PRESS RELEASE

The Writing on the Wall: Early Modern Broadsides from the Valmadonna Trust Library

Bernard Museum of Judaica Temple Emanu-El One East 65th St at Fifth Ave, New City May 1 – September 30, 2013 Opening Reception: April 30 Free Admission (212) 744-1400 www.emanuelnyc.org/broadsides Media Contact only: Josh Baran – [email protected] (917) 797-1799

The year is 1666. The Messiah has come! At least, that’s what much of the Jewish world believed when showed up on the scene and reports circulated like wildfire of his exploits and fictitious battles.

The year is 1766, and the Grand Duke Leopold and his bride Louisa are coming to visit. How does the Jewish community respond? Sponsor a horse race! That was the innovative approach taken by the of Livorno; one of a series of efforts by Jews in the 18th century to show themselves to be loyal citizens of the realms in which they lived.

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The year is 1850. Fanny Vivanti and Joseph Triesti are getting married in Padua, . Their friend composes a rebus poem in their honor. Filled with symbols, strange letters, and pictograms, the couple must decipher the riddle to see the poem.

The year is 1887. The Jews of Mumbai, India, incorporate a prayer into their liturgy to honor Queen Victoria, who has been their monarch for 50 years.

th It is the late 19 century and a young Jewish woman in Calcutta discovers that she is pregnant. She runs to her local kabbalist and purchases a customized amulet to be hung in her room, to ward off the evil spirits that threaten expectant mothers and newborn children.

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These fascinating vignettes of Jewish history and culture are all on display at the Herbert and Eileen Bernard Museum’s new exhibition, The Writing on the Wall: Early Modern Broadsides from the Valmadonna Trust Library.

The exhibition features more than 40 decorated and important printed public announcements, known as broadsides. Dating from the 16th to the 20th centuries, these broadsides include prayers, poems, and edicts, which combine to create a rich mosaic of Jewish daily life in the age of printing. War, weather, politics, health, careers, and marriage—the same issues that grip us today—are announced and debated in these graphic and engaging documents.

Exhibition on view: May 1–September 30, 2013 Bernard Museum of Judaica Temple Emanu-El One East 65th Street New York, NY 10065 (212)744-1400 www.emanuelnyc.org/broadsides

Admission is Free Museum Hours: Sunday–Thursday, 10:00 am – 4:30 pm 6 train to 68th Street, N/Q/R to 5th Avenue and 59th Street Media Contact only: Josh Baran – [email protected] (917)797-1799