Jewish American Heritage Month at UCSF

Q: What is the current year in the Hebrew calendar, and when is the Jewish New Year?

A: The current year is 5784. The Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) occurs in the fall and will be October 2-4 this year. Jewish holidays such as Rosh Hashanah do not occur on the same dates in the Gregorian calendar each year, but they do occur on the same dates in the Hebrew calendar each year. Jewish holidays begin at sundown and continue through the following day.

Q: What number is associated with life and luck in Judaism?

A: The number 18 is associated with life and luck. In Hebrew, the word for life is "chai" (pronounced like high but with "kh" at the beginning). Each letter in the Hebrew alphabet has an equivalent numerical value. The Hebrew letters "chet" and "yud" that make up the word "chai" which add up to thenumber 18.

Q: When was JAHM established?

A: JAHM was established by a bipartisan effort in 2006.

Q: What is Yom Hoshoah, and when is it?

A: Yom HaShoah is Holocaust Remembrance Day, observed this year from the evening of Sunday May 5 through Monday, May 6. Although the date varies year to year in the Gregorian calendar, this date is always 27 Nisan in the Hebrew calendar. Yom Hoshoah honors the 6 million Jews that were killed during the Holocaust, decimating two thirds of all European Jews and a third of the world's Jewish population. Read more here.

UCSF Events

UCSF promotes the exchange of diverse ideas and perspectives, acknowledging that the views and opinions of our guest speakers on campus are their own and may not reflect the perspective of the University. We embrace free speech in the pursuit of greater understanding, consistent with our obligations as a public university under the First Amendment.

Non-UCSF Events

Celebrate JAHM and show your support for Jewish Americans by downloading a Zoom background developed at UCSF through collaboration between the ODO and members of the Jewish community at UCSF.

Background 1 (Click to download)

This background celebrates the diversity of the Jewish people. See if you can spot the following in the art:

• A talit, or a fringed prayer shawl. Two characters are wearing talits, though the image does not include the fringes. The fringes and the knots symbolize the 613 commandments in the Jewish tradition.
• A kippah, a skullcap or brimless hat, that some Jews wear daily, while others may choose to wear it only while praying, studying Jewish texts, or on Shabbat or other holidays. Others may not wear one at all. Another word for kippah is yarmulke. A kippah or yarmulke is traditionally a sign of modesty before God.
• A Star of David, or Magen David, a six pointed geometric star that symbolizes Judaism and Jewish identity. Hint: It's featured in the lower right hand corner.
• Head coverings worn by some women. This is a custom that some married Jewish women, observe. This too is a symbol of modesty as well as connection to the Jewish community and to God.

Background 2 (Click to download)

Explore the rich tapestry of Jewish culture and religion through the symbols and traditions showcased in this background, which have been passed down through generations over the course of over 3,000 years of Jewish existence. Delve deeper into the featured symbols and traditions to gain a deeper understanding of their significance.

• Honey is represented by the yellow dots and is served during the Jewish Near Year, Rosh Hashanah, to symbolize a sweet New Year. Rosh Hashanah occurs during the fall.
• Pomegranates are said to have 613 seeds, corresponding to the 613 commandments of the Torah. Pomegranates also symbolize fertility. Learn 9 Jewish Things About Pomegranates.
• Shin or "ש" is a Hebrew letter that is seen throughout Judaism and on dreidls. Dreidls are four-sided spinning tops, spun by children during the Jewish holiday Hanukkah.​​​​​​ If the dreidl lands on the letter shin, the child must "put one in" and return a candy to the common pool of candy. The other sides of the dreidl include the letters nun (child gets no candy), gimel (take all candy), and hey (half of candy). The letters stand for "nes gadól hayáh sham" or "a great miracle happened there" to commemorate the miracle of Hanukkah at the Temple in Jerusalem. In Israel, the dreidl has the letter pe instead of shin, to stand for "nes gadól hayáh poh" or a great miracle happened here. Read more about the letter shin here.
• A mezuzzah is placed on the doorpost of many Jewish homes in the US and worldwide. A mezuzah signifies a commitment to creating a Jewish household. The angle of the design represents a mezuzzah.

