From the Archive

In this new column, JWA has partnered with other organizations to offer readers a glimpse behind the archival curtain. Check back for regular essays highlighting artifacts, documents, and interviews from the archives.
Drawing of male and female holding basket and looking at each other
November 13, 2023

Maraviglia's Fifteenth-Century Prayer Book

Evelyn Cohen

The British Library shares a fifteenth-century prayer book commissioned by a father to his daughter, Maraviglia, a testament to women’s participation in fifteenth-century Italian Jewish ritual life.

Topics: Yom Kippur, Passover, Feminism, Ritual, Spirituality and Religious Life
"In the Ma'abarah" by Ruth Schloss
May 30, 2023

From the Archive: In the Ma’abarah by Ruth Schloss

Deborah Dash Moore and
Mimi Jessica Brown Wooten

The Posen library shares Ruth Schloss's painting of an an immigrant and refugee absorption camp in Israel in the 1950s.

Midtown Manhattan by Rebecca Lepkoff
February 16, 2023

From the Archive: Rebecca Lepkoff, "Midtown Manhattan" (1947)

Deborah Dash Moore and
Mimi Jessica Brown Wooten

The Posen Library shares Rebecca Lepkoff's photograph of a mid-century urban space in motion. 

Topics: Photography
Album cover featuring a woman standing in a snowy field with tree, flowers
January 18, 2023

From the Archive: Cover of Adrienne Cooper’s Album, "Enchanted: A New Generation of Yiddishsong"

Carole Renard

The Yiddish Book Center shares the cover of Adrienne Cooper's final album. 

Topics: Jewish Music
Mental Maps—Involuntary Memory by Penny Hes Yassour
October 13, 2022

From the Archive: Penny Yassour, "Mental Maps—Involuntary Memory"

Deborah Dash Moore and
Mimi Jessica Brown Wooten

The Posen Library shares Penny Hes Yassour's depiction of a 1938 German railway map.

Topics: Sculpture, Holocaust, Social Science
Figurine of woman playing drum
September 1, 2022

From the Archive: Woman Playing Frame Drum

Deborah Dash Moore and
Mimi Jessica Brown Wooten

The Posen Library shares a nearly 3000-year-old figurine of a woman playing a hand-drum.

Topics: Sculpture, Music, Bible
Painting by Siona Benjamin featuring a woman as the body of a menorah, with seven branches coming out as arms
July 25, 2022

From the Archive: 'Tikkun Ha-Olam, Finding Home Series #46' by Siona Benjamin

Deborah Dash Moore and
Mimi Jessica Brown Wooten

The Posen Library shares a painting by Bene Israel Jewish artist Siona Benjamin. 

Topics: Painting, Spirituality and Religious Life
Handwritten page with images and words to protect pregnant women and newborns.
December 2, 2021

From the Archive: Amulet for the Protection of Pregnant Women and Newborn Children

Deborah Dash Moore and
Dory Fox

The Posen Library shares an eighteenth century amulet to protect pregnant women and newborn children.

Topics: Jewish History, Bible, Spirituality and Religious Life
Two Judahite Figurines from the Eighth Century BCE
June 2, 2021

From the Archive: Judahite Pillar Figurines

Dory Fox and
Alison L. Joseph

The Posen Library shares two eighth century Judahite pillar figurines from their archive.

Topics: Jewish History
Page from "Mir Forn" by Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman
April 8, 2021

From the Archive: A Page from Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman’s Book "Mir Forn"

Carole Renard

The Yiddish Book Center shares a page from Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman's children's book Mir Forn ("We're Off") from their archive.

Topics: Jewish History, Writing
Noami Leaf Halpern performing with a basket on her head
March 9, 2021

From the Archive: Photograph of Dancer Noami Leaf Halpern

Carole Renard

The Yiddish Book Center shares a photo of dancer Noami Leaf Halpern from their archive.

Topics: Dance
Title page of the Register of a Jewish Midwife by Roza, 1700s
February 25, 2021

From the Archive: Register of a Jewish Midwife

Deborah Dash Moore and
Dory Fox

The Posen Library shares an eighteenth century midwife's register of births from their archive.

Topics: Reproductive Rights, Jewish History
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force Recruitment Poster, 1943
January 26, 2021

From the Archive: WWII Women’s Auxiliary Air Force Recruitment Poster

Deborah Dash Moore and
Dory Fox

The Posen Library shares a WAAF poster from 1943 from their archive.

Topics: World War II

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How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "From the Archive." (Viewed on May 2, 2024) <http://jwa.org/blog/fromthearchive>.