The Jewish Lens program designed to engage students actively in learning about the values that are important in their Jewish communities. It uses the arts as a means to help young people connect intellectually and emotionally with their traditions.
Summer Camp, Tumwater, Washington, 2002
It’s time for morning services at Camp Solomon Schechter, in Tumwater, Washington. As the Torah is raised, the kids point with their fingers, symbolically kissing the Torah and lending their support to the Magbiah, who lifts up the scroll. Founded fifty years ago, Camp Solomon Schechter in...
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Synagogue Attic, Riga, Latvia, 1991
Before World War II, there were many synagogues in Riga, the capital of Latvia. In fact, until the 20th century, Eastern Europe was a center for Jewish life and learning. But today, only one synagogue still stands in Riga. And just a handful of elderly Jews, like the man in this picture, still...
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Olive Harvesting, Kibbutz Tzova, Israel, 2006
It’s the season of the olive harvest in Israel, and these young people are helping out on the kibbutz where they live. Since ancient times, olives have been a key crop and an enduring symbol of the Land of Israel. In the Bible, Israel is described as “a land of wheat and barley, of vines,...
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Sunrise, Sde Boker, Sde Boker, Israel, 2003
The people in this photograph are reciting morning prayers in the heart of the Negev Desert, just outside a kibbutz called Sde Boker. Sde Boker is where Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, chose to retire. His vision and hope was that Israelis would move to the Negev and make the...
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Waiting for Seven Jews, Djerba, Tunisia, 1995
This is the El-Ghriba Synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba. Although the current building was constructed in 1929, it is believed that a synagogue has existed on this site for 2,000 years. According to tradition, the first synagogue on the spot was built with a stone from the destroyed...
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Tisha B’Av, Western Wall, Jerusalem, Israel, 1997
Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the month of Av, marks the destruction of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. This event happened almost 2,000 years ago, yet Jews around the world still mourn the loss every year on Tisha B’Av. And what better place to observe this day of mourning and fasting than at...
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Beit Ha-Hayim, Fez, Morocco, 2004
“Charity preserves from death” is the phrase repeated in Hebrew, English, and French on this charity box at the Jewish cemetery in Fez, Morocco. The phrase comes from the book of Proverbs (10:2). But, it’s not entirely clear who is delivered from death. Is the deceased delivered from a harsh...
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Gauchos Reflect, Moisesville, Argentina, 2002
Baron Maurice de Hirsch (1831 – 1896) was a German Jewish businessman and philanthropist. In 1891, he founded the Jewish Colonization Association, or JCA, with the goal of establishing colonies in North and South American for Jews experiencing economic, political, or social oppression in...
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Let My People Go, New York City, 1987
These people are engaging in the important mitzvah of Pidyon Sh’vuyim (the Redeeming of Captives). At a demonstration in New York City, they push for the release of thousands of Jews from the Soviet Union. Notice what it says on the kids’ signs. Where have you heard these words before? Under...
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Anna Frank School, Budapest, Hungary, 1997
This high school in Budapest, Hungary, is named for Anne Frank, the Jewish teenager who, together with her family, hid in an Amsterdam attic for two years during World War II. They were eventually discovered by the Nazis and deported to concentration camps. Anne Frank died in 1945 at the age of 15....
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Bet-Levi, Peru, 2003
This family lives in the Amazonian jungle of Peru. You can see the reflection of the rainforest just outside their house. You can also see symbols of Jewish identity on their door. Photographer Zion Ozeri explains the family’s history: “Moroccan Jews came to Peru for the rubber industry...
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Holocaust Survivor with His Grandchildren, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2002
Here we see a Holocaust survivor surrounded by his grandchildren. He lives in Buenos Aires, where he writes and lectures about the Holocaust. The photographer, Zion Ozeri, explains why he took this picture: “I was concerned about taking a meaningful photograph of him. I could have taken...
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Kapparot, Kew Garden Hills, Queens, New York, 1995
In this picture, Kew Garden Hills, Queens, is the setting for kapparot, one of the more unusual Jewish folk customs. This boy’s mother holds a prayer book for him as he waves a chicken over his head. Through this act, which is practiced just before Yom Kippur, a person’s sins are symbolically...