The UCSF Library has made the following titles available:

• Jewish Literacy, 2010, Joseph Telushkin
• Living a Jewish Life, 2009, Anita Diamant
• When Bad things Happen to Good People, 2007, Harold S. Kushner
• Tuesdays with Morrie, 2002, Mitch Albom
• Night, 2012, Elie Wiesel
• Man's Search for Meaning, 2006, Viktor E. Frankl
• Thinking, Fast and Slow, 2011, Daniel Kahneman

Additional suggested reads:

• A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People: From the Time of the Patriarchs to the Present by Eli Barnavi, 1994
• Living a Jewish Life, Revised and Updated: Jewish Traditions, Customs, and Values for Today's Families by Anita Diamant, 2023
• The Sabbath by Abraham by Joshua Heschel, 2005
• Survival In Auschwitz by Primo Levi, 1996

Webinars and videos

• Beyond Left or Right: Whose Fault is Antisemitism? Unpacked
• My courtroom battle with a Holocaust denier, TEDxSkoll
• Jews in Medicine, Genesis Prize Foundation

Podcasts

• Can We Talk?
• Chutzpod!
• Holy Sparks Podcast
• Identity/Crisis, Shalom Hartman Institute
• Judaism Unbound
• Soulful Jewish Living: Mindful Practices for Every Day
• Wondering Jews with Mijal and Noam

Films, movies and documentaries

• PBS’s The Jewish Americans explores the history, culture, and contributions of Jewish Americans to the United States.
• PBS’s The Story of the Jews chronicles the 3,000-year history of the Jewish people, from ancient times to the present day.
• The U.S. and the Holocaust explores the United States' response to the Holocaust, including rescue efforts and the experiences of American Jews.
• Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy highlights the significant influence of Jewish composers, lyricists, and performers on the development of Broadway musicals.
• Denial is based on the true story of Deborah Lipstadt's legal battle against Holocaust denier David Irving.
• On the Basis of Sex depicts the early career of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her fight for gender equality.
• An American Tail is an animated film following the journey of a young mouse named Fievel and his family as they immigrate to the United States to escape persecution in EuropeF.
• Schindler's List tells the true story of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of over a thousand Jewish refugees during the Holocaust.
• Viral: Antisemitism in Four Mutations examines the resurgence of antisemitism around the world through four distinct case studies.
• Everything is Illuminated is a film adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer's novel, following a young Jewish-American man's journey to Ukraine in search of the woman who saved his grandfather during the Holocaust.

Musicians

• Jack Antonoff
• Irving Berlin
• Leonard Bernstein
• Leonard Cohen
• Neil Diamond
• Bob Dylan
• George Gershwin
• Billy Joel
• Carole King
• Lenny Kravitz
• Adam Levine
• Felix Mendelssohn
• Bette Midler
• Alecia Beth Moore (aka Pink)
• Itzhak Perlman
• Mark Ronson
• Lou Reed
• Gene Simmons
• Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel
• Regina Spektor
• Barbra Streisand
• Adam Yauch, Michael Diamond, and Adam Horovitz (aka the Beastie Boys)

Articles

• The Jews in America, Jennie Rothenberg Gritz
• Why the most educated people in America fall for anti-semitic lies, Dara Horn
• Dispelling the Myth About Jews and Poverty, Jeremy J. Fingerman
• Why american historians really ignore american jewish history, Hasia Diner
• Contributions of Jewish Surgeons in the United States, Seymour I. Schwartz
• The American Jewish Experience in the Twentieth Century: Antisemitism and Assimilation, Jonathan D. Sarna and Jonathan Golden
• Moses Maimonides: Medieval Physician and Scholar, Simor SR

Additional references

• Jewish American Heritage Month
• About Jewish American Heritage Month
• American Jewish Commitee
• Jewish American Heritage Month Resources
• National Archives: JAHM
• Jewish Women's Archive
• Who are the Jews?
• Exploring Jewish American Identity
• A Short Guide to Jewish Religion and Culture
• Amazing Jewish Americans
• What is JAHM?
• 5 Ways to Celebrate JAHM
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

JAHM 2024 events are organized, hosted, and sponsored by:

• Shalom at UCSF
• UCSF Office of Diversity and Outreach
• UCSF Library
• SF Hillel
• UCSF Jewish Coalition