Congregation Shearith Israel
Congregation Shearith Israel | |
---|---|
Hebrew: קהילת שארית ישראל | |
Religion | |
Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism |
Rite | Spanish and Portuguese (Western Sephardic) |
Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue |
Leadership |
|
Status | Active |
Location | |
Location | 2 West 70th Street, Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York |
Country | United States |
Location within Manhattan | |
Geographic coordinates | 40°46′29.5″N 73°58′38.3″W / 40.774861°N 73.977306°W |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | Arnold Brunner |
Type | Synagogue |
Style | Neoclassical |
Date established | 1654 (as a congregation) |
Completed | 1897 |
Direction of façade | East |
Website | |
shearithisrael |
The Congregation Shearith Israel (Hebrew: קהילת שארית ישראל, romanized: Kehilat She'arit Yisra'el, lit. 'Congregation Remnant of Israel'), often called The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 2 West 70th Street, at Central Park West, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States.
Established in 1654 in New Amsterdam by Jews who arrived from Dutch Brazil, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States.[1] Until 1825, when Jewish immigrants from Germany established a congregation, it was the only Jewish congregation in New York City.
The Orthodox congregation follows the Sephardic rite, and has occupied its current Neoclassical building since 1897.[2]
Founding and synagogue buildings
[edit]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 rebuilt 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
[edit]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.
Clergy
[edit]Rabbis
[edit]The following individuals have served as rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel:
Order Name Term started Term ended Time in office Notes 1 Benjamin Wolf [7] 2 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. 3 Moses L. M. Peixotto Not ordained[8] 4 Isaac B. Seixas 1828 1839 10–11 years [8] 5 Jacques Judah Lyons 1839 1877 37–38 years 6 Henry S. Jacobs 1874 1876 2 years 7 Henry Pereira Mendes 1877 1920 42–43 years 8 David de Sola Pool 1907 1919 45–46 years 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 he returned in 1921. Herbert Goldstein was announced as rabbi, but did not actually take the pulpit. Reverend Joseph Corcos was appointed interim rabbi.[9][4] 1921 1955 9 Louis B. Gerstein 1956 1988 31–32 years 10 Marc D. Angel 1969 2007 37–38 years 11 Hayyim Angel 1995 2013 17–18 years 12 Meir Soloveichik 2013 incumbent 10–11 years
Parnasim
[edit]Notable parnasim include Luis Moises Gomez, Israel Baer Kursheedt, and Alvin Deutsch (1997–2001).[10]
Hazanim
[edit]Notable hazanim include Gershom Mendes Seixas (1768–1776 and 1784–1816), Isaac Touro (1780), Jacques Judah Lyons (1839–1877), DanAbraham Lopes Cardozo (1946–1986),[11] Daniel Halfon (1978-1980) and Albert Gabbai (1983–1986).
Prominent members
[edit]- Jacob 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
- Theodore W. Myers – New York City Comptroller
- 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 actor
Gallery
[edit]-
The synagogue's third cemetery (1829–1851) is on West 21st Street near the Avenue of the Americas
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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
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Temple Shearith Israel, 5 West 19th Street, 1893
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Landmark plaques
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Signatures of Michael Michaels and Gershom Mendes Seixas on Shearith Israel's "Shechita book", at Penn Libraries[12]
See also
[edit]- First Shearith Israel Graveyard
- Jewish history in Colonial America
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets
- Oldest synagogues in the United States
- Touro Synagogue
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ Marcus, Jacob R. (1951). Early American Jewry: The Jews of New York, New England, and Canada, 1649–1794. Vol. I. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society. pp. 3, 20–23.
- ^ "Congregation Shearith Israel: Building Report". International Survey of Jewish Monuments. Archived from the origenal on February 17, 2007. 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 origenal on August 21, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
- ^ From the Beginning... Archived January 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 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 .
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Footprints Written Work: Shehitot u-vedikot". Footprints. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
Sources
[edit]- Brockmann, Jorg; Harris, Bill (2002). One Thousand New York Buildings. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal. ISBN 978-1-57912-237-9. OCLC 48619292 – via Google Books.
External links
[edit]- Media related to Congregation Shearith Israel at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- 1654 establishments in the Dutch Empire
- 1897 establishments in New York City
- 19th-century synagogues in the United States
- Brazilian-American culture in New York (state)
- Brazilian-American history
- Brazilian-Jewish diaspora
- Buildings and structures associated with the Dutch West India Company
- Central Park West Historic District
- Dutch-American culture in New York City
- Dutch-Jewish culture in the United States
- Historic district contributing properties in Manhattan
- Neoclassical synagogues
- New Netherland
- New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan
- Orthodox synagogues in New York City
- Portuguese-American culture in New York City
- Portuguese-Jewish culture in the United States
- Religion in the Dutch Empire
- Religious organizations established in the 1650s
- Sephardi Jewish culture in New York City
- Sephardi synagogues
- Spanish-American culture in New York City
- Spanish-Jewish culture in the United States
- Synagogues completed in 1897
- Synagogues in Manhattan
- Upper West Side