American Jewish Heritage Month: Is It Helpful …. Can It Be a Reflection of How Far We Have Come?
Dear Friends,
As we observe American Jewish Heritage Month, we find ourselves reflecting on our collective journey. While some may view this month as a measure of how far we have come, the interpretation of our history is often complex—especially within a community as diverse in opinion as ours.
We can see this complexity more clearly in the transition from Lag BaOmer, which concluded last night, from what it was to how we understand it today.
While traditionally it was a day of merriment, marking the end of a plague, it was also and remains a time rooted in both dread and apprehension following the Bar Kokhba Revolt of the early 2nd century. Also of note, throughout history, the day became a fleeting symbol of (the hope) of redemption.
In this spirit of “then to now,” let’s take a second look at the stories we continue to recite year after year. As Shavu’ot approaches, we can see how the Book of Ruth continues to offer new understandings despite using the same ancient language and the way in which the Hebrew language is used. Similarly, in this week’s Torah portion (Leviticus 26:5-12) we can see the language and the recontextualization of the story critical to all of our understandings.
The study of History is indeed crucial to our survival. We study not only to learn, but to better prepare … for an uncertain future, before us.
There should be fewer surprises, truthfully.
— Rabbi Seth Frisch
THE WORLD IN FRONT OF ME
In the summer of 2025, journalist and writer Ruth Andrew Ellenson sat down with famed photographer Bill Aron, and recorded more than 12 hours of interviews. For nearly 50 years, Bill traveled the world, photographing Jewish communities as near as his home of Los Angeles, and as far away as the Soviet Union. From the American South to Cuba, from New York to Jerusalem, Bill captured it all. This series reveals never before heard stories from the artist himself.
‘Depends on how you read it’ — which can be problematic as we are a community with no shortage of opinions.
Blessing / Curse
Notes
Lag b’Omer — It is the day in which the soldiers (encoded as ‘the students of Rabbi Akiva’) in a lull of a plague, in which the students stopped dying of a plague. Within a short period of time, we changed its meaning — augmenting what was then a search for redemption, as fleeting as that would be throughout Jewish history. It was never intended in the Torah (itself) to be either. It only emerges as a time of mourning after the crushing destruction of the Bar Kochba revolt has concluded, in the early 2nd Century of the Common Era.
Here in America, we are now in a period of time we note as “Jewish History Month,” an appropriate time to take a second look at the Jewish historical landscape of the “then to now” — and attempt to understand how best to read the stories that we tell about our past, many of which, not surprisingly, speak to our future.
The Torah reading this week appears relevant …
Leviticus 26:5–12
וְהִשִּׂיג לָכֶם דַּיִשׁ אֶת־בָּצִיר וּבָצִיר יַשִּׂיג אֶת־זָרַע וַאֲכַלְתֶּם לַחְמְכֶם לָשֹׂבַע וִישַׁבְתֶּם לָבֶטַח בְּאַרְצְכֶם׃
Your threshing shall overtake the vintage, and your vintage shall overtake the sowing; you shall eat your fill of bread and dwell securely in your land.
וּפָנִיתִי אֲלֵיכֶם וְהִפְרֵיתִי אֶתְכֶם וְהִרְבֵּיתִי אֶתְכֶם וַהֲקִימֹתִי אֶת־בְּרִיתִי אִתְּכֶם׃
I will look with favor upon you, and make you fertile and multiply you; and I will maintain My covenant with you.
וַאֲכַלְתֶּם יָשָׁן נוֹשָׁן וְיָשָׁן מִפְּנֵי חָדָשׁ תּוֹצִיאוּ׃
You shall eat old grain long stored, and you shall have to clear out the old to make room for the new.
וְנָתַתִּי מִשְׁכָּנִי בְּתוֹכְכֶם וְלֹא־תִגְעַל נַפְשִׁי אֶתְכֶם׃
I will establish My abode in your midst, and I will not spurn you.
וְהִתְהַלַּכְתִּי בְּתוֹכְכֶם וְהָיִיתִי לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ־לִי לְעָם׃
I will be ever present in your midst: I will be your God, and you shall be My people.
In honor of American Jewish Heritage Month
Let’s have a look at how far we have come.
The Study of History is crucial to our future …
Exhibition: The World in Front of Me: A Bill Aron Retrospective
The World in Front of Me: A Bill Aron Retrospective is a celebration of Jewish life in the United States and beyond, celebrating the diversity of the Jewish experience across the world. Co-curated by Bill Aron and AJHS, the home to Aron’s extensive archives, the exhibition showcases over 50 original photographs that tell the story of Aron’s expansive career documenting Jewish life over five decades.
“Joyous and warm, portraits of resilience and invention…”
— Mira Fox, Forward
“Aron’s poetic spirit infuses his photographs with deep empathy, creating a visual record of contemporary Jewish life and universal human experience.”
— Rahel Musleah, Hadassah Magazine
“A visual conversation between tradition and reinvention — a theme of Jewish diversity that animates his work.”
— Andrew Silow-Carroll, Jewish Telegraphic Agency
On View: Now through June 4th
Center for Jewish History: 15 W 16th St, New York, NY
Hours and visitor information available at the AJHS website.
The World in Front of Me is presented by Jay and Gretchen Stein, with generous support from the Knapp Family Foundation, the Philip and Muriel Berman Foundation in Honor of Alan Bloch, Scott and Dianne Einhorn, The Karetsky Family, and Michael and Corie Koss.
The study of History is crucial to our survival. We study to learn, and to better prepare …
There should be fewer surprises.
— Rabbi Seth Frisch
Rabbi Seth Frisch / מהרש״ף
Lerhaus Bet Midrash: A School of Jewish Thought and Learning
www.LerhausInstitute.org
(215) 385-0778
Rabbi Seth Frisch / מהרש״ף
TBI: The Jewish Center of Bucks County
www.tbiwarrington.org
