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Congregation Shearith Israel

March 04, 2023

For other uses, see Shearith Israel.

The Congregation Shearith Israel (Hebrew: קהילת שארית ישראל Kehilat She'arit Yisra'el "Congregation Remnant of Israel") – often called The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue – is the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. It was established in 1654 in New Amsterdam by Jews who arrived from Dutch Brazil.[1] Until 1825, when Jewish immigrants from Germany established a congregation, it was the only Jewish congregation in New York City.

Congregation Shearith Israel
Congregation Shearith Israel at Central Park West
Religion
AffiliationOrthodox Judaism
RiteSephardi
StatusActive
Location
Location2 West 70th Street
MunicipalityNew York City
StateNew York
CountryUnited States
Location within Manhattan
Geographic coordinates40°46′29.5″N 73°58′38.3″W / 40.774861°N 73.977306°W / 40.774861; -73.977306Coordinates: 40°46′29.5″N 73°58′38.3″W / 40.774861°N 73.977306°W / 40.774861; -73.977306
Architecture
Architect(s)Arnold Brunner
StyleNeoclassical
Date established1654
Completed1897
Direction of façadeEast
Website
www.shearithisrael.org
The synagogue's third cemetery (1829–1851) is on West 21st Street near the Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue)

The Orthodox synagogue, which follows the Sephardic liturgy, is located on Central Park West at 70th Street, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The congregation has occupied its current Neoclassical building since 1897.[2]

Founding and synagogue buildings

 
The Mill Street synagogue, detail from the section "Religious Buildings of New York" in A Plan of the City and Environs of New York by David Grim
 
Temple Shearith Israel, 5 West 19th Street, 1893

The first group of Spanish and Portuguese Jews were twenty-three refugees from Dutch Brazil, who arrived in New Amsterdam in September 1654. After being initially rebuffed by anti-Semitic Director of New Netherland Peter Stuyvesant, Jews were given official permission to settle in the colony in 1655. This year marks the founding of the Congregation Shearith Israel. Although they were allowed to stay in New Amsterdam, they faced discrimination and were not given permission to worship in a public synagogue for some time (throughout the Dutch period and into the British). The Congregation did, however, make arrangements for a cemetery beginning in 1656.

It was not until 1730 that the Congregation was able to build a synagogue of its own; it was built on Mill Street (now William Street) in lower Manhattan. The Mill Street synagogue was said to have had access to a nearby spring which it used as a mikveh for ritual baths.[3] Before 1730, as noted on a 1695 map of New York, the congregation worshipped in rented quarters on Beaver Street and subsequently on Mill Street. Since 1730 the Congregation has worshipped in five synagogue buildings:

  1. Mill Street, 1730
  2. Mill Street re-built and expanded, 1818
  3. 60 Crosby Street, 1834
  4. 19th Street, 1860
  5. West 70th Street, 1897 (present building)

The current building was extensively refurbished in 1921.[4]

Founding major Jewish institutions

As the American Reform Judaism made headway in the late 19th century, many rabbis critical of the Reform movement looked for ways to strengthen traditional synagogues. Shearith Israel, and its rabbi, Henry Pereira Mendes, were at the fore of these efforts. Rabbi Mendes cofounded the American Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in 1886, in order to train traditional rabbis. The school held its first classes at Shearith Israel. In JTS' earliest days, it taught and researched rabbinics similarly as was done in traditional yeshivas, in contrast to the Reform Hebrew Union College.

Twelve years later, in 1896, Mendes was acting president of JTS. He promoted the formation[5] of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (commonly known as the OU, the Orthodox Union). This synagogue umbrella group provided an alternative to the Reform movement's Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

As JTS grew, it needed better financing and a full-time head. The seminary moved to its own building, and Mendes was replaced by Solomon Schechter. However, Schechter developed a less traditional approach, which became the basis for Conservative Judaism (called Masorti outside North America). Initially there was considerable cooperation between the Orthodox and Conservative groups but, over time, the divide became clearer.

