Touro Synagogue
Encyclopedia
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, that is the oldest synagogue building
Oldest synagogues in the United States
The designation of the oldest synagogue in the United States requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest congregation...
still standing in the United States,
the oldest surviving Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
synagogue building in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and the only surviving synagogue building in the U.S. dating to the colonial era
Colonial America
The colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...
.
History
It was designed by noted British-Colonial era architect and Rhode Island resident Peter HarrisonPeter Harrison
Peter Harrison was a colonial American architect who was born in York, England and emigrated to Rhode Island in 1740. Peter Harrison and his brother, Joseph Harrison, came to the American colonies and established themselves as merchants and captains of their own "vessels." Peter Harrison returned...
and is considered his most notable work. The interior is flanked by a series of twelve Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
columns supporting balconies. The columns signify the twelve tribes of ancient Israel. Each column is carved from a single tree. Located at 85 Touro Street, the Touro Synagogue remains an active Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
synagogue. The building is oriented to face east toward Jerusalem. The ark containing the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
is on the east wall; above it is a mural representing the Ten Commandments in Hebrew. It was painted by the Newport artist Benjamin Howland
Benjamin Howland
Benjamin Howland was a United States Senator from Rhode Island. Born in Tiverton, he attended the common schools, engaged in agricultural pursuits, was collector of taxes in 1801, town auditor in 1802, and town moderator in 1805...
. (It is interesting to note a slight typo in the mural. The top of the three crowns in the mural is initialed to depict the "Crown of Monarchy" (Keter Malchut). The bottom right crown is initialed to depict the "Crown of Torah" (Keter Torah). The bottom left crown is meant to be initialed to depict the "Crown of Priesthood" (Keter Kehuna), but incorrectly has the Hebrew letter Lamed instead of Kaf)
The Touro Synagogue was built from 1759 to 1763 for the Jeshuat Israel congregation in Newport under the leadership of Cantor (Chazzan) Isaac Touro
Isaac Touro
The Reverend Isaac Touro was a Jewish leader in colonial America. Born in Amsterdam, in 1758 he left for Jamaica. In 1760, he arrived to serve as hazzan and spiritual leader of Congregation Jeshuath Israel in Newport, Rhode Island...
. The cornerstone was laid by Aaron Lopez
Aaron Lopez
Aaron Lopez , born Duarte Lopez, was a Jewish merchant and philanthropist. He became the wealthiest person in Newport, Rhode Island, in British America. In 1761 and 1762, Lopez unsuccessfully sued the Colony of Rhode Island for citizenship....
, a prominent merchant in Newport involved in the spermaceti candlemaking business and other commercial ventures. The Jeshuat Israel congregation itself dates back to 1658 when 15 Spanish and Portuguese Jewish
Spanish and Portuguese Jews
Spanish and Portuguese Jews are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardim who have their main ethnic origins within the Jewish communities of the Iberian peninsula and who shaped communities mainly in Western Europe and the Americas from the late 16th century on...
families arrived, probably from the West Indies, and many settled near Easton's Point
Easton's Point
The Point is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Newport, Rhode Island and has one of the highest concentrations of colonial houses in the United States. The neighborhood sits between Washington Street and Farewell Street/America's Cup in Newport looking out on Goat Island, former home to the U.S...
.http://www.tourosynagogue.org/AbtHistory2.php The synagogue was formally dedicated 2 December 1763. Other notable leaders include Abraham Pereira Mendes
Abraham Pereira Mendes
Abraham Pereira Mendes was an English rabbi and educator.He was the first master of the Beth Limud School of Kingston, but resigned in order to prepare in London, England for the vocation of preacher and rabbi. He studied under Dr. Meldola, the dayyan, and the Rev. D. A...
and Henry Samuel Morais
Henry Samuel Morais
Henry Samuel Morais was a Jewish-American writer and rabbi born in Philadelphia, Pa and educated at private and public schools of that city. He received his religious instruction from his father, Sabato Morais. For about twelve years he was a teacher in the schools of the Hebrew Education Society...
(1900–01).
Judah Touro
Judah Touro
Judah Touro was an American businessman and philanthropist.-Early life and career:...
