. good morning, welcome to mosaic. we're joined by two wonderful guests. connie wolf. she'll join us in a little bit. in the meantime, please meet dr. rachele haverlock. and she's here on a conference. also, she spent a lot of time in the area and she's written a wonderful book called "river jordan." it talks about how the jordan river has been used geographically as a boundary

line in the region. welcome. >> thank you. >> so, the book, what is it about? >> well, the jordan river plays a prominent role in jewish life and imagination. it's an important symbol to christians and islam. highway wanted to look at why it's so important in the flee religions and how it came to persist as a really important boundary, location and symbol in jewish life from antiquity. >> just for some who may not be familiar with all of the ways in which the geography of the region is layed out and putting aside what some may call the political issues around the state boundaries between, say jordan and israel, egypt and the region, can we let folks

know where does the river jordan actually situate itself? >> it's the lowest river on earth. it flows down from northern mountains in israel and syria. it cuts through a river valley and empties out into the dead sea, the lowest place on earth. it's also central and important in the region. it's a dry region. and fortunately, also a water source that's tremendously imperil. >> interesting. what did you discover when you were moving towards what's to articulate the river on this level? >> so, the river cuts across the landscape. for this reason, it was conceived in many ways to be a dividing line. there was a difference between

the east and the westside of the river. it came to represent a border of heaven and earth. we see this in the hebrew bible when elijiah goes to heaven. this is a place of contact for the humanity and the devine. >> and when we look at the region, and put it into a context of, we have islam, we have christianity, we have jewdism. that's fraught with place and what's layered on to the place, the theology and spiritualty and the life of the people. why do you think that it's water and a river rather than say a valley, a mountain top.

what is it about the water and river there that evokes the different layers of politics, theology and life. >> the river divides terrain and it can be a place of connection and a place of crossing where people come into contact with neighbors and others. where traditions and language and material and traditions move fluidly. also, addressing the question of why water. water particularly, in ancient times is purifying. to move across the water has been imagined as a transformative process. somehow, people are really changed in the process of the crossing. in many cases, they almost move of one phase of life to the other.

this is illustrated beautifully in joshua when the exodus ends and the entire people of israel crosses the jordan river into a new state. to answer the other question about water and division, i think that we really can, from ancient tradition, bring the tradition. yes, the river can divide and it has divided and it can be an incredible place of connection. in that sense, i recommend in the book that people in the region have more contact with the river, they're more involved with its state. right now, the lower jordan is at 2% of its historic flow. 98% of the river is being diverted. i think it couldn't be a better time to bring people's attention to the marvelous traditions that surround the river and how it really can be a place where jews, christians

and muslims rally together to save the precious resource. >> you know, we live in a part of the country and also an era where we're so since -- sensitive to language. when we use the word state in the middle east, it can mean a lot of different things. are you referring to the status when you say state? >> yes, that's what i mean. again, the lower jordan river doesn't have any fresh water flowing through it. everything that's flowing through the river bed is either waste or agricultural run off. when i say the state of the river, it's diminished and pa luted and in -- polluted and in risk of trying up. i want to bring back the history to the river, i want

people's attention to turn to it again and think about it as a vital resource in a water poor region as well as a common symbol in the three religions. >> thank you, in a few moments we'll welcome connie wolf, then, we'll welcome them both back together. thank you. ,,,,,,

we're conditioning our

conversation with connie wolf. welcome, connie. thank you for having me back. >> so, there's a wonderful exit about the contemporary jewish museum called "california dreaming." >> jewish life in the bay area from the gold rush to the present. we wanted to explore what does it mean to be jewish in the area today. the diversity and uniqueness and what makes it a place where people want to learn about and where the roots came from. we discovered that the pioneer spirit that brought everyone to the area is still the spirit that guides everyone today. >> the museum does a combination of programs attached to exhibits and also it doesn't have its own collection. it calls exhibits across the country and brings them to the area. so, california dreaming. how did that come about? >> we get a lot of comments

from our visitors. they want to understand jewish life and half of the visitors come from the bay area and half from the world. half of the visitors are jewish and half aren't. we give the diversity of audiences to learn more. so, it's exciting. one of the key images of the show is this image from israel of their stain glass window. i think we have an image of that to show. what's remarkable, if you look in the upper right hand corner, moses is giving the ten commandments. it's not at mount sinai, but this is the yosemite -- this is the promised land. people came here to reinvent themselves and pay attention to

tradition and really make a new home forthemselves here. nothing captures it more than having half dome as the symbol of the promised land. >> and on this glass, do you know how old it is? >> it was built in the early part of the 1900s. it's well over, well, it's about 110, 112 years old. where it's located now, that was the only synagogue that survived the 1906 earthquake. it's a great story, also, because it survived and city hall was demolished, it was the center of life and the courts were held there. they were both founded within hours of each other in 1850. they're an incredible story of two different synagogues growing up together and being a center of jewish life today.