Schechter formed the United Synagogue of America (now the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, or USCJ) to promote synagogue affiliation with his conservative ideology.[6]

Shearith Israel remained aligned with the Orthodox tradition. It eventually repudiated its association with JTS. In a sense, Shearith Israel helped create three of the largest and most significant Jewish religious organizations in the United States: JTS, the OU, and USCJ. Shearith Israel remains a member only of the Orthodox Union.


 
Landmark plaques

Clergy

Rabbis

Parnasim (Presidents)

  • Luis Moises Gomez
  • Moses Raphael Levi (1665–1728)
  • Lyon (Leon) Nathan
  • Dennis Freilich
 
Signatures of Michael Michaels and Gershom Mendes Seixas on Shearith Israel's "Shechita book", today Penn Libraries BM522 .W45 1702[10].

Hazanim

  • Saul Moreno d. 1682[7]
  • Saul Pardo (1657–1702)
  • Abraham Haim de Lucena (1703?–1725)
  • Moses Lopez de Fonseca (??–1736)
  • David Mendes Machado (1736–1746)
  • Benjamin Pereira (1748–1757)
  • Isaac Cohen da Silva (1757–1758 and 1766–1768)
  • Joseph Jessurun Pinto (1758–1766)
  • Gershom Mendes Seixas (1768–1776 and 1784–1816)
  • Isaac Touro (1780)
  • Jacob Raphael Cohen (1782–1784)
  • Eleazar S. Lazarus (1816-1820)
  • Moses Levy Maduro Peixotto(1816–1828)
  • Isaac Benjamin Seixas (1828–1839)
  • Jacques Judah Lyons (1839–1877)
  • David Haim Nieto (1878–1886)
  • Abraham Haim Nieto (1886–1901)
  • Isaac A. H. de la Penha (1902–1907)
  • Isaac A. Hadad (1911–1913)
  • Joseph M. Corcos (1919–1922)
  • James Mesod Wahnon (1921–1941)
  • Abraham Lopes Cardozo (1946–1986)[12]
  • Albert Gabbai (1983-1986) [13]
  • Phil Sherman
  • Ira Rohde

[14]

Prominent members

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ Marcus, Jacob R. "Early American Jewry: The Jews of New York, New England, and Canada, 1649–1794." Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1951. Vol. I, pp. 3, 20–23
  2. ^ Congregation Shearith Israel February 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Building Report, International Survey of Jewish Monuments. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  3. ^ Dyer, Albion Morris (1895). "Points in the First Chapter of New York Jewish History". Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society. American Jewish Historical Society. pp. 54–55.
  4. ^ a b "New York Happenings". The American Israelite. October 6, 1921. pp. P2. Retrieved August 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com  .
  5. ^ . Ou.org. Archived from the original on August 21, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  6. ^ From the Beginning... January 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ a b Phillips, N. Taylor (1897). "The Congregation Shearith Israel An Historical Review". American Jewish Historical Quarterly. American Jewish Historical Society. pp. 126–129.
  8. ^ a b "SEIXAS - JewishEncyclopedia.com". www.jewishencyclopedia.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  9. ^ "The Rev. Dr. Herbert S. Goldstein has been called the to Spanish and Portuguese Synagog..." The American Israelite. November 24, 1921. pp. P2. Retrieved August 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com  .
  10. ^ "Footprints Written Work: Shehitot u-vedikot". Footprints. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  11. ^ "ALVIN DEUTSCH Obituary (1932 - 2021) New York Times". Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  12. ^ De Sola Pool, David and Tamar (1955). An Old Faith in the New World: Portrait of Shearith Israel, 1654–1954. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. pp. 158–186.
  13. ^ https://shearithisrael.org/sites/default/files/2019/07/media/Out%20of%20Egypt%20Booklet%20-%20final.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  14. ^ "Items Relating to Congregation Shearith Israel, New York". Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society (27): 262–278. 1920. ISSN 0146-5511. JSTOR 43058012.
  15. ^ Malone, Scott (May 16, 2016) "Rhode Island Congregation Wins $7M Shul vs. Shul Legal Battle Over Shearith Israel", The Forward
  16. ^ "Nation's oldest synagogue wins property battle". The Washington Post. Chattanooga Times Free Press. Associated Press. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  17. ^ Congregation Jeshuat Israel v. Congregation Shearith Israel, No. 18-530 (S.Ct. March 2, 2019).Text

