Color lithograph by A. Ottmann after drawing by C.J. Taylor, 1886
New York – Contributors to the Cause, an exhibition at the Center for Jewish History at 15 West 16thStreet in New York City, is an overview of the history of Jewish philanthropy in the United States on view from October 2, 2013 – February 28, 2014. The exhibition presents a historical narrative and a compelling collection of more than 200 on-screen images of archival material including letters, documents, photographs, organizational papers, and government records dating from the 1700s through the late 20th century. The archival material comes from the collections of the American Jewish Historical Society, one of the five partner organizations of the Center for Jewish History, and the exhibition is made possible by The David Berg Foundation.
Contributors to the Cause begins by exploring the ways in which Jewish philanthropists in America contributed to the Revolutionary War and the formation of the United States. Over the next 200 years, Jewish giving was organized around charitable causes including relief for the poor, establishing synagogues, building hospitals, improving the daily lives of working Americans, championing Israel and forging the Soviet Jewry Movement.
“The Hebrew word for charity, zedakah, has its root in the word for justice, evidence that charity was a social as much as a theological value in Jewish life,” states an introduction to Jewish philanthropy published by the Center. The exhibition traces how Jewish individuals and communities in the United States acted under the imperatives of age-old teachings to care for the poor, needy, and disadvantaged, and how their social participation in Jewish communities reinforced the responsibility they felt to help those in need. The exhibition shows how Jewish charitable giving evolved to fit the needs of changing times, and how it expressed donors’ interest in improving not only their immediate communities, but also the broader and more diverse communities in which they lived.
The Revolutionary War
During revolutionary times, Jewish patriots contributed to the fight for freedom. Some joined the army; others sacrificed to provide vital support to the troops. Jewish philanthropists who contributed to achieving independence from Great Britain saw their contributions as ways to ensure that they would live in a free country, one wherepracticing Judaism would be permitted and protected.
Among the highlights in the exhibition are documents relating to Colonel Mordecai Sheftall, who achieved the highest military rank of any Jewish man in the American Revolution. In 1778, he served as Deputy Commissary of the Issues in South Carolina and Georgia and sometimes used his own money to purchase food for his troops, combining his commitments to patriotism and philanthropy. Also on view is an 1824 letter from General John Taylor to Bernard Judah (a member of a prominent Sephardi mercantile family) thanking him for his family’s historic contributions to the struggle for independence.
As prominent Jewish figures participated in forging a new nation, they also dedicated time and money to forming cohesive Jewish congregations and communities. Their traditions of giving showed their commitments to living as both Jews and Americans.
Charities
The Hebrew Benevolent Aid Society, which provided relief to the poor and helped Jewish families uphold traditions, had its start in 1820. John Hart and Joseph Davies met an aged Revolutionary War veteran and heard him recount war stories from his hospital bed. Hart and Davies were inspired to donate money that would support him when he left the hospital. When the veteran died two years later, $300 remained of the funds originally collected to help him; this money was in turn used to found the charity. Later, the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, which grew out of the Hebrew Benevolent Society, took responsibility for caring for orphans and helping them to establish Jewish lives. The exhibition includes a dowry registry book showing that the Asylum raised money so that orphaned young women could marry and take their places in Jewish communities.
The Purim Association Fancy Dress Ball was one of the fundraising events that supported the Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum Society, 1881.
Synagogues
Almost as soon as they first arrived in the Americas, Jews formed congregations for worship and community support. Jewish individuals and groups petitioned to build synagogues as early as the 1700s and supporters gave their own land or money and continued to raise funds to maintain them. Shearith Israel (New York City, 1728), Mikveh Israel (Philadelphia, 1740), Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (Charleston, 1740s), and Touro Synagogue (Newport, 1763)were some of the earliest Jewish houses of worship in North America. Synagogue records testify to the funds that members donated for construction and upkeep, and how other purchases were decided and managed.
In addition to serving as centers of Jewish life, early synagogues also functioned as organizers of philanthropic efforts. Before the establishment of groups specifically dedicated to the work of philanthropy, synagogues helped to identify priorities and direct funds to community members in need.
