Sunday, February 4, 2024 from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.
Last day to self-tour Eve: I Understand and Motherhood Essence and the Feminine Divine.

Thursday, November 9, 2023 from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.
Join curatorial consultant Abby Schwartz and preparator and collections manager Sheri Besso for a behind-the-scenes look at the reinstallation of the galleries devoted to Torah, Life Cycle, and Holidays and Festivals. A light lunch will be served.

Registration required.

After a lengthy closure, the galleries devoted to Torah, Life Cycle, and Holidays and Festivals in the Skirball’s core exhibition An Eternal People: The Jewish Experience, are once again open with new cases, new signage, and ritual objects from the B’nai B’rith Klutznick Collection that have never been on view before. Old favorites are seen in a whole new light, literally and figuratively.

This grand reopening is made even more meaningful by the opportunity to bring the work of Santa Fe-based artist Ellie Beth Scott to the Skirball’s second floor foyer. For her exhibition Eve: I Understand, Scott was inspired by selected ritual objects in the Skirball collection used by women and by practices performed by women, rendering richly colored pieces using fabric, thread, paint, buttons, and beads.

In the fourth-floor gallery, the focus on women continues with Motherhood Essence and the Feminine Divine: Cincinnati and Israeli Artists Interpret The Female Experience, organized by ish in celebration of Israel at 75. Ish, whose mission is to create intentional spaces for connection and acceptance through the arts, brings together four Israeli and four Cincinnati artists to create eight original works of art and four additional works that interpret and “re-art” the work of their colleagues. The works respond to the power of women as community builders, organizers, and healers through times of crisis and change.

All events below will take place at Mayerson Hall, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, 3101 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH.

Thursday, October 19, 2023 from 5:30 – 8:00 p.m.
5:30 p.m. | Reception
6:15 p.m. | Welcome: Abby Schwartz, curatorial consultant to the Skirball Museum and Marie Krulewitch-Browne, executive director of ish
Remarks: Ellie Beth Scott, Israeli artist Dana Cohen, and Cincinnati artist Avery Plummer share insights on their respective exhibitions, Eve: I Understand and Motherhood Essence and the Feminine Divine.

Registration required.

* This is an excerpt, reprinted from Jewish Family Services.*

Dear friends and colleagues,

Jewish Family Service requests your help to encourage Jewish individuals or those living in Jewish households between the ages of 12 and 26 to complete a Youth Metal Health Survey, the results of which will help assess our community’s mental health gaps and needs for this age demographic.
That survey is accessible at the QR code and link below.
The Ask—please share this link and/or QR code in any upcoming external or internal communications such as emails, printed newsletters, or via your social media channels.
The survey was developed by the Jewish Federation of North America’s BeWell initiative, in consultation with Rosov Consulting. The Miami Jewish community has already fielded this survey.

The Backstory.

The Federation funded a one-year mental health pilot initiative at Jewish Family Service (JFS) in 2021. Last year, the Foundation committed three (3) years of support for JFS to expand that effort. Recently, the Foundation, in partnership with the Federation and JFS, launched a local Mental Health Resiliency Roundtable, comprised of professionals, practitioners, and community volunteers to work collectively to identify gap areas and generate creative solutions on how to address them.

Why is this Important? 

In an uncertain world, young people face increasing levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns of an accelerating mental health crisis, with more than 4 in 10 teens reporting that they feel “persistently sad or hopeless,” and 1 in 5 saying they have contemplated suicide. Now that we’ve heard from them, we want to hear from their parents to determine where there is alignment and where additional work might need to be done.

Mobilizing for Change. 

As part of Cincinnati 2030, the Jewish community is mobilizing to create the support young people need as they face challenging moments. As a community, we are working to counteract:
  • Social stigma which prevents people from seeking help.
  • Lack of practical knowledge about the stressors young people face.
  • Professionals, educators and parents don’t know where to turn for information, guidance, or a supportive community.
  • A critical shortage of accessible or affordable mental health professionals.
Please help us get the word out starting today! JFS will share key take-aways with the community once results are final. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Sincerely and Shabbat Shalom,
Brian Jaffee, Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati,
Danielle V. Minson, Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
Liz Vogel, Jewish Family Service

Siona Benjamin has been making intricately detailed, transnational art with a feminist, Jewish, and political bent for almost two decades. Her distinct and unusual heritage as a descendant of the Bene Israel Jewish community of India informs her artistic perspective. Immigration, gender, the concept of “home”, and the role of art in social change are explored through vibrantly hued paintings.

Siona Benjamin has been making intricately detailed, transnational art with a feminist, Jewish, and political bent for almost two decades. Her distinct and unusual heritage as a descendant of the Bene Israel Jewish community of India informs her artistic perspective. Immigration, gender, the concept of “home”, and the role of art in social change are explored through vibrantly hued paintings.

All in-person events below will take place at Mayerson Hall, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, 3101 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH. Livestream links will be provided upon registration.

Enjoy this final day to self-tour the exhibition (in-person only).

Join Skirball Museum curatorial consultant Abby Schwartz for a guided tour of the exhibition (in-person only).

Registration required at THIS LINK

Join fifth-year cantorial student Ella Gladstone Martin for a multi-media virtual presentation on Had Gadya. The Passover Seder is an inherently musical experience, filled with beloved prayers and songs. Ella will discuss the research behind her graduating thesis, a historical examination of hagaddot (Passover Seder compendiums) that expressly set out to disseminate music, and survey the unique history, symbolism, and musical settings of Had Gadya.

Participate from the comfort of your home or join us at the Skirball where the program will be broadcast on the large screen in the very room where the Stella prints are displayed. The program will have live and recorded components, followed by opportunities for questions and comments from the audience.

Registration required.

Join Skirball Museum director Abby Schwartz for an informal light lunch and gallery walk and talk of Frank Stella: Had Gadya.

Reservations required.

Wednesday, May 10 at 1:00 pm ET / 10:00 am PT / 8:00 pm Israel
Stephen Kaufman, Ph.D.

There is no single Hebrew language. There are no less than seven of them. In this talk Dr. Kaufman will address the major periods of the Hebrew language and the writing systems associated with them. Dr. Kaufman is Professor Emeritus of Bible and Cognate Literature at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati. He was educated at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Yale University, and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His specialties include Ancient Semitic languages, Biblical studies, and academic computing.