It’s a Mitzvah!

Cordially invite you to A special preview of
It a Mitzvah!
Jewish Life in the Delaware Valley
See preview excerpts from WHYY’s latest television production
Meet the WHYY documentary producers
Learn more about Jewish life in Delaware with special remarks by Toni Young, author of
Becoming American, Remaining Jewish: The Story of Wilmington Delaware’s First Jewish Community
Tuesday, December 3, 2002
Delaware History Museum
504 Market Street
Wilmington, DE
Doors open at 6 PM
Program starts at 6:15 PM
Followed by conversation and a reception
RSVP to Lynn Edelman, Jewish Federation of Delaware at 302-427-2100 Ext. 11

It’s a Mitzvah!

On the sixth night of Chanukah, the Jewish Federation of Delaware celebrated a partnership of purpose at the Delaware History Museum. Four organizations-JFD, the Jewish Historical Society of Delaware, the Historical Society of Delaware and WHYY TV, jointly sponsored a preview of an original documentary about 75 years of Jewish immigration to the Delaware Valley. Aptly named, “It’s A Mitzvah”-the film was screened on the night before its formal broadcast on WHYY TV12. Toni Young was interviewed by WHYY’s Ed Cunningham about Jewish life in Delaware in the early 20th century. She joined with Barbara Benson, executive director of the Historical Society of Delaware, to explain interesting artifacts of life during this era. Dicey Sklut, co-president of the Jewish Historical Society of Delaware along with Nancy Sherr, also participated in this successful program.

Toni Young spoke about Jewish life in Delaware in the early 20th century.

November 10, 2022April 20, 2023

Shanghai Sonatas – Demarcation and Cooperation: Jewish Cantors in Shanghai Exile

Wednesday, November 16, 2022 at 6:00 P.M.

In this presentation, Dr. Fetthauer will focus on the unique situation encountered by Jewish cantors exiled in Shanghai as clergymen and musicians alike. The lecture will focus on the role of the cantors in building a new community life and how they organized themselves in their professional organization, the Association of Jewish Precentors, which functioned in part as a professional cooperative. The focus thus is on strategies of demarcation rather than on adaptation to the conditions, which can also be seen in the musical repertoires of the cantors in synagogue and concert.

Dr. Sophie Fetthauer is a scholar of musicology from the University of Hamburg, Germany, who has researched and authored numerous publications on music and musical life in the Third Reich with a special focus on Jewish musicians in exile in Shanghai during World War II.

As part of the University of Delaware’s Shanghai Sonatas Educational Residency, Dr. Fetthauer will share her research through a series of multimedia presentations in November 2022 that will highlight various aspects of life in the Shanghai Jewish Ghetto through the lens of music. The lectures, which will be supplemented by illustrations and musical examples, will each last 60 minutes, plus 30 minutes of discussion. Topics will include options of integration for popular musicians in Shanghai Exile; the Jewish refugees’ relationship to “Chinese Music;” and Jewish Cantors in Shanghai.

March 21, 2022April 20, 2023