Lecture by Dr. Vladimir Levin, Director of the Center for Jewish Art at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Levin will discuss the research and collections of the Center, including on-site missions and the Historic Synagogues of Europe web site.
The Architectural Dialogue between the St. Petersburg Jewish Community and the Tsarist Metropolis
In this lecture, Dr. Vladimir Levin will consider the uneasy relationship between the architectural oeuvre of the Jewish community and the capital city of the Russian Empire. Although concentrating on St. Petersburg, the talk will address questions and problems that many Jewish communities in European and American cities had to wrangle with. Every Jewish community that settled in a large or small city had to decide how to represent itself vis-à-vis that city, how prominent and visible should their representation should be; what are the ways to express Jewishness in the general cityscape and which means should be employed toward achieving this goal. The lecture will discuss how the Jews of St. Petersburg and their non-Jewish allies looked for a style that was best suited for marking their presence in the city, and how a unique convergence of architecture and manuscript illuminations was created to that end.
About the Speaker
Dr. Vladimir Levin is the Director of the Center for Jewish Art at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Born in St. Petersburg, he holds a Ph.D. from the Hebrew University. He authored From Revolution to War: Jewish Politics in Russia, 1907-1914 (in Hebrew, 2016) and co-edited Synagogues in Lithuania: A Catalogue (2010-2012). In 2017 he co-authored with Sergey Kravtsov the book Synagogue in Ukraine: Volhynia, and currently works on the book of Jewish heritage in Siberia with Anna Berezin. He also published 120 articles and essays about social and political aspects of modern Jewish history in Eastern Europe, synagogue architecture and ritual objects, Jewish religious Orthodoxy, Jewish-Muslim relations, Jews and Jewish politics in Lithuania, Russian architecture in the Holy Land, history of East-European Jewish communities etc.
Dr. Levin headed numerous research expeditions to documents synagogues and other monuments of Jewish material culture in eastern and central Europe and lead several research projects in the field of Jewish Art, the most important of which is the creation of the Bezalel Narkiss Index of Jewish Art – the world’s largest digital depository of Jewish heritage.
The Duomo & The Great Synagogue: An Evening of Italian Culture
An evening of Jewish and Florentine architecture, culture, music, and food.
• Informal talks about the history and architecture of two of Florence, Italy’s grandest and most iconic structures — the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral (the Duomo) and the Great Synagogue — by Ross King, author of the national bestseller Brunelleschi’s Dome, and noted scholar Professor Francesco Spagnolo, Curator of The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at UC Berkeley.
• Q&A session moderated by Gail Price, former Executive Director of The American Institute of Architects Santa Clara Valley Chapter.
•The San Jose Chamber players with Cantor Sharon Bernstein presenting both Jewish and Italian songs.
• Italian appetizers and ice cream.
The tiny rural synagogue in the village of Police u Jemnice, near the border with Austria, will be formally reopened after a two-year restoration carried out by the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic.
The synagogue will house a small exhibition on local Jewish life, and there also will be the launch of the brochure “Rural Synagogues in the Czech Lands,” by Jaroslaw Klenovsky.
For details about the restoration — and photos — CLICK HERE
A series of three online talks by Dr. Anna Berezin and Dr. Vladimir Levin on Jews in Siberia and their material culture.
The lectures will take place on Tuesdays, 2, 9, and 16 February 2021, at 20:00 Israel time (1 pm EST).
In order to register, please click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1916108823866/WN_lc1OUD4eSmScUFtx8aTt6g
A series of three online talks by Dr. Anna Berezin and Dr. Vladimir Levin on Jews in Siberia and their material culture.
The lectures will take place on Tuesdays, 2, 9, and 16 February 2021, at 20:00 Israel time (1 pm EST).
In order to register, please click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1916108823866/WN_lc1OUD4eSmScUFtx8aTt6g
A series of three online talks by Dr. Anna Berezin and Dr. Vladimir Levin on Jews in Siberia and their material culture.
The lectures will take place on Tuesdays, 2, 9, and 16 February 2021, at 20:00 Israel time (1 pm EST).
In order to register, please click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1916108823866/WN_lc1OUD4eSmScUFtx8aTt6g
The fourth edition of the Day of Jewish Monuments in the Czech Republic. There is a smartphone app as well as an interactive map on the Day’s web site to help visitors.
More than 50 selected Jewish heritage sites in more than 40 towns in Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia will be open to visitors. They include synagogues, Jewish cemeteries, museums, and other sites. Some of them are generally closed to the public; some have recently undergone extensive renovation or are in the process of restoration.
There are various associated events such as guided tours and concerts.
The event is organized by the Jewish community in Prague in cooperation with Matana, the administrative body for Jewish property, the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic and other regional partners.
The annual Day of Jewish Monuments in the Czech Republic opens Jewish heritage sites all over the country to visitors.
(It does not seems to be coordinated within the umbrella of the European Day of Jewish Culture).
On the web site, you can find lists of events and an interactive map with a list of participating sites and opening hours.
Dr. Pieter Vlaardingerbroek will present an illustrated talk live from Amsterdam on the architecture and interior of the 1675 Portuguese Synagogue (the Esnoga) in Amsterdam and the synagogue’s direct influence on the architecture of the 1763 Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island.
Pieter Vlaardingerbroek, Ph.D., is a leading expert on Dutch architecture and material culture. He is an architectural historian for the City of Amsterdam, having served in a similar position for the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands. He is an Assistant Professor of Architectural History and Conservation at the University of Utrecht. Professor Vlaardingerbroek is the author of many articles and books and served as editor for the definitive volume on the Portuguese Sephardic synagogue, The Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, published by the City of Amsterdam in 2013.
There is no fee to participate, but reservations are required to receive the Zoom login information.
Comments are closed.