, the son of Isaac Touro and his wife Reyna, made a fortune as a merchant in New Orleans. He left $10,000 ($ in current dollar terms) in his will for the upkeep of the Jewish cemetery and synagogue in Newport.
A legend exists that the trap door under the tebáh
Bimah
A bimah A bimah A bimah (among Ashkenazim, derived from Hebrew בּמה , almemar (from Arabic al-minbar) or tebah (among Sephardim) is the elevated area or platform in a Jewish synagogue which is intended to serve the place where the person reading aloud from the Torah stands during the Torah reading...
(bimah) was used while the synagogue was a stop on the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
.
In 1946, Touro Synagogue was designated a National Historic Site
National Historic Sites (United States)
National Historic Sites are protected areas of national historic significance in the United States. A National Historic Site usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject...
and is an affiliated area of the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
. The synagogue was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on October 15, 1966. In 2001, the congregation joined into a partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation
National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is an American member-supported organization that was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods through a range of programs and activities, including the publication of Preservation...
.
Annual recitation of the Washington–Seixas letter on religious pluralism
In 1790, the synagogue's warden, Moses Seixas, wrote to George WashingtonGeorge Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, expressing his support for Washington's administration and good wishes for him. Washington sent a letter in response, which read in part:
- ...the Government of the United StatesFederal government of the United StatesThe federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
...gives to bigotryBigotryA bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs...
no sanction, to persecutionPersecutionPersecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, isolation,...
no assistance...May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy."
The annual event has a long tradition of attracting distinguished keynote speakers, including Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
and Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
President Ruth Simmons.
Congregation
The congregation at Newport, never large, was composed of Jews with roots in the Sephardic Spanish and Portuguese diaspora, with some AshkenazimAshkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
by the eighteenth century.
The first Jewish residents of Newport, fifteen Spanish Jewish families, arrived in 1658. It is presumed that they arrived via the communities in Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
and Suriname. The small community worshipped in rooms in private homes for more than a century before they could afford to build a synagogue.
The community purchased and dedicated the Jewish Cemetery at Newport in 1677.
The city of Newport faded in importance shortly after American independence, after the capital of Rhode Island moved to Providence, which rapidly also surpassed Newport as a seaport. The Jewish community, too small to maintain a synagogue, removed the Torah scrolls and sent them for safekeeping along with the deed to the building to Congregation Shearith Israel
Congregation Shearith Israel
Congregation Shearith Israel, often called The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, is the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. It was established in 1654....
in New York. It still formally owns the Touro synagogue. The keys left the Jewish community and were passed to the Goulds, a Quaker family in Newport.
From the 1850s on, the building was occasionally opened for worship for the convenience of summer visitors. It was reopened on a regular basis in 1883 as Jewish life in Newport revived with the late nineteenth century immigration of eastern European Jews. The synagogue acquired a nearby building and ran a Hebrew School and other activities. In the late twentieth century, the number of Jews in Newport dwindled again. The synagogue has had a special relationship with Jewish naval families stationed in Newport. It continues to serve a small congregation, supplemented by travelers who spend the Sabbath in Newport.
See also
- Touro CemeteryTouro CemeteryTouro Synagogue Cemetery , dedicated in 1677, is located in the colonial historic district of Newport, Rhode Island, not far from the Touro Synagogue. Other Jewish graves are found nearby as part of the Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery on Farewell Street.-History:The cemetery was founded...
- Touro Synagogue (New Orleans)Touro Synagogue (New Orleans)Touro Synagogue is the name of a Reform synagogue in New Orleans, Louisiana, named after Judah Touro, Isaac Touro's son.The New Orleans Touro Synagogue is one of the oldest in the United States...
- Partners for Sacred PlacesPartners for Sacred PlacesPartners for Sacred Places is a United States national, non-sectarian, non-profit organization whose mission is the support of older and historic sacred places by helping congregations and local communities sustain and actively use the structures.Founded in 1989, Partners has helped several...
- Oldest synagogues in the United States
External links
- Touro Synagogue (Official website)
- Loeb Visitors Center at Touro Synagogue (Official website)
- Touro Synagogue National Historic Site (National Park Service profile)
- News on Touro Synagogue
- Washington's and Seixas' letters
- 2005-2006 Restoration