News & Events
May 16, 2024: Zoning & Exclusion in West Hartford, Then & Now
Zoning and Exclusion in West Hartford, Then and Now 6:00 PM Thursday, May 16 at the Noah Webster House The origins of residential zoning in Connecticut can be traced back to West Hartford’s attempt to block a Hartford Jewish grocer from building a store in a residential neighborhood. Although town
7:00 PM, May 20, 2024 – Speaking Yiddish to Chickens
Register Here (remote only) Holocaust survivor chicken farmers Did you know that chicken farming was a gateway to the United States for some Holocaust survivors, many of whom settled in Connecticut and New Jersey? Join us for a conversation between Seth Stern, author of Speaking Yiddish to Chickens and moderator
RESCHEDULED! 6.20.24 Remembering Norman Lear
Join us at 7:00 PM on Thursday, June 20, 2024 at the Mandell JCC. $5 for JHSGH Members, $10 non-members. Norman Lear was a giant in TV history. His first major show, “All in the Family,” was a biting commentary on American life, taking on bigotry and abortion,
Select Biographies
Harold Rothstein
Harold Rothstein (1922-2014) moved from Boston to Hartford with his family when he was 16. Walking by the Hartford Armory shortly after arriving in the city, he spontaneously joined the Connecticut National Guard (no one asked him his age). In February 1941 his unit was federalized and later deployed to
Rabbi Isaac Avigdor
Born 12/2/1920 Sanz, Poland (Galicia), d. 11/24/2010 (age 90), Brooklyn, NY Rabbi Isaac C. Avigdor was born on December 2, 1920, in Sanz, Poland (Galicia) into an unbroken chain of Rabbis traceable to King David in antiquity. He studied at several of the famous yeshivas of Europe, becoming ordained at
Beatrice Fox Auerbach
Born in Hartford on July 7, 1887, Beatrice Fox Auerbach is known for her leadership of the G. Fox and Co. department store. She and her husband George Auerbach returned to Hartford to help manage the store after a devastating fire destroyed the building in 1917. When George passed away
Artifacts
Oral History Project Wins Award
Our oral history digitization project was recently honored with an Award of Merit from the Connecticut League of History Organizations! Oral history has been the heart of the Jewish Historical Society’s collection since the organization first started documenting the Jewish history of the Hartford region. In this project, we digitized 820
Matzah Cover, 1899
This embroidered matzah cover includes the blessing over matzah that is part of the Passover seder. The multicolor design surrounds a symbol embroidered in green and pink, and the numbers “18” and “99” on either side may indicate the date. Donated by Mrs. Michael Fleischer.
Ark Door from Beth Hamedrash HaGadol Synagogue
The front of this painted, folk-art style ark from Beth HaMedrash HaGadol (known as the Garden Street Synagogue) is displayed outside the JHS offices in the Community Services Building. In 1922, the Orthodox congregation commissioned architects Berenson & Moses to build a synagogue in the North End, and they used
Education
Local Heroes in the Jewish Community
Explore how local leaders Beatrice Fox Auerbach, Annie Fisher, and Abraham Ribicoff applied Jewish values of chesed and tzedakah (compassion and justice) in their work. PowerPoint presentation highlights examples, sources and questions for teachers and others looking to illustrate how these values can translates to everyday life. Click to see
Religious Freedom: Role-Playing Timeline
Time Line is a short interactive activity designed to designed to show upper elementary or middle school students that it takes many people from different parts of a community to create change, while actively learning about how Jews had to work with allies to get religious equality here in Connecticut.
Religious Freedom in Connecticut
Religious Freedom for Jews in Connecticut is a primary source-based activity exploring how Jewish immigrants in the 1840s used the right of petition to expand religious freedom in a state that had initially excluded them. It is part of the Teach It: Bringing Connecticut History to the Classroom initiative of
Delicious Memories
Sweet Blintzes from The Gefilte Manifesto
From The Gefilte Manifesto by Jeffrey Yoskowitz & Liz Alpern (Link to Cookbook below) JEFFREY: I was only privy to homemade blintzes once in a blue moon when Grandma Ruth decided to make them. Hers were never too sweet, and they revealed their contents on the sides since she
Susan Juster Viner’s Blintz Souffle
Submitted by Susan Juster Viner My mother made blintzes often, but she made small amounts at a time. When I think back, she had to use a lot of equipment to make the bletlach batter, cook the bletlach, make the filling, and stuff them and cook the final product. She
Seders at Barbara Gordon’s House
Submitted by Barbara Gordon Seders growing up were always at my Dad’s Mom and Dad’s house on Rockville Street in Hartford. I loved going there to see the amazing plants my “little bubby” grew out on the piazza (porch)! My other Bubby, who lived with my grandfather in Rockville, Ct