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Founded in 1875,
Hebrew Union College-
Jewish Institute of Religion
is the nation’s
oldest institution of higher Jewish education and
the academic, spiritual, and professional leader-
ship development center of Reform Judaism.
HUC-JIR educates men and women for service to
American and world Jewry as rabbis, cantors, edu-
cators, and communal service professionals, and
offers graduate and post-graduate programs to
scholars of all faiths. With centers of learning in
Cincinnati, Jerusalem, Los Angeles,
and
New York
,
HUC-JIR’s scholarly resources comprise renowned
library and museum collections, the American
Jewish Archives, biblical archaeology excavations,
research institutes and centers, and academic pub-
lications. HUC-JIR invites the community to an array
of cultural and educational programs which illumi-
nate Jewish history, identity, and contemporary
creativity and which foster interfaith and multieth-
nic understanding.
www.huc.edu
Laura Kruger,
Chair
Jean Bloch Rosensaft,
Director
Suzette Acar
Judy Becker
Catherine Behrend
Sherry Berz
Semmes Brightman
Phyllis Cohen
Elaine Corwin
Robin Cramer
Gail Davidson
Gloria Dobbs
Cynthia Greener
Edelman
Vicki Reikes Fox
Ruth O. Freedlander
Phyllis Freedman
Susan K. Freedman
Betty Golomb
Joy G. Greenberg
Barbara Gross
Peggy Heller
Frances Hess
Ann Holland
Steven Lefkowitz
Teela Lelyveld
Susan Malloy
Nancy Mantell
Claire G. Miller
Marjorie Miller
Fran Putnoi
Pierre Schoenheimer
Sam Simon
Helene Spring
Shirley Steinhauser
Livia Straus
Mildred Weissman
HUC-JIR Museum
Advisory Committee
Rabbi David Ellenson, Ph.D.,
President
Gary Bockelman,
Chief Operating Officer,
Vice President for Administration
Jane F. Karlin,
Vice President for
Institutional Advancement
Dr. Michael Marmur,
Vice President for
Academic Affairs
Rabbi Charles A. Kroloff,
Vice
President for Special Projects
Sylvia Posner,
Assistant to the President;
Administrative Executive to the Board
of Governors
Jean Bloch Rosensaft,
Senior National
Director for Public Affairs and
Institutional Planning; Director,
HUC-JIR Museum
Shirley Idelson
,
Dean, HUC-JIR/New York
Renni Altman,
Associate Dean,
HUC-JIR/New York
Laurie Wohl
b. 1942 in Washington, DC; lives in New York City
Selected Exhibitions:
Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art, PA; Atelier International, NY;
South Bend Regional Museum of Art, IN
Peace Like a River,
2010
Unweaving, fiber art, mixed media; 84" x 48.5" x 7"
“
By unweaving the fabric I make manifest what is hidden within the material – liberating
the threads to create shape, then ‘reweaving’ through color, textures, and text. Both the
movement of the horizontal unwoven areas and the downward motion of the vertical
panels suggests the liveliness and endlessness of flowing waters.”
Estelle Kessler Yarinsky
b. 1932 in Brooklyn, NY; lives in Delmar, NY
Selected Exhibitions:
Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art, PA; Flomenhaft Gallery, NY;
Albany Institute of History and Art, NY; Nathan D. Rosen Museum, Boca Raton, FL
Gracia,
2002
Hand and machine stitched, appliqué, fiber; 73" x 62"
Yarinsky’s portrayal of Doña Gracia di Nasi, a.k.a. Beatrice de Luna, a wealthy 16th-
century converso Jew born in Portugal in 1550, pays homage to Gracia’s tireless efforts
in helping less fortunate Jews escape from countries where they were persecuted. Gracia
is shown turning from the horrors of the Roman Catholic Spanish Inquisition toward
Constantinople, where Jews were welcome. The word
quemadero
stitched on the lower
left means ‘place of burning’ in Spanish. Jews accused of practicing Judaism secretly in
Spain were burned alive at the stake. Merchant ships illustrate lines from the Book of Proverbs: “A woman of valor… she is
like the merchant ships; she bringeth food from afar.” The cities that Gracia visited on her journey to keep herself and others
safe are featured on the border of the quilt, along with her several names; it is thought that her Hebrew name was Hannah.