Jews do not eat pig. This (not always true) observation has been made by both Jews and non-Jews for three thousand years. Over time, the pig becomes a popular metaphor for Jewish/non-Jewish identity. In this talk, we explore this historical development. Starting in the Hebrew Bible, where the pig is tabooed but not necessarily singled out more than other food prohibitions, we see the emergence of the pig as a symbol of Jewish identity in the Second Temple period and…

Helen Diller Annual Lecture. This talk will focus on private prayers found in Hebrew manuscripts from medieval northern France that both adapt and adopt known Christian prayers. It will trace the ways in which these prayers would have been known by Jews, and discuss the adaptations made by Jews to make these prayers usable. What do such prayers teach us about Jewish embeddedness and difference in medieval Christian culture? Special emphasis will be given to the private nature of the…

A unique phenomenon emerged in the heart of Berlin in the nineteenth century: a creative center for fashion and ready-made clothing. Hundreds of garment companies were established, manufacturing modern wear and developing new designs that were sold throughout Germany - and the world. The industry reached the height of its success in the 1920s. Freed from corsets, sophisticated women of the time dressed in the popular “Berlin Chic” sold by Valentin Manheimer, Herrmann Gerson, and the Wertheim department stores. Berlin’s…

PLEASE NOTE: Registration for in-person attendance will be closed once room capacity has been reached. You may register to attend via Zoom livestream instead by clicking here. A link to the online program will be sent to Zoom registrants the day of the event. Noted historian, author, and collector Ted Merwin presents an interactive, multimedia lecture on the ever-shifting place of the Jewish delicatessen in American life. In New York, San Francisco, and cities in between, the deli was the…

In the last decade, graphic memoirs and novels have emerged as a significant form of historical (re)writing of past narratives and events. The medium of comics and its use of chronologically ordered panels allows the reader to create meanings through the combination of image and text. Aomar Boum argues for the use of graphic memoirs to re-construct the history of Saharan Vichy camps. He contends that in the larger context of an anthropology of genocide and a North African history…

When did Jews first begin using material goods to communicate a religious identity? Why did such a practice arise, and what were its social and political consequences? In this lecture, Andrea Berlin couples archaeological remains with historical testimony to address these questions. The story begins in the second century BCE, with the rise of the Hasmoneans, a landed family from rural Judea who leveraged military success and political connections to establish themselves as both religious and civic leaders. The Jewish-Mediterranean…

Presented by NEW LEHRHAUS in partnership with UC Berkeley’s Center for Jewish Studies and The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life. Program features: “The Fourth Window” Documentary Film Screening Panel Discussion with Yair Qedar, Robert Alter, and Fania Oz-Salzbereger New Lehrhaus program fee: $12.00  PURCHASE TICKETS HERE. Amos Oz is Israel’s best-known writer and a champion of peace with the Palestinians in a two-state solution, as a prominent member of Peace Now (Shalom Achshav) and a public intellectual. His work – a body…