Bibliography

  • Brockmann, Jorg and Bill Harris. (2002). One Thousand New York Buildings. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal. ISBN 9781579122379; OCLC 48619292

External links

  •   Media related to Congregation Shearith Israel at Wikimedia Commons
  • Official Site

March 04, 2023
congregation, shearith, israel, other, uses, shearith, israel, hebrew, קהילת, שארית, ישראל, kehilat, arit, yisra, congregation, remnant, israel, often, called, spanish, portuguese, synagogue, oldest, jewish, congregation, united, states, established, 1654, ams. For other uses see Shearith Israel The Congregation Shearith Israel Hebrew קהילת שארית ישראל Kehilat She arit Yisra el Congregation Remnant of Israel often called The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue is the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States It was established in 1654 in New Amsterdam by Jews who arrived from Dutch Brazil 1 Until 1825 when Jewish immigrants from Germany established a congregation it was the only Jewish congregation in New York City Congregation Shearith IsraelCongregation Shearith Israel at Central Park WestReligionAffiliationOrthodox JudaismRiteSephardiStatusActiveLocationLocation2 West 70th StreetMunicipalityNew York CityStateNew YorkCountryUnited StatesLocation within ManhattanGeographic coordinates40 46 29 5 N 73 58 38 3 W 40 774861 N 73 977306 W 40 774861 73 977306 Coordinates 40 46 29 5 N 73 58 38 3 W 40 774861 N 73 977306 W 40 774861 73 977306ArchitectureArchitect s Arnold BrunnerStyleNeoclassicalDate established1654Completed1897Direction of facadeEastWebsitewww wbr shearithisrael wbr orgThe synagogue s third cemetery 1829 1851 is on West 21st Street near the Avenue of the Americas Sixth Avenue The Orthodox synagogue which follows the Sephardic liturgy is located on Central Park West at 70th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan The congregation has occupied its current Neoclassical building since 1897 2 Contents 1 Founding and synagogue buildings 2 Founding major Jewish institutions 3 Clergy 3 1 Rabbis 3 2 Parnasim Presidents 3 3 Hazanim 4 Prominent members 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksFounding and synagogue buildings Edit The Mill Street synagogue detail from the section Religious Buildings of New York in A Plan of the City and Environs of New York by David Grim Temple Shearith Israel 5 West 19th Street 1893 The first group of Spanish and Portuguese Jews were twenty three refugees from Dutch Brazil who arrived in New Amsterdam in September 1654 After being initially rebuffed by anti Semitic Director of New Netherland Peter Stuyvesant Jews were given official permission to settle in the colony in 1655 This year marks the founding of the Congregation Shearith Israel Although they were allowed to stay in New Amsterdam they faced discrimination and were not given permission to worship in a public synagogue for some time throughout the Dutch period and into the British The Congregation did however make arrangements for a cemetery beginning in 1656 It was not until 1730 that the Congregation was able to build a synagogue of its own it was built on Mill Street now William Street in lower Manhattan The Mill Street synagogue was said to have had access to a nearby spring which it used as a mikveh for ritual baths 3 Before 1730 as noted on a 1695 map of New York the congregation worshipped in rented quarters on Beaver Street and subsequently on Mill Street Since 1730 the Congregation has worshipped in five synagogue buildings Mill Street 1730 Mill Street re built and expanded 1818 60 Crosby Street 1834 19th Street 1860 West 70th Street 1897 present building The current building was extensively refurbished in 1921 4 Founding major Jewish institutions EditAs the American Reform Judaism made headway in the late 19th century many rabbis critical of the Reform movement looked for ways to strengthen