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The Shape of Sound, Yemen, 1991
Whether you’re in a cave in Yemen or a yeshiva in Brooklyn, the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the words of the Torah remain the same. It is these universal Jewish traditions that keep communities connected across time and space. Why do you think the photographer calls this picture The Shape...
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Open Table, (Immigrants from Azerbaijan), Acco, Israel, 2007
Members of the Kavkazi community (Jews from the Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia and Azerbaijan) who have immigrated to Israel have strived to retain important aspects of their rich cultural heritage. This photograph reflects one example of this—the value of hospitality that is central to...
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Honorable Discharge, Ben-Gurion Airport, Israel, 1992
Look at the expression on this man’s face. How would you describe it—fear, sadness, confusion, joy? He has just arrived in Israel from the former Soviet Union. Under communism, Soviet Jews were not allowed to practice their religion openly and were often denied the right to immigrate to the...
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Klezmer Duo, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2002
Klezmer is the traditional music of Eastern European Jews. Although many people think of it as oldfashioned music, young Jewish musicians all over the world have started playing klezmer again. The two men in this picture are from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Although this photo was taken at their...
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Circumcision Ceremony, Bukhara, Uzbekistan, 1993
These Bhukharan women have gathered together to perform a special ceremony for the newborn baby boy you see in the middle of the picture. This is how the photographer, Zion Ozeri, describes it: “It’s a custom—and I didn’t find it in any other community around the world, just there. It is...
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The Secret, M’vaseret Zion, Israel, 1990
During the 1980s and 1990s, many Jews came to Israel from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union for religious freedom and a better life. These immigrants often lived in special apartment buildings, called “absorption centers,” until they could find more permanent homes. Absorption centers...
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Backpack, Ben Gurion Airport, Israel, 1991
Jews have lived in Ethiopia for hundreds and hundreds of years. But in the 1970s and 1980s, life became very difficult for them. They were no longer safe. So, in 1984, the Israeli government organized a secret operation—known as Operation Moses—to bring Ethiopia’s Jews to Israel. In six...
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Barefoot Passages, Rehovot, Israel, 1982
In this photograph, a Yemenite grandfather and his grandson study the weekly Torah portion together. They sit outside on the the street in front of their small hut in the Israeli city of Rehovot. The title Barefoot Passages refers to the passage of Jewish tradition from one generation to the next,...
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Floricultores, Camaguey, Cuba, 2003
This family is posed outside their home in the small Cuban village of Camaguey. They are known as “floricultores” because they grow flowers for a living, which they sell in the market. The woman on the right is a Sephardic Jew. Her family originally came from Spain, many generations ago,...
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Adamah, Falls Village, Connecticut, 2008
No, this is not a kibbutz or moshav in northern Israel. It’s actually an organic farm in rural Connecticut. This woman is part of a program called ADAMAH (literally, “land”), run by the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, in Falls Village, Connecticut. ADAMAH is a leadership training...
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Kindling Holiday Lights, Bombay (Mumbai), India, 2001
Until modern times, Shabbat and holiday lights were usually kindled with oil. In some places, like India, that’s still the custom. The woman in this photograph is lighting hanging oil lamps in honor of the holiday of Purim. Although Jewish law doesn’t require the kindling of lights for Purim,...
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Headstone, Cimpina, Romania, 2000
“It’s a community where I photographed one couple—that’s all that’s left [of the Jewish community]. They still have one synagogue that nobody visits.” This is what the photographer, Zion Ozeri, has to say about the town of Cimpina, Romania, where he took this picture. When he went with...
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Background, Rehovot, Israel, 2008
A teenager sits on her bed in the Israeli town of Rehovot. Her schoolbook is open on her lap, her shelves strewn with other books and assorted knickknacks. This could be any teenager’s room anywhere in the world. But the poster on the wall above the bed reflects this girl’s unique cultural...
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Tell Me, What’s Your Name, Rehovot, Israel, 2008
Tell Me, What’s Your Name is the title of the book these girls are reading. It may also have been the first thing they said to each other when they met in their nursery school class in the Israeli city of Rehovot. Rehovot (literally, “wide expanses”) is one of the oldest and most diverse...
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Older Sister, Hong Kong, 2008
Hong Kong may not be the first place most people think of when they think of Jewish communities, but Jews have lived there for at least 150 years. Persian Jewish merchants arrived in Hong Kong in 1842, after China ceded the territory to Great Britain. Hong Kong’s first synagogue opened in...
