Touro Synagogue Cemetery (also known as the Jewish Cemetery at Newport), 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.
The cemetery was founded in 1677 or possibly earlier. In the Newport land records, a deed was recorded on 28 Feb 1677 for a certain parcel of land, 30 feet square, sold by Nathaniel Dickens to Mordecai Campannall and Moses Packechoe for a burial-place for the Jews of Newport, and this purchase may have been an addition to a cemetery that was already in existence as of that date.[2]
The synagogue is the oldest surviving synagogue building in the United States, and the cemetery is the second oldest Jewish cemetery in the country. The cemetery gates are decorated with torches turned to face downward, an acknowledgement of the ending of life's flame. Prior to the establishment of Temple Ohabei Shalom Cemetery in Boston in 1844, Jews from Massachusetts were sent to the Touro Synagogue Cemetery, the West Indies, or Europe for burial in sacred ground.
Judah Touro, a philanthropist who was born and reared in Newport, contributed $40,000, an immense sum at the time, to the Jewish cemetery at Newport. This funded the restoration and maintenance of the cemetery. He is buried in the Jewish cemetery of Newport. The inscription on his tombstone reads: "To the Memory of / Judah Touro / He inscribed it in the Book of / Philanthropy / To be remembered forever."[3][4]
By the mid-19th century, the maritime prosperity that built Newport's fine colonial churches, synagogue, public buildings and homes had vanished when the port of Providence superseded Newport after the British destroyed Newport's wharves during the American Revolution. The great mansions of Newport in the Gilded Age were still in the future. Newport in the 1850s was an old seaport town whose air of genteel decay and cool sea breezes had recently begun to attract members of Boston's intellectual elite as a summer retreat. There were virtually no Jews in Newport in this period; the synagogue was shuttered.
American writer Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visited the area in July 1852 and showed an interest more in the cemetery than in the synagogue, which he described as being "a shady nook, at the corner of two dusty, frequented streets".[6] Longfellow was inspired to write his poem "The Jewish Cemetery at Newport" during this visit. Longfellow, a scholar who knew Hebrew, begins his poem by expressing his surprise at coming upon a synagogue in an old New England port town, due to the dearth of Jews in New England during that time and the Colonial era.
The American Jewish poet Emma Lazarus wrote a sort of redux of Longfellow's poem in 1867[7] titled, "In the Jewish Synagogue at Newport". Some interpreters contend that Lazarus intended with her poem to let Longfellow know that the Jews might be down, but that they were not dead.[8] However, this interpretation matches neither the mournful tone nor the explicit references to the defunct nature of the Newport synagogue, such as "no signs of life", and the general reference to Hebrew as "a language dead", not to mention the concluding line referring to "the mystery of death". In this latter interpretation, Lazarus was concurring with Longfellow regarding the sanctity of Jewish memory while acknowledging the unlikelihood of a Jewish national revival, which really only blossomed in the decade following the deaths of Longfellow and Lazarus.
^James Stevens Curl, The Egyptian Revival, Routledge, 2005, p. 300
^Einboden, Jeffrey. Nineteenth-Century US Literature in Middle Eastern Languages. Edinburgh University Press, 2013: 21. ISBN978-0748645640
^JWA – Emma Lazarus – Early Jewish Themes 2008-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
^Smith, Hammett W. (1 January 1956). "A Note to Longfellow's "The Jewish Cemetery at Newport"". College English. 18 (2): 103–104. doi:10.2307/372514. JSTOR 372514.
