Yeshiva University Museum

Welcome to the website of Yeshiva University Museum. If this is your first time visiting, I hope you’ll spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself with who we are and what we do.

Yeshiva University Museum – or YUM, as we call it – is a special place. It sits at the intersection of several worlds: academic, cultural, artistic, historical and traditional Jewish. Our inspirations are vast, yet always anchored by our mission – to bring to life the beauty, creativity and dynamism of Jewish ideas and traditions across the generations.

Founded in 1973, the Yeshiva University Museum is a product of the visionary philanthropy of Erica and Ludwig Jesselson, of blessed memory. In the 42 years since, the Museum has been carving out a niche in New York City’s rich cultural scene. Echoing our university affiliation and mission, we present exhibitions that are intellectually rigorous and give voice to new ideas and cutting-edge scholarship. Expressing our educational character, we generate exciting programs and workshops for school children and families of all religious and cultural backgrounds. Fulfilling the founding vision of the Center for Jewish History, where we are based, we interpret and frame the historic experience of Jews in vivid ways for a public audience of all levels of Jewish knowledge and all manner of perspective.

From exhibitions to performances to educational programs, I am gratified – and moved – to see our offerings reach and inspire such diverse audiences. YUM is a place where people of all backgrounds can encounter Judaism and the Jewish experience through a lens that respects tradition; and Jews may find their experience reflected back at them with new dimension and depth.

The positive coverage we have been receiving in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Tablet, and Huffington Post, among other local and national papers and sites, mirrors the excitement I see generated among our visitors in our galleries, young and old.

I hope you’ll soon have the opportunity to come in person to the Museum and experience that excitement for yourself.

I look forward to seeing you soon at YUM.