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Judaica

Contents

Overview

Highlights from the Clements Collections

Subject Headings & Keywords

Digital Resources

Judaica Research Guide

The William L. Clements Library holds materials related to Judaism across its four divisions, including manuscript letters, diaries, photographs (both of Jewish people and taken by Jewish photographers), scrapbooks, and other documents. Strengths include writings by and to Jewish soldiers, prayer books, sermons (particularly those from Joseph Krauskopf (1858-1923)), conversion narratives and records related to organizations dedicated to converting Jews to Christianity, and Jewish periodicals discussing Jewish news, culture, literature, and religion (including over 25 issues of the Jewish Chronicle and several issues of The Occident and the American Jewish Advocate).

As you use Clements resources, you may encounter language that may be considered culturally insensitive or derogatory. Clements staff aim to only include such language where it is essential for access and discoverability. To find out more about our policies relating to harmful language, please read our Harmful Language Statement.

This research guide is intended to offer a broad overview of holdings at the Clements Library related to Judaism. It is meant as a starting point for researchers interested in this topic, not an exhaustive list of all relevant materials. If you have any questions about this guide or our holdings please contact us here. 

The William L. Clements Library offers fellowships to help scholars access the Library’s rich primary source collections for research. Several of our fellowships support research projects related to Judaica and Jewish Americans. Visit the Fellowships website for information regarding application information and deadlines. 

Studio group portrait of the 1875 Lakota delegation to Washington, D.C. including Prussian-Jewish interpreter Julius Meyer (back row standing at left) and chiefs Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, Swift Bear and Spotted Tail. The chiefs wear mixtures of western and traditional clothing while Meyer wears hide shirt.

Lakota delegation to Washington May 13 1875

Highlights from the Clements Collections

Prayers for Shabbath, Rosh-Hashanah, and Kippur, or, The Sabbath, the beginning of the year, and the Day of Atonements : with the Amidah and Musaph of the Moadim, or solemn seasons. According to the order of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews / Translated by Isaac Pinto.

The first Jewish Prayer Book published in North America, printed by John Holt of New York in 1766. This copy was owned by Henrietta B. Judah.

Leopold Mayer family collection, 1864-1970 (majority within 1885-1909)

This collection is made up of letters, documents, genealogical research, and other items pertaining to Leopold Mayer of Chicago, Illinois, and his descendants. The materials concern family news, courtship, and the history of Chicago’s Jewish community.

Levy & Cohen's Views of the Rebel Capital and its Environs, 1865

Levy & Cohen’s views of the rebel capital and its environs contains 26 photographs of historically significant monuments, locations, and structures in Richmond, Virginia, in 1865 after the conclusion of the Civil War. Jewish-American photographers Leon Solis-Cohen (1840-1884) and Cornelius Levy (1842-1865) operated a photography studio together in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Land map of the United States of America.

Facsimile map prepared by Industrial Removal Office, an organization active from 1900 to 1917 with the purpose of relocating Jewish immigrants from crowded urban areas to smaller towns with Jewish communities.

Milton Schneider letters, 1943-1945

This collection is made up of over 100 letters that Jewish Corporal Milton Schneider wrote to his girlfriend, Miriam Tarlow of Brooklyn, New York, while serving in the United States Army during World War II. He wrote about their relationship and about his experiences in Hawaii and Saipan.

Martha Shaulson letters, 1944-1945

This collection contains letters that Martha Shaulson wrote to her sweetheart, Lieutenant Charles H. Meyer of the United States Army Air Forces, about her daily life in Providence, Rhode Island, during the final years of World War II.

Photograph of a synagogue in Kalamazoo, MI.

Synagogue Kalamazoo Mich

Family studio portrait of a couple and two young children, likely of members of the Philadelphia Jewish community.

[full length portrait of unidentified family]

Harold Kamp journal, 1917-1919

The Harold Kamp journal is an account of a young Jewish man’s life serving in the United States Army in World War I, including time spent at the front lines.

Marcus Ahlenfeld papers, 1825-1876

The Marcus Ahlenfeld papers contain correspondence, documents, notes, and other material related to Ahlenfeld’s medical education in Germany and to his medical practice in the United States.

Emanuel Levy collection, 1941-2007

This collection is made up of correspondence, soldiers’ newsletters, and other items related to Emanuel Levy’s service in the United States Army Signal Corps during World War II and his involvement in veterans’ reunions. Levy corresponded with family members and friends in Brooklyn, New York, while serving in the United States and the Pacific Theater from 1941-1943; he later received updates from fellow veterans. The collection also includes Levy’s war reminiscences, and sheet music and manuscripts of Levy’s musical comedy, Hey Mister Satan (1942).

Jacob Mordecai collection, 1804-1835

This collection contains letters and drafts pertaining to Jacob Mordecai of Warrenton, North Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia. The materials concern topics such as education, the Richmond Academy, biblical prophecy. Mordecai was active in the Jewish community in Richmond, Virginia.

Arthur B. Silverman letters, 1944

This collection consists of 5 letters that Private Arthur B. Silverman wrote to his parents in Hartford, Connecticut, while training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California, in August and September 1944. He discussed the importance of training, the Jewish New Year, and guard duty, among other subjects.

Jeanette and Rose Feigenbaum letters, 1944

This collection contains correspondence that Jewish Private J. Walter Feigenbaum received from his sister, Jeanette, and mother, Rose, while he served with the United States Army during World War II. The women, who lived in Washington, D.C., wrote of the domestic political situation prior to the 1944 presidential election, shared their opinions on developments in the war, and provided news of family friends.

Hugo Walter Blumenthal diary, 1918

H. W. Blumenthal, a Jewish sailor in the United States Navy, kept this diary in November and December 1918. He wrote several times each day about many aspects of his military service and the politics of the Balkan Peninsula at the end of World War I.

James W. Piatt scrapbook, 1892-1896

James W. Piatt compiled this one-volume scrapbook of newspaper clippings, letters, admission tickets, and ephemera documenting cases he tried as an attorney, his interest in the Freemasons and local politics, and other judicial, legal, and miscellaneous local affairs in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania. Of particular interest among the newspaper clippings is extensive coverage of the 1893 trial and execution of Isaac Rosenweig and Harris Blank for the murder of Jacob (Jakey) Marks, all three Jewish peddlers.

Subject Headings & Keywords

To find materials on Judaica in our holdings, search by Subject Headings in our catalog or finding aids. We suggest combining search headings with other keywords of interest or relevance to your research. The following subject headings and keywords may be particularly productive as a starting point:

Subject Headings
  • African Americans--Relations with Jews
  • American Society for Meliorating the Condition of the Jews
  • Antisemitism
  • Christian converts from Judaism
  • Jewish soldiers
  • Jewish women
  • Jews
  • Jews--Conversion to Christianity
  • Jews--History
  • Jews--Restoration
  • Jews--United States
  • Judaism
  • Zionism
Keywords
  • Flavius Josephus
  • Sol Bloom

Last Updated 10/20/26