traditional synagogues Shearith Israel and its rabbi Henry Pereira Mendes were at the fore of these efforts Rabbi Mendes cofounded the American Jewish Theological Seminary JTS in 1886 in order to train traditional rabbis The school held its first classes at Shearith Israel In JTS earliest days it taught and researched rabbinics similarly as was done in traditional yeshivas in contrast to the Reform Hebrew Union College Twelve years later in 1896 Mendes was acting president of JTS He promoted the formation 5 of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America commonly known as the OU the Orthodox Union This synagogue umbrella group provided an alternative to the Reform movement s Union of American Hebrew Congregations As JTS grew it needed better financing and a full time head The seminary moved to its own building and Mendes was replaced by Solomon Schechter However Schechter developed a less traditional approach which became the basis for Conservative Judaism called Masorti outside North America Initially there was considerable cooperation between the Orthodox and Conservative groups but over time the divide became clearer Schechter formed the United Synagogue of America now the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism or USCJ to promote synagogue affiliation with his conservative ideology 6 Shearith Israel remained aligned with the Orthodox tradition It eventually repudiated its association with JTS In a sense Shearith Israel helped create three of the largest and most significant Jewish religious organizations in the United States JTS the OU and USCJ Shearith Israel remains a member only of the Orthodox Union Landmark plaquesClergy EditRabbis Edit Benjamin Wolf 7 Gershom Mendes Seixas not ordained Hazzan of the Congregation and an ardent American patriot he moved the Congregation to Philadelphia after the British occupied the city during the American Revolutionary War Moses L M Peixotto 8 not ordained Isaac B Seixas 1828 1839 8 Jacques Judah Lyons 1839 1877 Henry Pereira Mendes 1877 1920 David de Sola Pool two stints 1907 1919 and 1921 1955 He was hired as assistant rabbi in 1907 and left in 1919 A year later Mendes retired and the synagogue went through a succession of candidates until de Sola Pool agreed to return in 1921 Herbert Goldstein was announced as rabbi but did not actually take the pulpit Reverend Joseph Corcos was appointed interim rabbi 9 4 Louis B Gerstein 1956 1988 Marc D Angel 1969 2007 Hayyim Angel 1995 2013 Meir Y Soloveichik 2013 Parnasim Presidents Edit Luis Moises Gomez Moses Raphael Levi 1665 1728 Lyon Leon Nathan Dennis Freilich Signatures of Michael Michaels and Gershom Mendes Seixas on Shearith Israel s Shechita book today Penn Libraries BM522 W45 1702 10 Alvin Deutsch 1997 2001 11 Hazanim Edit Saul Moreno d 1682 7 Saul Pardo 1657 1702 Abraham Haim de Lucena 1703 1725 Moses Lopez de Fonseca 1736 David Mendes Machado 1736 1746 Benjamin Pereira 1748 1757 Isaac Cohen da Silva 1757 1758 and 1766 1768 Joseph Jessurun Pinto 1758 1766 Gershom Mendes Seixas 1768 1776 and 1784 1816 Isaac Touro 1780 Jacob Raphael Cohen 1782 1784 Eleazar S Lazarus 1816 1820 Moses Levy Maduro Peixotto 1816 1828 Isaac Benjamin Seixas 1828 1839 Jacques Judah Lyons 1839 1877 David Haim Nieto 1878 1886 Abraham Haim Nieto 1886 1901 Isaac A H de la Penha 1902 1907 Isaac A Hadad 1911 1913 Joseph M Corcos 1919 1922 James Mesod Wahnon 1921 1941 Abraham Lopes Cardozo 1946 1986 12 Albert Gabbai 1983 1986 13 Phil Sherman Ira Rohde 14 Prominent members EditJacob Baiz merchant and Central American diplomat Mark Blumenthal physician served as trustee of Shearith Israel Albert Cardozo Justice of the New York Supreme Court Benjamin N Cardozo Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States 1932 1937 Philip J Joachimsen lawyer and Judge of the New York Marine Court Judith Kaye Chief Judge of New York 1993 2008 Emma Lazarus poet