Jewish culture: arts, media and heritage

Emma Schaver Papers

drice — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:58:07 -0400

Emma Lazaroff Schaver (March 15, 1905 - February 4, 2003) was best known as a Jewish opera and folk singer and Labor Zionist. She was a member of the first Jewish delegation to the Displaced Persons camps after World War II where she sang to survivors of the Holocaust. She toured the United States, Canada, Europe and South and Central America as a soprano with various opera companies and as a soloist. Along with her husband, Morris Schaver, Emma was respected for promoting Jewish culture in the United States, and for philanthropic work in the local Detroit Jewish community and Israel.

The Emma Schaver Papers contain correspondence with family, friends, and Zionist and Israeli leaders covering her career, philanthropic and Zionist activities. The collection also includes correspondence, diary fragments, notebooks, authorization papers, and photographs from her experiences in the D. P. camps as well as manuscript copies of her book in Hebrew, Yiddish and English. Her music career is highlighted through newspaper clippings and publicity, photographs, and sound recordings as well as concert posters and programs. Her charitable work and Zionist activities are documented through newspaper clippings and publicity, as well as medals, awards and plaques she received in honor of her work for Israel and Jewish culture. A large number of scrapbooks can be found, both assembled by Emma and given to her, which highlight her career and activities, as well as those of her husband, Morris, and son, Isaac. Emma's personal life is represented largely through a significant number of family photographs, and photo albums.

Commemorating Rabbi Morris Adler

aergas — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 11:25:46 -0400

The Jewish community of the Detroit area recently commemorated the 50th anniversary of the tragic death of a prominent leader, Rabbi Morris Adler. Born in Russia in 1906, Rabbi Adler was the spiritual leader of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Detroit (later in Southfield, MI) from 1938 until 1966. On February 12, 1966, while presiding at religious services he was shot by a mentally disturbed congregant; he died 27 days later at the age of 59. The Reuther Library marks this sad anniversary and notes that Rabbi Adler’s legacy remains in several collections in the archives. read more »

The Jewish Community Archives at the Reuther Library: Additions and Revisions

aergas — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 10:33:53 -0500

The Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives document the rich and varied history of the Detroit Jewish community. In 1991, the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit placed the bulk of its archival holdings in the Reuther Library. The collection dates back to the beginning of the United Jewish Charities in 1899. Through the years, the Jewish Community Archives (JCA) at the Reuther Library has expanded to include more than two million documents chronicling the growth and development of the Federation and its member agencies and Jewish communal agencies.

Recently, some new collections have been added and some revisions have been made to finding aids. read more »

(32507) Jewish Labor Committee dinner

gstrassel — Tue, 06 Jan 2015 14:02:04 -0500

Jewish Labor Committee dinner honoring John Sweeney and Andy Stern, 1997.

John Sweeney (left) and Andy Stern (middle) at Jewish Labor Committee event In New York City.