Ava Kahn swears she’s not hallucinating when she wanders the streets of San Francisco. “I’m not completely nuts,” she laughs, “but I know what used to be here. When I walk down Sutter, I picture the original Temple Emanu-El from the 1860s.”
Kahn can be forgiven for her time-warped visions of antiquity. As an expert on the history of Jews in the West, she knows the territory well.
Her newly published magnum opus, “Jewish Voices of the California Gold Rush,” only reinforced her long-standing affection. The book was a true labor of love for the Oakland-based teacher and historian.
And it was labor. Kahn spent 13 years poring through and editing rare documents, many of which had gathered dust for decades. That indelible last shot from “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” depicting a cavernous warehouse full of crated and forgotten museum objects, is not far removed from reality, she says.
Her sleuthing took her from the Western Jewish History Center at the Judah L. Magnes Museum in Berkeley, where she works as a research associate, to the American Jewish Historical Society in New York, to the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati.
At first she intended to cover everything from the Gold Rush through the present day. Later, Kahn wisely narrowed her scope to the years 1849-1880, choosing to let the documents themselves tell the story. As she began shaping the book in earnest, as its editor, priceless details of 19th century Jewish life in California began to emerge.
Not that the Jewish settlers of Northern California came armed with pick-axes, pans and mules. Although there were a few Jewish gold miners, most Jews who came west set up as shopkeepers in mining towns or the fast-growing city of San Francisco.
“People came from all over the Jewish world,” says Kahn of California’s allure. “Jews came from the East Coast, from the American south, from Germany, Poland, Britain and Australia.”
They weren’t the only immigrants, of course. Thousands of people from a diverse cross-section of global cultures came to the Bay Area all around the same time. The basic rule of thumb for surviving: Let’s all get along.
Former African slaves and Asian immigrants weren’t exactly given the key to the city, but those of European descent, including Jews, made the most of the region’s embracing spirit.
“There was no dominant society,” says Kahn of early San Francisco. “Everybody was a newcomer. This gave Jews additional freedom to set up congregations, as well as government and civil organizations.”
Indeed, two of San Francisco’s largest congregations — Emanu-El and Sherith Israel — both opened their doors in the city’s earliest days. Some of the documents Kahn used in her book came straight from the synagogues’ own archives, which date back to 1850.
Sifting through those kinds of source materials is pure heaven for Kahn. A native of Los Angeles, she grew up in a non-observant Jewish household. Though intrigued by history from a young age, it wasn’t until later that Jewish history became her lifelong focus.
“My interest in Jewish culture came when I went to Brandeis-Bardin” summer camp, she recalls. “Shlomo Bardin got me interested in learning about Jewish history. Just chalk another one up to the camp experience!”
Kahn earned a Ph.D. in American history from U.C. Santa Barbara. Among the highlights of her distinguished resume, she was a fellow at the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati, taught Jewish life at U.C. Davis, Jewish studies at San Francisco State and last year taught at Mills College. “Teaching is wonderful because you get to pass your enthusiasm about a subject on to others,” she says.
She also worked with museums around the country, including the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage, for which she helped put together last year’s successful “Jewish Life in the American West” exhibit.
Her new book is her pride and joy. It includes letters, diary entries, memoirs, court and news reports, photographs and other primary source materials — with introductions and explanations.
Asked if there will be a sequel, Kahn isn’t 100 percent sure yet. But when asked to name one of the most memorable individuals she came across in her research, Kahn doesn’t hesitate.
“Mary Goldsmith Prag came to California at age 5,” she recounts. “She crossed the Isthmus of Nicaragua on a mule to get here. Her father was one of the first shochets [kosher slaughterers] in San Francisco.”
Prag went on to attend the first local Hebrew day school. She became a teacher, worked in the San Francisco public schools and rose to the level of vice principal. As a local activist, Prag became an early fighter for women’s rights, demanding equal pay for equal work.
She later served on the school board until she retired in her 80s. Capping her amazing success story, Prag’s daughter, Florence Prag Kahn (no relation to the author), became the first Jewish congresswoman in the United States.
With a cast of characters like that, how can Ava Kahn not go back for more? Says the historian, “I like playing detective.”