkeley
Fall 2014

2. Themes
◈ The Imagined Past: Jews as farmers in Eretz
Yisrael
◈ Jewish Rituals
◈ The Duality of Postcards: a tool of
empowerment and propaganda
◈ Yiddish Music

3. Jews in Jerusalem, c. 1910

4. Bethlehem, c. 1910

5. A Peasant of Palestine, c. 1910

7. Bethlehem Within Walls, c. 1910

8. Samaritan High Priest and scroll. c. 1910

9. Nazareth from the East, c. 1910

10. Jerusalem, Citadel of Zion, c. 1910

11. Women at the Mill, c. 1910

12. Mosque of Omar, c. 1910

13. Gethsemane, c. 1910

14. Jews at the Wailing Wall, c. 1910

15. Jerusalem, Jaffa Gate, c. 1910

16. Reading of the Scripture, c. 1910

17. Candle Blessing on Sabbath Eve, 1910

18. Sabbath Termination, 1910

19. Happy New Year’s Blessing, 1910

20. Hebrew Sacrifice, 1910

22. Wedding Ceremony, 1910

23. Prayer Lesson for Confirmation, 1910

24. Tabernacle Prayer, 1910

25. Celebration of the Feast of Lights, 1910
ights

26. ights

27. Schopharblasen am Rosch-haschanah (Neujahrfest)
(The Shofar blow on Rosh Hashanah, New Year)

29. Das Fest Pürim. Vorlesung des Buches Esther in der Synagoge (The
Festival of Purim. The reading of the Book of Esther in the synagogue)

30. Dreyfus a l’Ile du Diable Le Lever, c. 1894

32. Vell, who (nose)?, c. 20th century

34. Mein Yingele, pre-1917-1918

35. Mein Yingele (recto), pre-1917