Generations to Generations showcases family history

HAFTR students make a museum

By Sergey Kadinsky

Third graders at the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway (HAFTR) are in a museum, quite literally. As part of the Generations to Generations project, each student picked a prized family object and created a mock museum display around it.

“We’ve had a megillah that’s over 100 years old, a ticket to Ellis Island, an army uniform, and much more,” said Tova Zucker, director of special programs at HAFTR. “They connect with their past and see that their household is a part of history.”

The program takes its cue from the Museum of Jewish Heritage in downtown Manhattan and each display is accompanied by sketches, essays, and presentations about what the project means to the student.

“They take a specific moment in time and reflect on the past,” said Lawrence resident Joseph Fein whose daughter, Halli, presented an aron kodesh that her family used in their travels. “It’s a celebration of family.”

Stacey Zrihen, who is herself an alumna of HAFTR, had her daughter, Emily, examine her family’s Moroccan side. “We have a newborn clothing bag that’s been in my husband’s family for 100 years,” said Zrihen.

Each object has a label written in the style of a museum label. Rebecca Wenger’s framed display of a gold-plated locket from pre-war Poland is accompanied by photographs of the locket’s original owner, Rebecca’s great-aunt and her namesake.

“She was special and played an important role in my husband’s family,” said Cindy Wenger, Rebecca’s mother.

Incorporating a number of classes, the students practiced their Hebrew on the labels, their art by drawing a copy of their old family photographs, and their acting skills by having a play accompany the exhibit.

At the June 9 viewing of the project, parents and grandparents expressed pride in the quality of the displays.

“It’s very professionally done and the kids feel it is special,” said Zrihen. “You feel like you’re in the wing of a museum.”

Rena Mosak, HAFTR’s art teacher who is working on the Generations to Generations project, said that the impact of the project is still there long after the objects were taken home. A number of parents, she said, reinstalled the displays on the walls of their own houses. “This project connected emotionally and artistically,” Mosak said.

One of the students displayed his grandfather’s medals from the Second World War. “The grandfather was saluting the picture on display,” Mosak said.