The Derfner Judaica Museum is a cultural and educational center that provides exhibitions relating to Jewish history and contemporary Jewish culture. The museum is located in the Jacob Reingold Pavilion on the grounds of The Hebrew Home at Riverdale in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City.

History

The Judaica Museum was founded in 1982 when Riverdale residents Ralph and Leuba Baum donated their collection of

Jewish ceremonial art Jewish ceremonial art, also known as Judaica (), refers to an array of objects used by Jews for ritual purposes. Because enhancing a mitzvah by performing it with an especially beautiful object is considered a praiseworthy way of honoring God's ...

to the Home. A refugee from Nazi persecution, Ralph Baum (1907–1984) and his wife, Leuba (d. 1997), had an intense desire to preserve and pass on to future generations the memory embodied in the objects they collected, the majority of which were used primarily by European Jews before the Holocaust. In 2008 the Judaica Museum was named in honor of benefactors Helen and Harold Derfner. The Derfner Judaica Museum was established in 1982 and relocated to a new space with a capital grant funded by the

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) is the department of the government of New York City dedicated to supporting New York City's cultural life. Among its primary missions is ensuring adequate public funding for non-profit cultur ...

on June 11, 2009 to favorable reviews. The Museum, designed by architect

Louise Braverman Louise Braverman is a New York City-based architect known for a design philosophy that aims to combine aesthetic design and social conscience. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA). Educated at the Yale School of Architectu ...

, occupies a newly expanded exhibition space in the Jacob Reingold Pavilion at The Hebrew Home at Riverdale. It is the focal point for a wide range of educational and exhibition programming for Hebrew Home residents and the public. An adjacent exhibition space is provided in the Elma and Milton A. Gilbert Pavilion Gallery. Completion of the museum was funded in part by a furnishings grant received from the

Exhibitions

The inaugural exhibition, ''Tradition and Remembrance: Treasures of the Derfner Judaica Museum'', explores the intersections of Jewish history and memory. The stories of objects used in traditional Jewish practice are interpreted in light of the role of memory in shaping both individual and communal identities. Among the featured objects in the exhibition are a silver filigree vase, ca. 1911, and an early copper alloy Hanukkah lamp, from the famed

Bezalel Academy of Art and Design Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design ( he, בצלאל, אקדמיה לאמנות ועיצוב) is a public college of design and art located in Jerusalem. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's oldes ...

founded in Jerusalem in 1906. The

Bezalel school The Bezalel school was an art movement in Palestine in the late Ottoman and British Mandate periods. Named for the Bezalel Art School, predecessor of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, it has been described as "a fusion of oriental art a ...

artists blended ''"varied strands of surroundings, tradition and innovation,"'' in paintings and craft objects that invokes ''"biblical themes, Islamic design and European traditions,"'' in their effort to ''"carve out a distinctive style of Jewish"'' art for the new nation they intended to build in the ancient Jewish homeland. Other objects relating to Jewish practice come from near and far, including a set of 18th-century German Torah implements from Meerholz Germany and a velvet fish-scale embroidered matzah cover from turn-of-the-century Jerusalem. Rotating exhibits are based on its 1,000 object collection; it has also presented exhibits of Jewish art and artifacts from other private collections, museums and art schools. One of the more unusual exhibitions at the museum was a show entitled "Culture as Commodity" that offered a variety of Judaica-related items, including Israeli

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlan ...

T-shirts, that were purchased from

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

and other Internet auction sites. Also included under the umbrella of the Home is The Art Collection at The Hebrew Home at Riverdale which comprises over 4,500 paintings, prints, photographs, and sculpture ranging from contemporary works by such artists as

Alex Katz Alex Katz (born July 24, 1927) is an American figurative artist known for his paintings, sculptures, and prints. Early life and career Alex Katz was born July 24, 1927, to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, as the son of an émigré who ...

Ben Shahn Ben Shahn (September 12, 1898 – March 14, 1969) was an American artist. He is best known for his works of social realism, his left-wing political views, and his series of lectures published as ''The Shape of Content''. Biography Shahn was born ...

, and

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

to Native American ceremonial art and African sculpture. Rotating exhibitions feature the work of both established and emerging artists. The grounds are home to one of New York City’s few outdoor sculpture gardens. Rotating exhibitions featuring contemporary art are changed every 6–8 weeks.

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.derfner.org 1982 establishments in New York City Art museums and galleries in New York City Jewish museums in New York City Museums established in 1982 Museums in the Bronx Riverdale, Bronx Jews and Judaism in the Bronx