Jewish Women on the Map - Museum of Fine Arts

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In the summer of 2010, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston received an unexpected bequest to endow a Curatorship for Judaica and increase its small but significant collection of Jewish art objects.  The gift came from Jetskalina H. Phillips, a retired Kansas schoolteacher and convert to Judaism. Not much is known about Phillips. According to a brief piece in the Boston Globe, while living in Boston for a time, she studied with Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn of Temple Israel and converted to Judaism.

Marietta Cambareri (named the first Curator of the MFA’s Judaica collection) said of the Judaica objects, "They are concerned with birth, marriage, family, faith, death: things that touch everyone. The way objects help mark and express important aspects of life is fascinating for all. Beautiful, engaging objects help tell the story in concrete, tactile and visual ways. They can be informative, but also extremely moving and inspiring."