A New Year at the Jewish Museum
A blog post by Graham Humphrey, Visitor Services Coordinator. To read more posts by Graham click HERE.
As we start a new Jewish year, I want to reflect a bit on my past four months working at the Museum and also look ahead to some exciting events coming up this year. I feel blessed to be able to come every day into a place that I love and where I believe in its mission. I also feel very fortunate to be surrounded by dedicated and passionate colleagues who have helped me grow as a museum professional and have encouraged me to make meaningful contributions to the Museum.
I have been spending the past month observing the Jewish holidays, finding renewal in nature and preparing for our grand opening of the Paul Simon exhibit. A few weeks ago I went to Baltimore Hebrew Congregation’s Rosh Hashana Under the Stars held at Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville. It was a wonderful evening where thousands gathered to celebrate the Jewish New Year with family and friends while enjoying a picnic dinner, uplifting music and an inspirational sermon by Rabbi Sachs Kohen. It was also fascinating to know that the roots of Baltimore Hebrew lay at the historic Lloyd Street Synogogue, where I give tours on a weekly basis. I just returned from a week-long vacation in the Pacific Northwest region where I found my own sense of renewal through hiking in Crater Lake and admiring the jaw-dropping vistas along the Oregon Coast.
Expanding on the theme of new beginnings, the Museum has installed a pair of automatic doors at our front entrance to make us a more accessible place. As I am writing this, workmen are busy installing the Paul Simon exhibit and school groups are beginning to visit the Museum again. I hope to continue to introduce new audiences to the Museum, perhaps some who have never visited a museum before. If you have not done so already, check out our website to get a full listing of our public opening events, performances, lectures and folk music festival. I hope to see many of you in the coming months!