Like many of you, I have been reading about the difficult times that have befallen the Magnes Museum. Since resigning as president of the Jewish Museum San Francisco in September 2000, I have not been involved in any way with the direction of that museum or its merger with Berkeley’s Judah L. Magnes Museum. Moreover, I have not tried in any way to interject myself into the critical decision-making process. I do so now because of the confusion and misstatements being made in print and my lasting conviction that these two institutions have a vital role to play in our Bay Area’s Jewish future.
The mission of the Judah L. Magnes Museum was clear to all. It was a rich source of Judaica and other historic artifacts that tie us to our past. In fact, it housed one of the largest Judaica collections in America. Furthermore, it was a major source of books and historic research that did much to capture the history of the Jews of Northern California.
The mission of the Jewish Museum San Francisco from l996 to 2000, however, was something quite different. Its purpose was harder to explain because it was not to be a traditional museum. Instead of centering on objects, its mission was to bring ideas to life. The greatness of the Jewish people was never about great art or great artists but rather in our ability to reconceptualize the old and make it new while still maintaining a relationship to the past. I believe that it is because of this ability to think outside the box that more than 20 percent of Nobel laureates are Jewish, even though we constitute less then one half of one percent of the world’s population.
The primary goal of the Jewish Museum was to bring ideas to life — such as one God, land, peoplehood, Sabbath and the diaspora, to name a few — by creating a kind of Jewish Exploratorium that offered an interactive, real-time experience to its participants. Young and old would come together and discover the genius of the Jewish people as well as their own role in the unfolding of that genius. The Jewish community would finally have a place that would allow anyone, Jew and non-Jew alike, to participate in, see and understand the excitement, creativity and adaptability of Judaism.
A few major potential donors never understood this concept, or thought the site and architectural design were overly ambitious. Others, however, not only understood the concept but made major commitments to this “museum of ideas.” By September 2000, more than $63 million was pledged or solidly in the pipeline for building such an institution. Daniel Libeskind is not only a great architect but a great thinker. He found the mission of the museum so compelling that he expressed feeling heartbroken at the thought that it may never come to life. Before Libeskind became architect for the project, Frank Gehry was approached for the job. Although he did not take the job, his comment to me about the vision of the museum was that it is “the most exciting vision since Bilbao,” referring to the Guggenheim Museum in Spain, which he designed.
Do we need both of these museums? My answer is an emphatic yes! Should they be cooperative and mutually supportive? Yes! Is a merged entity the way to continue? No!
I would urge Warren Hellman, the museum chairman, to untie the knot of the merger agreement. He is a new leader on the scene and can create his own path, a path that will hopefully make one institution into two. These two institutions would have different missions and serve very different constituencies. Moreover, I believe that if each is encouraged to articulate its unique mission there will be ample financial support for both institutions.
Some Jewish leaders in the Bay Area have always questioned whether so much money should be spent on what they perceive as secondary needs. Today we are concerned with Israel’s survival and the growth of worldwide anti-Semitism. Should we not also be concerned about the disinterested or alienated Jew of the Bay Area? We need new and better ways of bringing them into the Jewish community.
We know from various studies that art and cultural events bring more people into a Jewish environment than any other programs. These museums are potentially huge gateway institutions to bring in hundreds of thousands of Jews who could help build a stronger and more viable Bay Area Jewish community. By bringing them “in,” you have a chance of inspiring them to care about Israel and the fight against anti-Semitism. Just as Jews have shown a genius about ideas, so should they show a genius about building institutions that will help breathe new life into our search for meaning.