It’s undeniable that we’re living in remarkable times. Years from now, when historians and scholars chronicle the 2020 global Coronavirus pandemic, there will be a treasure trove of Jewish artifacts and personal accounts of triumph and tragedy, thanks to our own William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum. The Breman is one of six Jewish institutions cataloging and preserving artifacts of the pandemic as it has impacted Jewish communities. (The others are the Capital Jewish Museum; the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life; Hebrew Theological College, the Houston Jewish History Archive at Rice University; and Yeshiva University). Together they are digitally archiving the Jewish institutional and individual responses to the pandemic.
The kippah mask pictured above, by Atlanta’s Eve Mannes, uses a kippah from her husband’s collection and illustrates a creative Jewish response to the need for face coverings. You can see many items on display at American Jewish Life, the digital archive, and you are invited to share your own materials and memories. Follow instructions on the site to contribute media files (photographs, videos, URLs, audio files) or submit your own narrative.