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This article is about the Jewish Cemetery in Newport Rhode Island For the Jewish Cemetery in Newport South Wales see St Woolos Cemetery Synagogue and Jews Burial Ground Touro Synagogue Cemetery also known as the Jewish Cemetery at Newport 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 Touro CemeteryJudah Touro s Tomb in Newport Jewish CemeteryDetailsEstablished1677 1677 TypeJewish The gated Touro Cemetery is at present opened to the public only once per year 1 Contents 1 History 2 Notable burials 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 Notes 6 External linksHistory editThe cemetery was founded in 1677 or possibly earlier In the Newport land records a deed was recorded on 28 Feb 1677 for a certain parcel of land 30 feet square sold by Nathaniel Dickens to Mordecai Campannall and Moses Packechoe for a burial place for the Jews of Newport and this purchase may have been an addition to a cemetery that was already in existence as of that date 2 The synagogue is the oldest surviving synagogue building in the United States and the cemetery is the second oldest Jewish cemetery in the country The cemetery gates are decorated with torches turned to face downward an acknowledgement of the ending of life s flame Prior to the establishment of Temple Ohabei Shalom Cemetery in Boston in 1844 Jews from Massachusetts were sent to the Touro Synagogue Cemetery the West Indies or Europe for burial in sacred ground Judah Touro a philanthropist who was born and reared in Newport contributed 40 000 an immense sum at the time to the Jewish cemetery at Newport This funded the restoration and maintenance of the cemetery He is buried in the Jewish cemetery of Newport The inscription on his tombstone reads To the Memory of Judah Touro He inscribed it in the Book of Philanthropy To be remembered forever 3 4 The cemetery s Egyptian revival gate and fence were designed by Boston architect Isaiah Rogers 1810 49 who designed an identical gate for Boston s Old Granary Burying Ground 5 By the mid 19th century the maritime prosperity that built Newport s fine colonial churches synagogue public buildings and homes had vanished when the port of Providence superseded Newport after the British destroyed Newport s wharves during the American Revolution The great mansions of Newport in the Gilded Age were still in the future Newport in the 1850s was an old seaport town whose air of genteel decay and cool sea breezes had recently begun to attract members of Boston s intellectual elite as a summer retreat There were virtually no Jews in Newport in this period the synagogue was shuttered American writer Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visited the area in July 1852 and showed an interest more in the cemetery than in the synagogue which he described as being a shady nook at the corner of two dusty frequented streets 6 Longfellow was inspired to write his poem The Jewish Cemetery at Newport during this visit Longfellow a scholar who knew Hebrew begins his poem by expressing his surprise at coming upon a synagogue in an old New England port town due to the dearth of Jews in New England during that time and the Colonial era The American Jewish poet Emma Lazarus wrote a sort of redux of Longfellow s poem in 1867 7 titled In the Jewish Synagogue at Newport Some interpreters contend that Lazarus intended with her poem to let Longfellow know that the Jews might be down but that they were not dead 8 However this interpretation matches neither the mournful tone nor the explicit references to the defunct nature of the Newport synagogue such as no signs of life and the general reference to Hebrew as a language dead not to mention the concluding line referring to the mystery of death In this latter interpretation Lazarus was concurring with Longfellow regarding the sanctity of Jewish memory while acknowledging the unlikelihood of a Jewish national revival which really only blossomed in the decade following the deaths of Longfellow and Lazarus Notable burials editJudah Touro philanthropist Aaron Lopez Portuguese Jewish merchant and philanthropistGallery edit nbsp Touro Cemetery pictured in ca 1850 nbsp Newport Jewish Cemetery entrance plate nbsp Touro Cemetery showing Isaiah Rogers Egyptian Revival gate similar to the gate at Boston s Old Granary Burying Ground nbsp Ginkgo tree in Touro Cemetery August 2015See also edit nbsp Rhode Island portal Touro Synagogue Judah Touro List of cemeteries in Rhode IslandNotes edit Public invited to visit Colonial Jewish Cemetery on August 16 What s Up Newp Retrieved 23 July 2022 Kohler Max J The Jews of Newport Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society Issue No 6 1897 p 68 Fleming p 31 Judah Touro American Jewish Philanthropist James Stevens Curl The Egyptian Revival Routledge 2005 p 300 Einboden Jeffrey Nineteenth Century US Literature in Middle Eastern Languages Edinburgh University Press 2013 21 ISBN 978 0748645640 JWA Emma Lazarus Early Jewish Themes Archived 2008 03 17 at the Wayback Machine Smith Hammett W 1 January 1956 A Note to Longfellow s The Jewish Cemetery at Newport College English 18 2 103 104 doi 10 2307 372514 JSTOR 372514 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Touro Cemetery Newport Touro Cemetery Touro Cemetery at Find a Grave nbsp 41 29 16 N 71 18 33 W 41 4879 N 71 3093 W 41 4879 71 3093 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Touro Cemetery amp oldid 1213089256, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
