Touro
Synagogue is the oldest Jewish
temple in the United States. The
Rabbi Isaac Touro, a renowned
scholar and theologian organized a congregation of
Sephardic Jews in Newport,
Rhode Island in 1758. Construction of the temple began in 1759
and was completed in 1763.
Newport, RI had the second
largest Jewish community in the colonies next to New York City.
Most of them were Sephardic Jews of Portuguese and Spanish
origin. They had begun emigrating to the American colonies
during the early 1650s.
The noted Newport
architect,
Peter Harrison was awarded the
contract to build Touro Synagogue. Harrison
decided to construct the structure using a
style more reminiscent of Southern Plantations than the standard
northern architecture of the period. The original temple was a
two story brick building with rounded windows and columns at the
entrance porch.
The architect took special
pains to insure that the rites and traditions of the Jewish
religion and culture were incorporated in his plans for the
building. The synagogue was situated so that the
Ark of
the Covenant, which houses the
sacred
Torah,
would be facing east toward the holy city of Jerusalem. The main
gallery was supported by twelve columns, symbolizing the
Twelve Tribes of Israel, and
there was a separate gallery for the women, in accordance with
Orthodox Judaism.
The synagogue survived the
American Revolution undamaged. Worshippers still attend services
in the temple today, using many of the original 17th century
furnishings.
George Washington visited
Touro Synagogue in August of 1790 and in a letter to the
congregation he stated these now famous words,
"It is now no more
that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of
one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their
inherent national gifts. For happily the Government of the
United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to
persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under
its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in
giving it on all occasions their effectual support."
Touro Synagogue became a
National Historical Site in
1946. |