The Impact of Jewish Intellect on America and the World

A new permanent installation.

Conceived in 1969 by Mel Wacks, it was first viewed at the Magnes Museum in Berkely, California. The collection honors Jewish individuals who have made important contributions in all fields of endeavor. The Jewish-American Hall of Fame (www.amuseum.org/jahf/) became a division of the American Jewish Historical Society in 2001, and its unique plaques will become an integral part of the VHM in 2010. Given its new context, this collection will beg the question: What if….   What if one of the murdered millions had discovered a cure for cancer, HIV/AIDS or Alzheimer’s? Would fossil fuels have become obsolete had an alternative been discovered by one of the Jewish children exterminated by the Nazis? Such questions should come to mind in this striking, new gallery that explores the impact of Jewish intellect on humanity.

The Jews Who Helped Columbus

“In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue!” But, Spanish Jewry, not Queen Isabella’s jewelry, made possible Columbus’s voyage of discovery. Most specifically, Luis de Santangel lent the crown nearly five million maravedis to pay for the enterprise. Abraham Zacuto’s astronomical tables and charts assisted Columbus in setting his course. Don Isaac Abravanel, who held a high position in the Spanish court, provided additional access to funding within the Jewish community. Sadly, he and the others would not witness Columbus’s return since the very day he set sail, 300,000 Jews and countless Moors of Spain were expelled.

Haym Salomon (1740-1785)

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams: American Founding Fathers all. But, what of Haym Salomon? Although his name does not figure prominently in the list of patriots, without his efforts, the American War of Independence might well have failed. Salomon left his native Poland and arrived in New York City in the early-1770s on the eve of the American Revolution. He rapidly prospered in his new home and became deeply committed to the ideals for which the Founders fought. He helped to finance the long war with Great Britain, negotiating sizeable subsidies from foreign source and even loaning his own money to the fledgling American government. The Founding Fathers were truly grateful for his assistance, but the loans were never repaid.

Rebecca Gratz (1781-1869)

Captivated by the vivacious, compassionate Jewish beauty from Philadelphia, Sir Walter Scott would immortalize her as Rebecca of York in the romantic novel Ivanhoe. Born into a wealthy family, Rebecca Gratz recognized her responsibility to others less well off than she. When just 21, she became secretary for the Female Association for the Relief of Women and Children in Reduced Circumstances. In 1815, she founded the Philadelphia Orphan Society and then established the Hebrew Sunday School Society. The Hebrew Sunday School Society was the first of its kind in America and would set the paradigm for Jewish education in America until the late-twentieth century. At her death, Gratz was mourned as one of the foremost women in America.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Albert Einstein changed the way humanity looked at time and space. Einstein worked in a Swiss patent office while pursuing physics in his spare time. In 1905, he published a theory that would revolutionize the world, a theory that has since become a household phrase: the Special Theory of Relativity. For his contribution to the field of physics, he received the Nobel Prize in 1921. Threatened by the rise of the Nazis, he left Germany in 1933 and accepted a professorship at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton University. Over the course of his life, his research in the realm of physics would assist in creating the world as we know it today. He also penned deeply moving essays about the human condition, his Jewish heritage, God and our moral responsibilities as human beings, as well as his belief in the power of music to fashion the human soul.

Elie Wiesel (Born 1928)

Born in the Carpathian Mountains in the town of Sighet (today in Romania), the young Elie witnessed the destruction of his world when he, his family and the Jewish community were deported to Auschwitz in 1944. His story of survival in Auschwitz and other camps is delineated in his memoir, Night. Since the publication of that first book, he has written dozens of other novels, plays, essays and dialogues that bear witness to the Nazi barbarity and also to Jewish survival. Awarded an endowed teaching position at Boston University, he has endeavored to engage young people in his work to remember the Holocaust and to commit themselves to help others less fortunate than themselves. Awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1986, he noted the following in his acceptance address: “I have tried to keep memory alive. I have tried to fight those who would forget.”