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Basic Training, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1996
These men and women are cadets in the U.S. Air Force. Every day, they get up at the crack of dawn and go through the challenges and rigors of basic training. But these cadets are also Jews. So once a week, on Friday night, they get together for a couple of hours at the synagogue on their …...
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Kabbalat Shabbat, Cold Spring, New York, 2008
The Sabbath candles have been lit. The women and girls cover their eyes as they recite the blessing over the flames. For millennia, this is how the weekly Sabbath has been heralded in Jewish communities across the globe. According to the rabbis of the Talmud, there are two reasons for lighting...
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Speak to God, Tel-Aviv, Israel, 2006
Ozeri met this young man in Tel-Aviv, at the entrance to Shuk Ha-Carmel (Carmel Market), a busy, open-air mall. The man is a member of the Bratslav sect of Hasidic Judaism. Bratslavers follow the teachings of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav (1772 – 1810), who encouraged followers to cultivate...
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B’nei Yisrael Wedding, Mumbai, India, 2008
The rabbi reads from the ketuba as part of this traditional wedding ceremony in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India. A ketuba is a marriage contract that outlines the husband’s responsibilities to his wife. This ancient document not only protects the woman’s rights during the marriage but also in...
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Jewish Teens from Northern Westchester UJA Federation, New Orleans, LA, 2006
These young people have traveled from Westchester County, New York, to New Orleans, Louisiana, to volunteer in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. In the photo you can see them cleaning a building that was damaged by the floods. Many members of the world Jewish community donated their money...
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Beth Israel Synagogue, New Orleans, LA, 2006
Months after hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Beth Israel synagogue still lay in ruins. It was the hardest hit of the city’s eight synagogues, submerged under 10 feet of water for several weeks. Jews have a long history in the city of New Orleans. Several prominent Jews settled in the city in...
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Soccer Fan, Kibbutz Mefalsim, Negev, Israel, 2008
The title of this photograph, Soccer Fan, says it all. And if the title doesn’t get the point across, the banner behind this boy does. It reads, “After you I will go…I’m ready to die for you—Maccabi Tel-Aviv.” Maccabi Tel-Aviv is the oldest and most successful soccer team in Israel. In...
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Bar Mitzvah Boy, Mexico City, Mexico, 2004
What does it mean to become a Bar Mitzvah? Among other things, it means being obligated to carry out the mitzvot that apply to all Jewish adults. For the young man in this photograph, it means wearing tallit and tefillin and being called to the Torah. Unfortunately for him, it doesn’t mean...
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Soldier on Leave, Or Akiva, Israel, 2001
This young Israeli soldier is a member of the Kavkazi community, Jews from the Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia and Azerbaijan. The origins of the Kavkazi community are mysterious—some believe their story began more than 2,500 years ago with the Jewish exile to Babylon. But throughout...
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Clergy Rehearsal, Woodland Hills, California, U.S.A., 2010
In this Californian synagogue, two musicians from Uganda, a landlocked country in East Africa, join their friend Cantor Mike Stein (right) in song at Temple Aliyah. Rabbi Gershom Sizomu (left) and his son Igaal (center), come from a small but dedicated community known as the Abayudaya (“People of...
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A Scribe, Berkeley, California, 2010
From the inscription of a single letter up through the completion of an entire scroll, the mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah is a very important commandment as it continues the chain of Jewish tradition and study. Here, Julie Seltzer, one of a handful of female sofers (scribes) worldwide, sits at a...
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Shema Yisrael, Medellín, Colombia, 2011
Prayer is a central focus of any Jewish community, whether it is conducted in the home, a synagogue, a community center, or outdoors. The rituals in this Latin American congregation may look like ones you have seen or participated in. Members of this community adhere to Orthodox traditions, with men...
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Women Praying, Lima, Peru, 2003
At a house on the outskirts of Peru’s capital city, Lima, women pray the afternoon service, mincha. As part of a community of recent converts to Judaism, the congregation lacks some of the basic resources that other groups might take for granted. For instance, they read from a paper Torah scroll...
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Boys in Cartagena, Colombia, 2011
These young students in Cartagena are posed around the bimah after their morning prayers. Most of them have had a bar mitzvah and are wearing tefillin and a tallit, but a few of them are not yet of age. The community is also a relatively young one, primarily made up of recent converts to Judaism....
