Welcome to our Speakers Bureau
The Jewish Historical Society of New Jersey offers a variety of talks that highlight its collections. The talks are offered to all organizations, including universities, public libraries, synagogues and high school students. The discussions can be presented at the Historical Society located in Whippany, NJ or the event site.
Speaking fees are $360. Mileage is charged from Whippany to the event site for an additional fee.
Please contact Linda Forgosh to book a program:
LForgosh@jfedgmw.org
973-929-2994
Here are a few topics:
Louis Bamberger: Department Store Innovator and Philanthropist
“Louis Bamberger Department Store Innovator and Philanthropist,” published by Brandeis University Press, is the first and only biography ever written about him. Briefly this is the story of merchandising genius, Louis Bamberger, son of German immigrants who built his business – the great glamorous L. Bamberger & Co. into the fourth largest department store in America. Bamberger, died in 1944 but his remarkable philanthropic legacy, including his gift of Newark Museum to his beloved city and his endowment that established the world renown Institute for Advanced Study, lives on. In addition to the Bamberger book, she is the author of the online blog Garden State Legacy “It’s All Relative: Louis Bamberger, Albert Einstein and the Institute for Advanced Study. “
Spotlight on Newark's 'Lady' Lawyer: Elizabeth Blume Silverstein
Much is known about United States Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her life-long struggle to gain parity for women in the legal profession. But did you know that Newark had its own “lady” lawyer and her name was Elizabeth Blume Silverstein?
Born in Newark in 1892, to Selig and Goldie (Aranowitz) Blume, Elizabeth distinguished herself by becoming the first – or among the first woman – to graduate from law school, much less set foot in a courtroom as an attorney. A member of the first graduating class of the New Jersey Law School (later to become the Rutgers School of Law-Newark) Blume was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1913.
Blume had as many as 5,000 cases over the course of her legal career and practiced law well into her eighties and she did it from her home located at 62 Osborne Terrace in Newark’s Weequahic neighborhood.
By documenting the life and times of Elizabeth Blume we see a consistent pattern of a woman who knew what she wanted and was willing to do what it took to achieve her dream.
Born in Newark in 1892, to Selig and Goldie (Aranowitz) Blume, Elizabeth distinguished herself by becoming the first – or among the first woman – to graduate from law school, much less set foot in a courtroom as an attorney. A member of the first graduating class of the New Jersey Law School (later to become the Rutgers School of Law-Newark) Blume was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1913.
Blume had as many as 5,000 cases over the course of her legal career and practiced law well into her eighties and she did it from her home located at 62 Osborne Terrace in Newark’s Weequahic neighborhood.
By documenting the life and times of Elizabeth Blume we see a consistent pattern of a woman who knew what she wanted and was willing to do what it took to achieve her dream.
Elving's Metropolitan Yiddish Theater
Abi Gezunt, for those who speak a “bissel” of Yiddish, means here’s to your health. It is well known that the origins of Broadway started with Yiddish theater. But did you know that from 1921-1947 theater goers who spoke Yiddish also attended what was known as “Elving’s Metropolitan Yiddish Theater” located on Montgomery Street in Newark? It was the only successful commercial Yiddish theater in New Jersey. Elving’s featured New York based actors, comedians, and singers such as Molly Picon, Bessie and Boris Thomashevsky (grandparents of conductor Michael Thomas Tillson) , Menasche Skulnick, Stella Adler, whose acting method continues to be taught to today’s Hollywood’s stars. These actors were just at home performing at Elvings as they were in New York’s Second Avenue Theater. Even Paul Muni, it was reported, was married backstage at Elvings. Now, with the resurgence of Yiddish and the revival of Fiddler on the Roof, with subtitles in English and Russian, it is a perfect time to hear about Yiddish theater’s roots.
Jerusalem's Siebenberg House
Travelers to Israel with plans to visit Jerusalem might be interested in knowing about Siebenberg House. Located in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, no one could have predicted that sixteen years and millions of dollars later, that its founders, Theo and Miriam Siebenberg, would open a remarkable museum under their four-story town house. JHS speaker, Linda Forgosh, was a docent at Siebenberg House and tells the museum's story in pictures and animated lecture.