1 ‫עמוד‬
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RNA is professor
of American
at Brandeis
Jewishhistory
and isassisting
with organizing
the American Jewisharchive at
University
National Library
of Israel.(Courtesy)
of Israelon the Givat Ram
NATIONAL
Library
the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem.
(Courtesy
THE
to
Getting
BARRY
America
is full of librariesthat collect" information
about local Jewry,he
onsideringthe importance of
role in Israelilife,itmav
..,„
...
.,,„.,,
munity. But
,.,
come
is the
surprise
.,
,,,.._,,,,.,,„
.,,,
that situation
improve of late,with the arrival of Dr.
as
America's
has
,,,,...
begun
Jonathan
Belle R. Braun
to
Sarna.
of
professor
"The questionis, what
explains.
should the National Library
do?"
While accumulatinginformation and physical
mementos
is important,the bottom
is
line for any library
This
making its collections available to the populace.
is
crucial area
"The
campus,
stateside Jews
know
DAVIS
the
of Sarna's work
kohen who
is marrying
ways,"he
Sarna.
"This is
ketuba of
[femaleconvert
giyoret
to
Ju-
daism]."
Accordingto Halacha,
caste
is forbidden
priestly
document,
union,
legal
kohen
member
to marry
convert,
of the
so
the
and the fact that such
of the American
here.
is thinking
about itselfin new
library
ketuba this is,"continues
is an
prominent members
Jewish community sanctioned the
il-
earthshaker.
time, it was
"The Mikveh
Israel synagogue
in Philadelphia
reupon
very traditional
fused to performthe wedding.However,
library books, pamphlets,that's what theywanted.
they had just
Then they started thinking
about oral history,sound
fought revolution, and America is free country,"
Sarna says.
music, allof those things."
library,
It appears that
combination
of this free-thinking
Having fresh pairof eyes, and hands, on board
generally
helpsto shake thingsup, and when the dust attitude and compassion not to mention romance
settles,one
often comes
across
unexpecteddevelop- won out.
ments.
in his 30s, and she
"Here was
guy who was already
"I was surprised
that, in some
areas,
the library
had
was
widow... and they fellin love. guess that Haim
more
archival material bearingon American
Jewish Salomon and the others who signedit said, 'You know
tution.
lifethan theyknew or knew," Sarna says. "There were
what? God won't mind so much/ and theycarried out
The historian says his temporary berth in Jerusalem Americans
who
settled in Israel,who
which is what is so
brought stuff this wedding.They did it privately,
was
prompted by the national repository's
planned over [and]no one knows how it got here."
amazing."
move
to
new
This was
spot down the road, near the Knesset.
genuine landmark event, and the ketuba
"The library
invited me
to come
and write
item particularly
is tangible
evidence of the more
liberal Zeitgeist
of
report ONE SUCH
appealedto Sarna.
their holdingsdealingwith American
"There is this amazing document
knew
American
on
Jewry, as
actually
Jewry compared to the atmospherein Eastit was
here, and
once
wrote
about it. [It's]ketuba
em
they think about moving to new location. guess
Europe.American pragmatism did the trick.
the thoughtwas that theyshould really
take
look at
Sarna surmises that Jacob Cohen,
the bridegroom,
[Jewishmarriage contract]with an amazing signasome
collections," says Sarna. "For some
it
had
ture
Haim
Salomon...
the
and
hero
had
found
his
the
small
from
Jewishcommunity
years
18th-century
way
been known
that, understandably,
Americana
was
Ameriof Richmond,
to Philadelphia
in the hope of
[thesignatures
of] few other very significant
Virginia,
weaker here than some
other collections."
can
historian. Salomon
Jews,"enthuses the American
finding mate.
That, he pointsout, was not due to any bias against was
Polish-born Jew who
"For
brief time, after the revolution, Philadelphia
put his financial skillsto
documentation
of the Jewishcommunity in "the new
lot of
Jewishcommunity in America
greateffect,and basically
helpedGeorge Washington's had the largest
Revolution.
there," he explains.
world";rather, he puts it down to Stateside technology army gainvictoryin the American
immigrantshad gathered
and efficiency.
