Paterson silk workers, farmers in Vineland, utopian settlers in Roosevelt, avant-garde artists at Rutgers, immigrants and entrepreneurs in the vibrant metropolis of Newark will be featured along with more than two dozen fascinating and delightful stories and vintage photos of Jewish people and institutions in a groundbreaking exhibit that reflects the diversity of Jewish life in New Jersey over the course of the 20th Century.

"L’chaim: Celebrating the Highlights of 20th Century Jewish Life in New Jersey" takes a closer look at the not so distant history of New Jersey’s Jewish community - the fourth largest Jewish community in the U.S. Presenting an historical overview of the variety of Jewish experience through the state of New Jersey, this exhibit is the first of its kind to be displayed anywhere in the state.

This inaugural exhibit of the Jewish Museum of New Jersey, housed at historic Congregation Ahavas Sholom in Newark, opens Dec. 9 and runs through Sept. 8, 2008. It is supported by partnerships with the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture and the Modern Experience at Rutgers University, the New Jersey Historical Society and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

This exhibit was curated by museum consultant Amy Stempler, who previously managed the I. Edward Kiev Judaica Collection at the Gellman Library of The George Washington University, Washington, DC. Stempler, a native daughter of New Jersey who grew up in Livingston, holds a Master’s degree in History from the George Washington University and a second Master’s degree from the Pratt Institute School of Library and Information Science.