>> and heavily influenced by the german experience and both, the polish experience? >> correct, there was a notion of, there couldn't be one community. it was guided, but always united. >> always diverse. >> never just one. >> and so, in everything that we do and in everything that we have in the community, it's really signified by the diversity. and we have another image that i would like to have people look at. it demonstrates that during prohibition, it's a rabbi overseeing the sacrificial wine. the synagogue attendance increased dramatically during prohibition. you were allowed a certain amount of wine for your ceremonies. people really joined at that time.

that was an exciting moment to be jewish to have your wine. >> fascinating. it's exciting. >> they're celebrating their 160th anniversary and the 100th anniversary. this community has a tradition of being a leader and thinking about the community, not only the jewish community and the broader community. >> we're about to take a break and we'll invite you both to come back and talk about life in the san francisco jewish community. please join us back in a moment.

welcome back, we're joined

again by connie wolf and rachele haverlock. we have two fantastic exhibits on view. california dreaming about jewish life in the area will be on view for a year as a great resource for the community. also, we have an exhibition on houdini. he was the son of a rabbi. he was an immigrant from hungary. he came here with his father and family. it was the story of an immigrant trying to find a way in this world. he took up, in a sense, the place of the stage. he's intrigued generations upon generations of young people and old people, just exploring the notion of the body, and illusion and everything.

it's just a remarkable exhibition with original footage trying to escape from a straight jacket. he came here three different times. he has a way of performing outside in front of a newspaper building. remember, these are the days before twitter and facebook and before everything. he wanted to be sure he was covered in the news. if he did it by the newspaper station, he would be able to be covered immediately. he performed once in front of the hurst corporation building on 3rd and market street in front of 30,000 people removed himself from a straight jacket. this is one of the posters announcing houdini coming to town. it's intriguing. he was in handcuffs. you can see the sleeves rolled

up. sometimes, he performed with the handcuff trick nude. measure he would perform nude because he wanted to prove he had nothing up his sleeve. just he and hi -- and his mind got him out of the situations. >> and the exhibit is for how long? >> it's open until january 16th. >> also, we'll be open on christmas day. >> what are the hours of the museum in general. >> every day accept wednesday. you can visit the website and we're free the first tuesday of every month. connie and rachele, because we have the two of you and it's such a treat to have you, we want to take a leap of faith [ laughter ] >> and open up a conversation about how really art and scholarship and the ways in

which we discover new things by the experience of art and by the development of art and seeing art and both, by looking at what we think is something new again and coming up with new ideas and in this case, your work on the river jordan. what can we say about how importance it is in a diverse jewish community, the importance of how arts and scholarship shake -- shapes our influence on the ways we act and may have towards one another and in that way, it has the power to shift culture. with that, let's take a leap into that and see what comes up in what you think of. >> i love the fact there are people like rachele doing extraordinary work. so often, the work is limited

to a narrow audience. what the museums do is draw on the research to create a forum for the ideas and thinking to be open to a broader community. i really look forward to reading your book and understanding the river jordan and how it's been an influence and how we think about tradition and life. we always want to infuse our audiences with new ways of thinking and new perspectives. it's critical that the school lores -- scholars work together to make this research come alive. >> and to go on what connie was saying. i'm formost a biblical interpreter. jews have engaged in this for

centuries, looking at the torrah anew and bringing ethics from the text into their lives. i see that the dialogue begins with individuals and communities with the texts and the idea, as connie said, is to open that out and put it into greater dialogue with different backgrounds and positions and ultimately with other communities. there's something vital about constantly returning to the texts and looking at the jordan river in a new way, i also have benefited from conversations with students of different ages at my university and the community and that i feel as if we're all engaged in bringing those traditions into our lives and bringing new values to bare upon them. >> we're going to show you where you're going to be, rachele, where you'll be

speaking at the jewish community center and -- please take a look at the screens so you can learn more about how you'll engage rachele more. two dates, each in january, february, march and april at the jcrc in san rafael. call for more information, or go -- or go to the website.

[doorbell rings] [doorbell rings] [doorbell continues] [knocking on door] [growling] [car horn beeps] [whistles] getting closer to nature can get you closer to your family.

welcome back, we're involved in a wonderful conversation with connie wolf, the ceo and director of the contemporary jewish museum and

the associate professor of jew wish studies and english at the university of illinois at chicago. welcome back. we were talking about the commonality of creativity and how it functions in both academic life and scholarship and the arts and we're reflecting on the ways in which both venues seek to bring a jewish experience to tradition and ancient wisdom. >> so, in many ways, it's right, there's nothing new under the sun. i think that so much of what goes on is combining things in new ways and seeking out new context and new forms. that's what i try to do in the book, thinking about the tradition surrounding the river and human life there. in a few way by juxtaposing it and looking at things from a

contemporary lens. >> well, you know, we're the contemporary jewish museum. we're looking through a contemporary lens. what's wonderful is they bring people together to look, to experience and explore and engage with ideas. our job is to make the ideas come alive and to present the work and create a way in which people can think fresh about the history and tradition that came before them and the legacy they've inherited and to think about what comes next. we love working with artists and encouraging them to create new work. we want people to see the world through another lens, to welcome different perspectives. >> it seems so wonderful in the midst of diversity, we've embodied this diversity of thinking or the diversity of

creativity and how one perceives the world in a general way rather than in aplite cam standard or -- in a particular standard or how someone approaches jewish life at large and thinks about it. >> well, one of the things that unites us is we begin with a question and we think about questioning. that's very jewish. the museum is always asking questions to really engage our visitors. i think about great scholarships. you're really asking very important questions. >> we've come to the end of the show. i don't want to leave without saying good-bye. you're about to start a new journey at the cancer center of arts. we wish you the best. thank you. >> and it's been nice to have

you here within the context of the cancer center. >> and thank you for being supportive of the museum. it's such a great place in the community. >> thank you for joining us, have a wonderful day. ,,,,,,,,,,