Afterlife of the Sacred: Torah Scrolls on Display in Regional Holocaust Museums.

In this article we explore the curation and history of Torah scrolls on display at regional Holocaust museums in the United States in Atlanta, Skokie, Dallas, and Pittsburgh. Through a comparative analysis of four case studies, we interrogate a variety of Torah scroll installations across different...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Jewish Social Studies Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 176 - 220
Autores principales: Valanzola, Ashley, Zisook, Jonathan
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Indiana University Press Fall2025
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:In this article we explore the curation and history of Torah scrolls on display at regional Holocaust museums in the United States in Atlanta, Skokie, Dallas, and Pittsburgh. Through a comparative analysis of four case studies, we interrogate a variety of Torah scroll installations across different museological landscapes and their educational, memorial, and socioreligious implications. An examination of regional Holocaust museums reveals the two-fold function Torahs have assumed. Considering that most visitors to regional Holocaust museums are not Jewish, Torah scrolls have become a primary means through which institutions teach "Judaism 101." Beyond this didactic function, these Torahs have also taken on the symbolic role of object survivor—standing as a memorial to their communities of origin and to the Shoah more generally. In this way, Torahs simultaneously represent a lived tradition and its destruction, which contributes to the creation of a uniquely sacred secular space.