But there is more
to the historical document
than
Cohen,
it seems,
man
so it is somewas
of means,
"Ifwe, here at the National Library,
don't collect inwhat surprising
that he "settled" for widowed
justthe social standingof the witnesses.
formation about Jews in Arab lands, it'll
But
"You read the ketuba, and you realizewhat
convert to boot. Presumably
disappear.
strange mother, who was
Sarna
Joseph H.
at Brandeis University,
where
Jewish history
he chairs the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership
of the Association for
Program.He is also the president
Studies
and
chief
historian
of the National MuJewish
seum
of American
Jewish Historyin Philadelphia.
he is justthe person to helpthe National LiClearly
of
Israel
Jewish archival house
get its American
brary
in order, which
is justwhat he has been doingfor the
past few weeks from an office at the Givat Ram insti-
American
observes. "Once
2 ‫עמוד‬
of Charleston
very
for that. You'd have to
He
would
dig
find it."
deepin Googleto
like to
see
globalrepositoaccessible to Naeasily
Libraryusers. Will there, then,
ries of data be
tional
be
prominent link between
website
brary's
and that of the
the
li-
College
of Charleston?
"If they take my
advice, there will
be," he says with alacrity.
"I think the
average person would have trouble, the
way the Web
is set up,
out
figuring
website
magnificent
with
what
wonderful
material there is at Charleston
and of
you have Wikipediawith stuff
that isn'talwaysreliable."
he's not helpingthe National
When
the knowledge
out or enriching
Library
course,
of his students
the rabbis
occasionally."
Sarna was
to see the evidelighted
dence of the seismic developmentwith
his own
eyes. "I had
the ketuba, but here
seen
copy of
they have the real
It
is
also
thing.
enormously valuable,
because anythingwith Haim
Salomon's
is enormouslyvaluable, and of
signature
course,
know
never
storyconnected
what will turn up."
the Jews:
History,
on
the iconic US preslight
friendlyattitude towards the
sheds
ident's
emerging American
of the mid-19th
For
starters,
Lincoln
ralisticsociety.
what
are
collaborations, and that's part of
am
do,"
tryingto helpthe library
he says. "My
will be able to
hope is that the library
amalgamatematerial and
counteracted
by Maj.-Gen.UlyssesS. Grant to
district.
expelallJews from his military
move
ed bodies around the
"There
Jewishcommunity
century.
Sarna
make
also
research. Earlier
called Lincoln and
which
the National Library
is not
OF COURSE,
lone player
in the Jewishdocumentation
field,and Sarna iskeen forlocal library
users to benefitfrom the effortsoflike-mind-
global
village.
with which you can
places
own
this year, together
with Benjamin Shahe publishedan impressivetome
pell,
it has this whole
to it.You
at Brandeis, Sarna
finds time for his
also says Lincoln was instrumenchanging the way the United
States thoughtabout religion
in genertal in
al,and in
making America
"In Lincoln's time, of
ed
course
you needaccord-
chaplainsin the army, but
ing to Congress, chaplainhad
minister
of
some
plu-
more
to
be
Christian denomina-
suddenlyJews were second-class
that's
bigproblem,"he
to Lincoln and
"Jews come
Although one might think the Interexplains.
net has alreadysolved that problem, complain,
and he says, 'Ihadn't noticed
Sarna says that in fact researchers and
this. You're right.'
So Lincoln got worklay people alike can be bamboozled
ing with Congress he was very clever
with his work with Congress,as [direcby the sheer volume of data out there,
he could have had his pickof single
to identify
tor Steven]Spielberg
understood in the
the
Jew- and sometimes
struggle
ish women.
But Sarna points out that
film {Lincoln} and they find
sources
]2102[
theyneed.
US Jewishnumbers
not too accom"The problem with the Web
is that
were
way around that without quitechanging
there's so much there that nobody really the law. They construe the word 'Chrismodating 250 years ago.
000,3
"There were
knows what's there,and the information
tian' to mean
and then LinJews in the
only
'religious/
whole country,and not
lot of women
can
be in very strangeplaces,"
he says.
coin simplyappoints Jewish chaplain.
historian
there is some
and there are limits to what
"For example,
magnificent If you hadn't had Lincoln, theymight
can
out, and [I]
can't tellyou why
material put on the Web
have keptthe law as itwas. That changed
figure
by the Colhe fellin love with her," he says with
legeof Charleston [inSouth Carolina] America."
chuclde. "But itis fascinating
to see that
of synaJewishephemera and pictures
this may be the beginningof thinking gogues. Not so many peoplewould think
For more information
about the National
that maybe some
Jews can rebel against of lookingat the website of the College Library:
http://web.nli.org.il
make
it more
accessible."
tion. So
citizens, and