Hospitals
Jewish hospitals emerged in 19th-century America to help provide medical care, rabbinical guidance, religious services, and (when it was available) kosher food for the destitute. They were also a response to a reported increase in deathbed conversions among Jewish patients in non–Jewish hospitals. Philanthropists, community members, and organizations gave these institutions crucial financial support. Providing excellent medical care became even more important to Jewish communities in times of deadly cholera outbreaks; indeed, Cincinnati’s Jewish Hospital—the first Jewish hospital in the United States—opened in 1850 partly in response to the dangerous spread of cholera at the time. Jewish hospitals also became centers for relief of the poor.
Admission to a banquet and ball held at Niblo’s Saloon to benefit Jews’ Hospital, 1858
This portion of the exhibition shows an increase in the professionalization of fundraising efforts. Among the images on view will be an 1858 admission ticket to a fundraising event for Jews’ Hospital in New York.
Jewish hospitals also served non-Jewish members of the communities in which they were located. In addition, they provided places where Jewish people studying medicine could learn and Jewish doctors could practice, as Jewish medical professionals were not always welcome at other institutions.
Unity
In 1886, Samuel Gompers was one of the founders of the American Federation of Labor, whose Jewishactivists helped improve the daily lives of working Americans. They responded to disasters of national significance—such as the deadly Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire—and worked to standardize fair practices between employers and employees. Cooperation among organizations helped increase their effectiveness.In 1934, leaders of three such groups—the United Hebrew Trades, the Bund, and the Workmen’s Circle (founded in 1892 to promote labor and socialist movements around the world)—came together in response to the rise of Nazism in Germany and formed the Jewish Labor Committee.
Workmen’s Circle Camp souvenir book, 1930
Other organizations, such as the Educational Alliance, focused their efforts on bettering the lives of immigrants to the U.S. through classes and lectures. The lively operations of these organizations show that prominent Jewish philanthropists privileged educational causes, and that many Jews already established in the United States considered themselves responsible for helping those who were newly arrived.
Grassroots Efforts
Calls for Jewish-American philanthropists to contribute to the development of a Jewish state increased in the early 20th century. Letters from Chaim Weizmann to American Zionists, on view in the exhibition, attest to the importance of their support. And this support was more than financial; many American Jews donated their time and service. American volunteers served in the fight for Israel in 1948, lending their military experience to the struggle. Additionally, some philanthropists who donated to educational and relief organizations in the United States gave to similar causes that served Jews in Israel.
In the mid–to–late 20th century, Jews of the Soviet Union still faced anti-Semitism and oppression. They were persecuted for being Jewish, yet not permitted to leave.Congregations and communities across the United States attempted to help, and new social justice organizations were born. Galvanized by the issue, Jewish organizations across the United State sought to focus national attention on the plight of Soviet Jews and pressed the government to offer them asylum. The grassroots nature of the resulting Soviet Jewry movement awakened individuals and communities to what they could accomplish—and helped create a new generation of philanthropists who were mindful of anddedicated to Jewish causes worldwide.
Soviet Jewry Movement poster, late 20th century
BACKGROUND ON THE CENTER FOR JEWISH HISTORY
The Center for Jewish History is one of the foremost Jewish research and cultural institutions in the world, having served over one million people in more than 100 countries. It is home to five partner organizations—American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum, and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research—whose collections total more than 500,000 volumes and 100 million documents and include thousands of pieces of artwork, textiles, ritual objects, recordings, films, and photographs. Taken as a whole, the collections span more than 700 years of history and comprise the largest and most comprehensive repository of the modern Jewish experience in the world. At the Center, the history of the Jewish people is illuminated through scholarship and cultural programming, exhibitions and symposia, lectures and performances.
GENERAL INFORMATION
15 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
EXHIBITION HOURS/ADMISSION
Admission is free for all public exhibitions at the Center.
- Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Monday 9:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
- Tuesday 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Wednesday 9:30 a.m.-8:00p.m.
- Thursday 9:30 a.m.-5p.m.
- Friday 9:30 am-3 p.m.
- Saturday Closed
Admission to exhibitions at Yeshiva University Museum located at the Center for Jewish History: $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, except where noted as free. Yeshiva University Museum hours are the same as Center hours, except as follows: Monday: 5-8 p.m. (free), Tuesday: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.;Wednesday: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. (free 5-8 p.m.), Thursday: 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (free).
