FIRST LIGHT: BIRTH IN THE JEWISH TRADITION

Showcasing Jewish rites, customs, and superstitious traditions from ancient times to the present, First Light: Birth in the Jewish Tradition invited visitors to consider the enduring wonder of welcoming new life.

Featuring ritual objects, photographs, and artworks, First Light captures a diverse array of Jewish material culture surrounding childbirth, from 19th-century textiles to contemporary sculpture. 

The exhibition included two art prints by the late artist Mark Podwal z"l (1945–2024), whose 2024 mosaic floor is on permanent display at the Museum. Podwal’s Pharaoh’s Daughter from 2014 depicts the midrash, or scriptural interpretation, that Pharaoh's daughter, who found the baby Moses in the Nile, would kiss him as if he was her own son.

Also on view was a handpainted wimpel from the Museum’s collection, dated to 1842. Wimpels are made from the swaddling cloths that wrap baby boys during their circumcision ceremony and are decorated with the baby’s name, date of birth, and blessings for the baby. Customary among Ashkenazi Jews in parts of Germany, France and the Czech Republic, wimpels may be present at various life cycle events, including at bar mitzvah ceremonies and weddings. Through these rituals, the Jewish people have maintained a connection with past generations, while strengthening a sense of continuity and identity for the present and future generations.

During the run of the exhibition, the Museum at Eldridge Street offered a series of related public programs and will provide an audio guide through Bloomberg Connects.

Following the Museum’s new multiyear initiative, Museum at Eldridge Street: Opening Doors to Intercultural Understanding, and its programmatic framework of “Sacred Time, Sacred Space, and Sacred Community,” First Light harnessed Sacred Time as a catalyst to explore the first stage in the Jewish life cycle: birth. 

First Light: Birth in the Jewish Tradition was generously underwritten by Lilly Endowment’s Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative. Additional exhibition support and related programs are funded in part by the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.