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Mt. of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel, 2010
Here is a photograph of The Mount of Olives (Har HaZeitim) with the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City and the rotunda of the Dome of the Rock in the distance. Once covered in olive groves, The Mount of Olives has been used for burials since Biblical times and is referenced in writings from the time...
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Shabbat Welcome, Holon, Israel, 2012
Israeli society is made up of Jewish communities from a variety of backgrounds as well as differing levels of participation in the rituals of Jewish life. It is possible to take the culture and language for granted and neglect the spiritual and religious dimensions of being Jewish in a Jewish state....
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Social Justice, Tzfat, Israel, 2008
Tzfat has the highest elevation of any city in Israel and is located north of the Sea of Galilee in a lushly forested and hilly area. Since the 16th century it has been considered one of four holy cities in Israel and has been the capital of the mystical practice of Kabbalah, for which it …...
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Priestly Blessing Cartagena, Colombia, 2011
In this photograph, a father draws his three sons to his chest during the Birkat Kohanim, the priestly blessing. In the tradition of many Sephardic communities, including this one in Cartagena, Columbia, men cover the heads of their children during the blessing so they can focus on the meaning of...
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The New Hurva, Jerusalem, Israel, 2010
The Hurva synagogue now stands in the center of Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter, but its long and dramatic history serves as a reminder of the struggles for control over the city and its neighborhoods. The original synagogue on this site was built in the early 18th century, when a group of European...
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Synagogue Key Keeper, Žiežmariai, Lithuania, 2003
Though the late 19th century synagogues in the cities of Central and Eastern Europe are breathtakingly beautiful, with Moorish towers, brightly colored abstract painting, and arches and colonnades that rival many cathedrals, the style certainly did not exist outside the walls of cosmopolitan...
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Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa, 1998
In this photograph, teens at Herzlia High School play basketball on a court near the slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. Since the first Jewish school was founded in Cape Town at the end of the 19th century, the community has seen a number of institutions for Jewish education arise...
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Synagogue Soup Kitchen, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2002
A soup kitchen or comedor comunitario hosted by a Chabad synagogue in Buenos Aires, serves more than a hundred people with a hot meal every day. When this photograph of aid recipients waiting outside the synagogue’s entrance was taken in 2002, it was only a year after the country experienced a...
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Renovation, New York City, NY, U.S.A., 1985
In this image artisans work to restore the stained glass windows in one of New York’s oldest and most majestic synagogues, the Eldridge St. Synagogue. The origins of the Kahal Adath Jeshurun congregation and their temple reflect the Lower-East Side neighborhood’s diverse group of immigrants in...
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Purim’s Gandhi, Mumbai (formerly Bombay) India, 2001
To celebrate the festival of Purim, this boy in India’s capital city Mumbai has dressed up in costume, following the well-known tradition of dressing as heroes and villains from the story of Esther. But rather than a figure from the Megillah, he is wearing the iconic outfit of his country’s...
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Adorning the Bride, Yemenite Bride, Yavne, Israel, 1984
In this photo taken in the Yemenite Jewish community in Israel, a bride is helped by an older relative as she puts on the elaborate adornments customarily worn during the wedding celebration. Jewish culture in Yemen had developed largely separate from the rest of the Jewish world, even from the rest...
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Flea Market Mincha Time, Yafo, Israel, 2009
In Jaffa, the port neighborhood which is part of the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality, the centrally-located fleamarket (shuk) is like thousands of others across the Middle East, an environment of hustling, hollering and haggling. All of these changes at midday, when the hot Mediterranean sun is at its...
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Matzah Oven, Bukharia, Uzbekistan, 2000
In this photograph, an elderly woman removes a round piece of freshly baked matzah from a clay oven. Baked the old fashioned way, this handmade matzah is said to be denser and chewier than the crunchy machine-made variety. This photograph was taken after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Under Soviet...
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Cave, Haidan A-Sham, Yemen, 1992
You don’t need to be in a classroom or synagogue to study the Torah. You can do it almost anywhere—even in a cave. The town of Haidan A-Sham is located in a rugged and mountainous part of Yemen, and the Jews there made use of whatever spaces were available. These boys have gathered in a...
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