Research guides: Jewish Studies: Culture

Literature

Ben-Yehuda Project
Aims to make accessible a comprehensive library of Hebrew literature for Hebrew readers (from early piyyut to contemporary fiction), preserve it and expose it for new audiences. Project Ben-Yehuda is the largest, open and digitized Hebrew library in the world, with more than 22,000 literary works by more than 300 writers (mostly in the public domain). Over the years, more than 1000 volunteers have created digital editions of poetry and prose, but also essays, letters, memoirs, non-fiction and reference works, and translations into Hebrew of works from ancient literature to 20th century works.

Contemporary Jewish Writing in Canada by Michael Greenstein (Translator)
Publication Date: 2004-06-01
Contemporary Jewish Writing in Canada brings together important and innovative works from modern Jewish writers living in Canada.
Modern Hebrew Literature: A Bio-bibliographical Lexicon (Leksikon ha-sifrut ha-ivrit ha-hadashah)
An online guide (in Hebrew) to Modern Hebrew literature. Includes short biographies of authors and literary critics, and lists of works by and about them. Frequently updated.
Jewish American Literature by Rosalind Reisner
Publication Date: 2004-10-30
Intended to guide readers and those who advise readers in selecting fiction and nonfiction books that match specific reading interests. The book organizes titles by genre—mysteries, thrillers, historical fiction, science fiction and fantasy, stories of romance, and literary fiction. In addition, there are chapters on holocaust literature and on biography/autobiography. More than 700 titles are categorized and described. Each chapter is further organized by subgenre and theme.
Jewish American Literature by Jules Chametzky; John Felstiner (Editor); Hilene Flanzbaum (Editor); Kathryn Hellerstein (Editor)
Publication Date: 2000-10-17
A rich anthology of classic and contemporary writers. The Reader’s Apparatus includes a general introduction, period introductions, author head notes, explanatory annotations, and selected bibliographies.
Jewish American Women Writers by Ann R. Shapiro (Contribution by)
Publication Date: 1994-09-30
This volume explores the extraordinary achievement of Jewish American women novelists, poets, and playwrights who have written in English. A reference work, composed mainly of entries arranged alphabetically by writer, the book provides a biography, bibliography, and survey of criticism for each, along with a critical analysis.
American Jewish Fiction by Joshua N. Lambert
Publication Date: 2009-01-01
A guide to 125 works of Jewish fiction, including a wide range of classic American Jewish novels and story collections, from 1867 to the present. Each entry includes a book summary, with historical context and background on the author as well as suggestions for further reading.
Contemporary Jewish-American Novelists by Joel Shatzky; Michael Taub
Publication Date: 1997-07-30
This reference book includes alphabetically arranged entries for more than 75 Jewish-American novelists whose major works were largely written after World War II. Each entry includes a brief biography, a discussion of major works and themes, an overview of the novelist's critical reception, and a bibliography of primary and secondary sources.
Translating Israel by Alan L. Mintz
Publication Date: 2001-05-01
Traces the reception of Israeli literature in America from the 1970s to the present and analyzes the influences that have shaped modern Israeli literature and reflects on the cultural differences that have impeded American and American Jewish appreciation of Israeli authors.
Reading Hebrew Literature by Alan Mintz (Editor)
Publication Date: 2002-12-01
Explores the many ways Israeli literature is read in the US. Eighteen scholars in the US and Israel offer commentary--traditional, historicist, feminist, post-modern--on one of six seminal texts. The texts, printed here in both English and Hebrew, are either short stories or poems, and range from "old" classics by the best-known writers in Hebrew of the first decades of the 20th century, such as M.Y. Berdichevsky, S. Tchernichovsky, and S.Y. Agnon to an interwar poem by Uri Zvi Greenberg to the contemporary, modernist work of two women authors, Amalia Cahana-Karmon and Dalia Ravikovitch.
The New Tradition by Gershon Shaked
Publication Date: 2006-05-01
This volume presents seventeen seminal essays by Israeli literary critic Gershon Shaked which explore the evolution of the secular cultural tradition in modern Jewish life, tracing its major processes and identifying central stages in the development of its new canonical master-text.

Agnon Article Library
Database of articles about Agnon and his writings
Jewish Fiction .net,
The only English-language journal, either in print or online, devoted exclusively to the publishing of Jewish fiction. We showcase the finest contemporary writing on Jewish themes (either written in, or translated into, English), and provide an online community for writers and readers of Jewish fiction from around the world.
In our first twelve years, we have published over 500 stories or novel excerpts, originally written in 19 languages (Greek, Portuguese, Czech, Italian, Spanish, French, Danish, English, Hungarian, Russian, Romanian, Serbian, Turkish, Polish, German, Croatian, Hebrew, Ladino, and Yiddish). Jewish Fiction .net is truly an international journal and we have readers in 140 countries.

