Beyond Chicken Soup Travels Beyond Baltimore

A blog post by Deputy Director Deborah Cardin. To read more posts from Deborah click HERE.

I was delighted to have the opportunity to travel to Cleveland for the opening of the JMM exhibit, Beyond Chicken Soup: Jews and Medicine in America at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage on October 8. As part of my visit, I gave a talk at the members’ opening, trained their corps of docents on leading tours and then gave another talk at an event sponsored by Cleveland’s Jewish Federation.

It is always fun to see how our exhibits get translated into different spaces. Walking into the gallery’s first section, I was delighted to see Dr. Harry Friedenwald’s collection of manuscripts documenting Jewish contributions to medicine going back hundreds of years.

Even though I knew that the books on display were facsimiles, I was so impressed by the quality of the reproduction and had to make sure that the docents were aware of the fact that what is on display are not the actual books that Harry owned.
Even though I knew that the books on display were facsimiles, I was so impressed by the quality of the reproduction and had to make sure that the docents were aware of the fact that what is on display are not the actual books that Harry owned.
It was also reassuring to see the contents of our good friend, Dr. Morris Abramovitz, reassembled so beautifully.
It was also reassuring to see the contents of our good friend, Dr. Morris Abramovitz, reassembled so beautifully.
I also enjoyed seeing how the staff at the Maltz Museum had incorporated new text panels, photos and artifacts that tell the local experience of Cleveland’s Jewish community.
I also enjoyed seeing how the staff at the Maltz Museum had incorporated new text panels, photos and artifacts that tell the local experience of Cleveland’s Jewish community.
The museum assembled an impressive collection of materials telling the story of Cleveland’s Mt. Sinai hospital which have been preserved thanks to the Mt. Sinai Foundation. One of the speakers at the Federation event shared a detail history of the hospital which closed in 1996.
The museum assembled an impressive collection of materials telling the story of Cleveland’s Mt. Sinai hospital which have been preserved thanks to the Mt. Sinai Foundation. One of the speakers at the Federation event shared a detail history of the hospital which closed in 1996.
The Maltz display also features a section devoted to its own home health care heroes.
The Maltz display also features a section devoted to its own home health care heroes.

The best part of participating in the opening events was hearing new visitors laugh at the opening joke, point out interesting things that they noticed in the exhibit, share their own recollections triggered by objects and stories on display and share such positive feedback with me about how much they loved the exhibit.

The opening of "Beyond Chicken Soup" at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage.
The opening of “Beyond Chicken Soup” at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage.
Maltz Museum members enjoying the exhibit.
Maltz Museum members enjoying the exhibit.

I greatly appreciated how at home the staff at the Maltz made me feel and I was struck by the many similarities between our two institutions in terms of size and audience.

Beyond Chicken Soup remains on view in Cleveland until April 8. Be sure to tell your friends and family in the Midwest to visit.

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