Los Angeles, California Hollywood, the iconic city of American culture in the 20th century, was heir to the New York Jewish entertainment industry and home to the greatest period of Jewish artistic expression in history. The Hollywood studio system, practically invented by Jewish immigrants from Europe and transplants from New York City’s vaudeville scene at the turn of the … [Read more...]
MOUNT CARMEL & THE CEMETERY BELT
Glendale, New York As New York City evolved into a major center of world Judaism in the early 20th century, it became home to a vibrant Jewish culture that played an integral role in the development of contemporary America. New York Jews thrived in every profession, including finance, law, medicine, academia and countless other areas. However, it is for its contribution to … [Read more...]
HOME & GRAVESITE OF BARUCH SPINOZA
Several Locations, The Netherlands Baruch Spinoza is regarded by many to have been the first great Jewish intellectual of the Modern Age. His philosophical ideas and writings were among the most important of his day, and he is credited by both Jews and non-Jews as having been a key figure of the beginning of the Enlightenment. Ironically, his teachings also challenged … [Read more...]
GRAVESITE OF MARC CHAGALL
Nice, France The name Marc Chagall is virtually synonymous with modern Jewish art. One of the giants of European Modernism, Marc Chagall was one of the preeminent artists of the 20th century. His work spanned the better part of eight decades, and was heavily influenced by the experience of Jews in Czarist Russia, Communist Russia, Nazi Germany and modern Israel. His … [Read more...]
GRAVESITE OF ALFRED DREYFUS
Paris, France Like everywhere else in Europe, the history of the Jews in France was one of persecution and tribulation interrupted by the occasional reign of a tolerant monarch. However, always at the forefront of enlightened thinking, France distinguished itself as the first major nation in Europe, along with the Netherlands, to officially embrace religious tolerance. For … [Read more...]
SHOLEM ALEICHEM HOMETOWN & MUSEUM
Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine From Baruch Spinoza to Moses Mendelssohn and beyond, the Jewish Enlightenment in Europe produced countless writers and academics who explored and expounded on the religious ideas and philosophies of the day. However, it wasn’t until the late 19th century when the literary titan Sholem Aleichem effectively introduced humor and cultural … [Read more...]
THE MENDELSSOHN GRAVESITES
Berlin, Germany The Mendelssohn family of Germany was, with the possible exception of the Rothschilds, the most famous Jewish family of the Enlightenment. Over the course of three generations, the Mendelssohns produced one of the greatest philosophers (Moses), one of the greatest bankers (Joseph) and one of the greatest musicians (Felix) in Germany. The family rose to such … [Read more...]
ROTHSCHILD PALACE & JEWISH MUSEUM
Frankfurt, Germany For more than two centuries, the name Rothschild has conjured up visions of fabulous wealth and international prestige. The Rothschilds, an immensely influential dynasty of Jewish bankers and financiers, was for a time one of the wealthiest familes in the world. With their ancestral home in Frankfurt, Germany, the Rothschilds later expanded into England, … [Read more...]
KAHAL ZUR ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE MUSEUM
Recife, Brazil Brazil was home to both the first clandestine Jewish communites and the first openly Jewish communities in the New World. The former arrived as refugees from Portugal at the beginning of the 16th century, the latter as colonists from the Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century. Brazil was the mother colony of Judaism in the Americas, and it was from … [Read more...]
KENESA OF YEVPATORIA
Yevpatoria, Ukraine The Kenesa, or synagogue, of Yevpatoria is the center of Karaite Judaism in the Crimea and the oldest active Karaite synagogue in the world. The Karaites, a Jewish sect that originated in Persia, broke off from mainstream Judaism in the years following the arrival of Islam. Strict followers of the Torah, the Karaites rejected the Talmud as unnecessary … [Read more...]