Museum at Eldridge Street: Virtual Lecture

In conjunction with the Museum at Eldridge Street’s current exhibition, First Light: Birth in the Jewish Tradition, join author Dr. Deena Aranoff on Thursday, April 30th at 3pm Pacific Time/6pm Eastern Time on Zoom to discuss key themes of her new book, Mother’s Milk: Essays on Child-Rearing, the Household, and the Making of Jewish Culture (Indiana University Press 2025), which asks the question: how were Jewish cultural elements sustained over thousands of years, across continents, upheavals, and exiles?

Deena Aranoff proposes we look to the everyday life of the household for the key to Jewish cultural survival. In this lecture, Deena will explore how daily household practices shape Jewish memory, identity, and culture. We will uncover together how the ordinary becomes sacred: how milk, meals, and small acts of care steadily nourished the trajectory of the Jewish people through the ages. This talk will highlight the spiritual and cultural power of everyday household practices, often overlooked in typical narratives, and invites reflection on how care, attention, and domestic labor carry culture across generations.