Commodore Uriah P Levy the first Jewish Commodore of the United States Navy Edgar J Nathan Manhattan Borough President and justice of the New York Supreme Court Selig Newman Polish born Hebraist and educator Mordecai Manuel Noah American playwright sheriff diplomat and journalist Isaac Pinto prepared the first Jewish prayer book published in America which was also the first English translation of the Siddur Jack Rudin real estate developer Arthur Tracy singer and actorSee also Edit United States portal New York City portal Judaism portalFirst Shearith Israel Graveyard Jewish history in Colonial America Touro Synagogue Newport Rhode Island the oldest synagogue building in the U S was long thought to be owned by Congregation Shearith Israel The claim was rejected by a federal district court in a 2016 legal suit 15 The First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston in a decision written by retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter overturned this ruling in 2017 16 Jehudat Israel petitioned for certiorari in the U S Supreme Court On March 2 2019 the Supreme court denied certiorari effectively allowing the decision in favor of Congregation Shearith Israel to stand 17 Oldest synagogues in the United StatesReferences EditNotes Marcus Jacob R Early American Jewry The Jews of New York New England and Canada 1649 1794 Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1951 Vol I pp 3 20 23 Congregation Shearith Israel Archived February 17 2007 at the Wayback Machine Building Report International Survey of Jewish Monuments Retrieved April 3 2007 Dyer Albion Morris 1895 Points in the First Chapter of New York Jewish History Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society American Jewish Historical Society pp 54 55 a b New York Happenings The American Israelite October 6 1921 pp P2 Retrieved August 13 2020 via Newspapers com The Orthodox Union Story chs 5 6 Ou org Archived from the original on August 21 2011 Retrieved October 15 2011 From the Beginning Archived January 13 2009 at the Wayback Machine a b Phillips N Taylor 1897 The Congregation Shearith Israel An Historical Review American Jewish Historical Quarterly American Jewish Historical Society pp 126 129 a b SEIXAS JewishEncyclopedia com www jewishencyclopedia com Retrieved August 14 2020 The Rev Dr Herbert S Goldstein has been called the to Spanish and Portuguese Synagog The American Israelite November 24 1921 pp P2 Retrieved August 14 2020 via Newspapers com Footprints Written Work Shehitot u vedikot Footprints Retrieved March 30 2022 ALVIN DEUTSCH Obituary 1932 2021 New York Times Retrieved April 12 2022 De Sola Pool David and Tamar 1955 An Old Faith in the New World Portrait of Shearith Israel 1654 1954 New York NY Columbia University Press pp 158 186 https shearithisrael org sites default files 2019 07 media Out 20of 20Egypt 20Booklet 20 20final pdf bare URL PDF Items Relating to Congregation Shearith Israel New York Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society 27 262 278 1920 ISSN 0146 5511 JSTOR 43058012 Malone Scott May 16 2016 Rhode Island Congregation Wins 7M Shul vs Shul Legal Battle Over Shearith Israel The Forward Nation s oldest synagogue wins property battle The Washington Post Chattanooga Times Free Press Associated Press ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved February 16 2018 Congregation Jeshuat Israel v Congregation Shearith Israel No 18 530 S Ct March 2 2019 Text Bibliography Brockmann Jorg and Bill Harris 2002 One Thousand New York Buildings New York Black Dog amp Leventhal ISBN 9781579122379 OCLC 48619292External links Edit Media related to Congregation Shearith Israel at Wikimedia Commons Official Site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Congregation Shearith Israel amp oldid 1118372608, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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