Creating Community: The Jews of Atlanta from 1845 to the Present
Creating Community Overview
Creating Community begins with the story of two young peddlers, Jacob Haas and Henry Levi, who settled here to open a dry goods store, and continues to the present day, when more than 100,000 Jews call metro Atlanta their home. The exhibition depicts Jewish residents at prayer, at home, at work, and at play, and at building both their own community and the community at large.
Reflecting the region's many ethnic, religious and racial minorities, Atlanta's Jews have determined to preserve their identity in the midst of change. They have experienced acceptance, as well as rejection and discrimination. They have established deep roots in nearly all aspects of metro Atlanta life, entwining their future with that of the city.
Fortune Telling, Purim carnival, The Temple, c.1946.
In 1856 my brother Isaac started me in my business caeer as a foot peddler. After I was out a few miles in the country, I became homesick, for I was a stranger in a strange land, not knowing the English language. I had a good crying spell, but I found that did not help any, so I proceeded on my journey. —Autobiography of David Steinheimer, c.1900