Jewish & Israeli Art

A Guide to Jewish Art by Michael Kaniel
Publication Date: 1989
Jewish Art by Gabrielle Sed-Rajna; Ziva Amishai-Maisels (Text by); Dominique Jarrasse (Text by); Rudolf Klein (Text by); Ronny Reich (Text by); Sara Friedman (Translator); Mira Reich (Translator)
Publication Date: 1997
Jewish Art by George C. Grossman; Grace C. Grossman; Andre Grossman
Publication Date: 1998

DOCUMENTATION OF PERSECUTED JEWISH ARTISTS
The Jewish Digital Cultural Recovery Project Foundation has launched a project to provide documentation of the life and artistic works of Jewish artists who were persecuted during the Holocaust, creating a virtual reconstruction of a once vibrant artistic culture. The project builds on existing database and published information, centralizing and collecting information from numerous countries. It compiles information from multiple sources, including archives, bibliographies, oral history, and museums, reconstructing the lives of these artists, and reversing the attempt by the Nazis and their collaborators to obliterate their memory and artistic legacy.

100 years of Israeli art by Yigʼal Tsalmonah
Publication Date: 2010
A very elaborate exhibition catalogue, featuring the best of Israeli art from 1910-2010.
Art of Benn [website]
Website dedicated to the art of Benn, a French-Jewish artist and illustrator of Polish origin (b. Bialystok, Poland 1905; d. Paris 1989), known especially for his artistic interpretations of biblical verses and scenes.
Otto Schneid Papers [manuscript] by Schneid, Otto
Publication Date: 1929-1973
This collection, housed in The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto, consists of research materials for Otto Schneid's unpublished book on 20th-century Jewish artists in Europe, manuscripts for his published and unpublished works, and galleys for his published writings. The research materials include correspondence with more than 120 Jewish artists, copies of their exhibition catalogues, and other published works, and photographs of their art. Most of these artists perished during the Second World War. A collection of books focussing on pre-World War II Jewish art complements the archive.

Films

Use the Media Commons catalogue to search for holdings in Jewish cinema.

How can I find DVDs in the library?

What are the borrowing privileges for DVDs and videos?

Stream for free, depending on your location:

PBS

National Film Board

Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive

The Jew in Cinema by Omer Bartov
Publication Date: 2005-01-07
Israeli Cinema by Miri Talmon (Editor); Yaron Peleg (Editor)
Publication Date: 2011-07-01
Palestinian Cinema by Nurith Gertz; George Khleifi
Publication Date: 2008-03-03

Featured films

A Serious Man
Publication Date: 2010
Europa, Europa
Publication Date: 1991
Trembling before G-d
Publication Date: 2001
Shoah
Publication Date: 1985

Music & sound online resources

Judaica Sound Archives
- Impressive collection of sound and music from Florida Atlantic University
- Of note are the archive's special collections, which include rare Yiddish theatre pieces
The Milken Archive of Jewish Music
- Intriguing collection of rare music, oral histories, videos, and photos
- Note that most content is free, but some music is available for purchase
Spertus
- Collection of musical performances, interviews, and lectures presented by Spertus, Jewish cultural organization based in Chicago
GHARAMOPHONE
Gharamophone.com is dedicated to preserving North Africa’s Jewish musical past, one record at a time. For much of the shellac era (roughly the first half of the twentieth century), Moroccan, Algerian, and Tunisian Jewish vocalists and instrumentalists played an outsized role in pioneering and preserving the various Arabic-language musical forms of North Africa –– and then some. These records, then, provide a soundtrack to the twentieth century Maghrib. In fact, these brittle discs –– surviving until the present against all odds –– reveal not just their time and the music animating it but so too lay bare a world of Jewish-Muslim cultural entanglement from the not too distant past.
Music Library catalogue, University of Toronto
- Over 180,000 items. Some media available to stream online.
Klezmer Shack
The Jewish Music WebCenter: starting research in Jewish Music
- Handy guide to embarking on musical research
- Includes biographies, discographies, links to obtaining recordings, etc.
An Invitation to Piyyut
- Words and recordings for hundreds of piyyutim or Jewish religious songs, sung during synagogue services, at meals on the Sabbath or festivals, or on other special occasions.
Shironet
- Words and recordings by different artists of thousands of Modern Hebrew and Israeli Hebrew songs
The Ruth Rubin Legacy Archive of Yiddish Folksongs
The Ruth Rubin Legacy highlights the renowned vocalist and scholar's collection of over 2,000 Yiddish songs performed by some of the most extraordinary traditional singers of the 20th century, including Rubin herself. The 78rpm acetate discs, reel-to-reel tapes and cassettes recorded by Rubin between 1946 and the 1970s are in the process of being painstakingly re-assembled and are made truly accessible here for the first time. Ruth Rubin's entire life's work can be found on this site: field recordings, lectures, concerts, radio interviews, videos, manuscripts and published materials.

