Jonathan Greenstein

Jonathan Greenstein (born November 1, 1967) is an antique Judaica authentication expert.[1][2] As the owner, chief expert and president of J. Greenstein & Company, the only auction house in the United States solely dedicated to appraising and selling antique Judaica,[3][4][5] he represents rare pieces of antique Judaica and Jewish art.[6]

Jonathan Greenstein
Born (1967-11-01) November 1, 1967
Brooklyn, New York
NationalityAmerican
Alma materBrooklyn College
OccupationPresident, J. Greenstein & Co. (2003-present)
CEO, Mercy Home Care & Medical Supplies (1993-present)
Spouse(s)Sima Greenstein
Children5
Websitewww.jgreenstein.com

Early life and education

Greenstein was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, to Donald and Janice Greenstein.[7] At age 14, after he left yeshiva in Flatbush, Brooklyn, he transferred to James Madison High School, started working at The Gold Bug, and began collecting Judaica.[4][8][9] He visited flea markets and garage sales to add to his Judaica collection,[10] and eventually began dealing in antique Jewish ritual objects.[11] He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in health administration from Brooklyn College.[7]

Career

J. Greenstein & Company

Greenstein auctioneered a charity auction in 2002 at the Park East Synagogue in New York City.[8] He organized the pieces and made the catalogue for the auction. Shortly after, he received an auctioneer's license and hosted his own auction.[8] In 2003, he founded J. Greenstein & Company in Brooklyn, New York.[12] The Judaica retail gallery and auction house focuses on religious art from the 1600s to 1938.[13][14] J. Greenstein & Company auctions include people on the auction floor, the phone, and are available via the Web.[15] In 2010, Greenstein moved the company's headquarters to Cedarhurst, New York.[12] By December 2012, 600 people, including billionaire hedge-fund manager and antiquities collector Michael Steinhardt, received Greenstein's auction catalogs.[4] That year, he hosted Jewish Gilt, a Jewish antiques television show featured on The Jewish Channel.[16]

In December 2014, Greenstein sold a Hanukkah menorah for $100,000.[8] The menorah was made in Ukraine during the 18th century.[6] In 2016, J. Greenstein & Company hosted an auction featuring 232 rare objects including rare Judaica items belonging to Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz.[15][17][18] Greenstein acquired Zionist leader Ze'ev Jabotinsky's French refugee ID card, and his company auctioned it off in June 2017.[19][20] J. Greenstein & Company has also hosted and sold celebrity Judaica including Sammy Davis Jr.'s personal menorah, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach's piano, a seder plate that belonged to Joan Rivers, and items from victims of the Bernard Madoff scandal.[5][21][22]

In November 2018, J. Greenstein & Co. held an auction at the Antique Judaica & Jewish Art Gallery in Cedarhurst that included Marilyn Monroe's personal Jewish prayer book from 1956 (the year she married Arthur Miller and converted to Judaism), with notations in the margins likely written by the actress. The prayer book was published in 1922.[23][24][25] Greenstein called the Monroe auction "the most significant celebrity Judaica we've ever had."[23] It sold at the auction for $21,000 plus fees.[26] At that auction they also sold Judaica from the collection of Jerry Lewis, with items on view at the gallery dating back as far as a Torah binder made in Italy in the 1690s.[27]

Mercy Home Care and Medical Supplies

Greenstein is also the founder and CEO of Mercy Home Care and Medical Supplies, a medical equipment and disposables company located in Brooklyn, New York.[28][29]

Personal life

Greenstein lives on Long Island, New York, with his wife and five children.[30]

References
  1. Lizzie Widdicombe (May 11, 2009). "Samela's Shammash". New Yorker. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  2. Jeff Bessen (September 16, 2015). "Sustaining the faith and religious rituals". Five Towns Herald. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  3. "At Auction, the Candy Man Can't". New York Times. June 8, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  4. "The Menorah's Secrets". The Wall Street Journal. December 10, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  5. "Here's Your Chance to Buy Joan Rivers's Seder Plate". New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  6. "Celebrate Hanukkah with a $100,000 menorah?". Market Watch. December 22, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  7. "Silver Judaica Still Shines". Jewish Journal. January 20, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  8. Rochelle Maruch Miller. "The $100,000 Menorah". Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  9. "Cedarhurst Jewish antique collector". longisland.news12.com. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  10. "One of the World's Only Judaica Auction Houses is in Cedarhurst". March 4, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  11. "The Indiana Jones of Judaica Tracks Down Treasures". Daily Finance. May 19, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  12. "Jewish 'Antiques Roadshow' comes to life in Cedarhurst store". The Jewish Star. September 12, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  13. Vanessa Parker (November 4, 2015). "Collecting and preserving Jewish history". Five Towns Herald. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  14. "Menorah collector and gallery owner puts tradition first". abc7ny.com. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  15. Claude Solnik (January 29, 2016). "The art of the auction". Long Island Business News. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  16. "Judaica Antiques Road Show comes to Beth Yeshurun". November 22, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  17. Ana Veciana Suarez (February 25, 2016). "Dershowitz's Judaica pieces up for auction". Miami Herald. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  18. "Lawyer and Avid Collector to Sell Some of His Judaica". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  19. "Jabotinsky's ID card auctioned in NY for $20,000". The Times of Israel. June 16, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  20. Amy Spiro (May 18, 2017). "A Piece of Zionist History – To The Highest Bidder". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  21. "J. Greenstein & Co to Host Special Auction Featuring Judaica Owned by Prof Alan Dershowitz". The Jewish Voice. February 17, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  22. "Madoff victims flood Judaica market with treasures". Crain's New York. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  23. "Jewish prayer book annotated by Marilyn Monroe, who converted in 1956, could fetch thousands in auction". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  24. "Auction of Marilyn Monroe's Jewish Prayer Book Puts Her Conversion Story on Display". New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  25. "Marilyn Monroe's Prayer Book Expected to Fetch $15,000 At Auction". Inside Edition. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  26. "Marilyn Monroe's Jewish Prayer Book Sells at Auction for $21,000 to 'Obsessed Fan'". Algemeiner. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  27. "J. Greenstein & Co. auction house in Cedarhurst specializes in Judaica". Newsday. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  28. "Visiting Nurse Service of NY Raises Over $1M at Gala Benefit in Pierre Hotel". thejewishvoice.com. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  29. "About Us". mercymedcare.com. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  30. "Jewish Gilt". tjctv.com. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
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