Music print resources

Concise Encyclopedia of Jewish Music by Macy Nulman
Publication Date: 1975-01-01
Jewish Music Companion by Velvel Pasternak (Composed by)
Publication Date: 2003-01-01
Dedicated to those topics that represent the broad panorama of Jewish music. The book is comprised of four sections: An Historical Overview; Jewish Music Artists; Annotated Folksongs; and an Appendix. Transcriptions of music with chords are included, as well as a CD with 14 selections representing the spectrum of Jewish folksongs.
The Resource Book of Jewish Music by Irene Heskes (Compiled by)
Publication Date: 1985-04-18
A bibliographical and topical guide to the book and journal literature and program materials
The Music of Israel by Peter E. Gradenwitz; Yehudi Menuhin (Preface by)
Publication Date: 1996-11-01
Traces the rise and growth of Hebrew and Jewish music from its earliest beginnings to the present and examines the background and state of musical life in Israel today. Explores all historical and musical aspects of ancient, medieval, and modern Hebrew liturgical and Jewish secular music, pointing out Jewish contributions to world music and examining musical cross-relations between the Jews of the Holy Land and those of the Diaspora.
The Book of Klezmer by Yale Strom
Publication Date: 2002-08-01
Klezmer is Yiddish music, the music of the Jews of Europe and America. The Book of Klezmer traces the music's entire history, making use of extensive documentary material; interviews with forgotten klezmorim as well as luminaries such as Theodore Bikel, Leonard Nimoy, Joel Grey, Andy Statman, and John Zorn.
Jazz Jews by Mike Gerber
Publication Date: 2009
Rock 'n' Roll Jews by Michael Billig
Publication Date: 2000-01-01

Theatre

Digital Yiddish Theatre Project
Uses digital technology to study and preserve the rich legacy of the Yiddish stage.
Plotting Yiddish Drama
A searchable, continually expanding database of detailed plot synopses of Yiddish plays.
Jewish Theatre Under Stalinism
Jewish Theatre Under Stalinism collection contains archival documents that describe the history of Soviet culture and theater, Jewish avant-garde art, and the Kremlin's policy toward Jewish society and culture from 1919 until 1949. Documents include correspondence with ministries, state organizations, and authors; administrative managerial documents; and plays performed by or submitted to the theater. Of interest to scholars in Drama and performance studies, Soviet history and studies, Jewish history and studies, and literature.

Local institutions & cultural events

Toronto Jewish Film Festival
- Annual film festival showcasing documentaries, biographies, and features on Jewish subject matter from around the world
Ashkenaz Festival
- Annual August cultural festival featuring food, music, and various other events
Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre
- Check the Arts & Culture, Jewish Life, and Al Green Theatre links for upcoming events
Reuben and Helene Dennis Museum at Beth Tzedec Synagogue
- Located inside the Beth Tzedec Synagogue, this collection is the 5th largest of its kind in North America
- Features approximately 1,800 artifacts from ancient to present day
Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre
- Check the program and exhibition links for upcoming events
Koffler Centre of the Arts
Check the programs link for current events.

Online exhibitions & archives

Centre for Jewish History: web exhibitions
The Jewish Museum New York
- Features a range of intriguing online resources, including artifacts, online exhibitions, and curatorial talks
Coming of Age Now: presented by the Museum of Jewish Heritage
- Online exhibition is intended for an adolescent audience, but the extensive survivor testimonies are a unique feature
Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive
American Jewish Archives
- Some online exhibitions
Yad Vashem
- Features online collections and educational resources
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
- Features online exhibitions
Yizkor (Holocaust Memorial) books
Special projects at the New York Public Library
- Includes links to oral histories, Yiddish theatre indexes, illuminated manuscripts, Yiddish theatre placards, etc.
Bill Gladstone
- Local historian's personal research into Jewish genealogy and Jewish Toronto's history
Jewish Public Library
Montreal
"The Jewish Public Library (JPL) remains unique among Montreal’s - and the world’s - Jewish institutions. A full service lending and research library containing North America’s largest circulating Judaica collection, we are an internationally-recognized resource while also meeting the informational, educational and recreational needs of Jewish Montrealers of all ages and backgrounds.
Our Main Library holds over 150,000 items in our five official languages; our 30,000-item Children’s Library also offers many activities for children up to 14 years of age; and our Archives help preserve and honour Canada’s Jewish history for generations to come."
Museum of Jewish Montreal

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Literature

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