Synagogue

1950 · 83736 — Newport Rhode Island: Published by The Society of Friends of Touro Synagogue National Historic Shrine Inc 1950. Second printing stated. Wraps. Good. Format is approximately 9.25 inches by 12.25 inches. 55 1 pages. Illustrations Including a fold-out of a letter from George Washington. Decorative cover has some wear and soiling. Table of Contents: Some Notes on the Touro Synagogue by D. de Sola Pool; Peter Harrison by Fiske Kimball; The Jews of Newport R. I. in Pre-Revolutionary Days by Dr. Morris A. Gutstein; A Story of Religious Freedom by Joseph M. Proskauer; In the Early Days by Lee M. Friedman; Judah Touro By Leon Huhner; The Hebrew Cemetery by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dana; The Good Future by Carl Van Doren; Touro Synagogue as a National Historic Site by Thomas J. Allen; and Man Doth Not Live by Bread Alone by the Editors. Eleven essays by varied authors discuss every aspect of this wonderful structure and it's community during the colonial and revolutionary war era. Many Illustrations and a fold out facsimile of the Letter George Washington wrote to the Synagogue. Judah Touro June 16 1775 - January 18 1854 was a businessman and philanthropist. He enlisted in Andrew Jackson's army in the War of 1812. He carried ammunition in the Battle of New Orleans in which he was struck on the thigh by a 12-pound shot which tore off a large mass of the flesh. He was saved by Rezin Davis Shepherd a Virginia merchant who helped nurse him back to health and their close friendship continued throughout their lives. Judah Touro's lasting fame however was as a philanthropist. He contributed $40000—an immense sum at the time—to the Jewish cemetery at Newport. He is buried in the that Jewish Cemetery. Among the contributors was Carl Clinton Van Doren September 10 1885 - July 18 1950 was an American critic and biographer. He was the brother of critic and teacher Mark Van Doren and the uncle of Charles Van Doren. He won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for Benjamin Franklin. The Touro Synagogue or Congregation Jeshuat Israel is a synagogue built in 1763 in Newport Rhode Island. It is the oldest synagogue building still standing in the United States the only surviving synagogue building in the U.S. dating to the colonial era and the oldest surviving Jewish synagogue building in North America. In 1946 it was declared a National Historic Site. The first congregation was made up of Sephardic Jews who are believed to have come via the West Indies where they participated in the triangular trade along with Dutch and English settlements. They practiced a Spanish and Portuguese Jewish liturgy and ritual. The community purchased and dedicated the Jewish Cemetery at Newport in 1677. In the late eighteenth century when warfare threatened the congregation transferred the deed and Torah scrolls to Congregation Shearith Israel in New York for safekeeping. Since the late 19th century the congregants have been primarily Ashkenazi. Touro Synagogue was designed by Peter Harrison a noted British architect and Rhode Island resident. It is considered his most notable work. The interior is flanked by a series of twelve Ionic columns supporting balconies which signify the twelve tribes of ancient Israel and each column is carved from a single tree. The building is oriented to face east toward Jerusalem. The ark containing the Torah is on the east wall; above it is a mural representing the Ten Commandments in Hebrew which was painted by Newport artist Benjamin Howland. The Touro Synagogue was built from 1759 to 1763 for the Jeshuat Israel congregation in Newport under the leadership of Cantor Chazzan Isaac Touro. The cornerstone was laid by Aaron Lopez a Newport-based philanthropist for Jewish causes who primarily made his fortune through the trading in addition to being involved in the spermaceti candlemaking business and other commercial ventures. The Jeshuat Israel congregation dates to 1658 when 15 Spanish and Portuguese Jewish families arrived probably from the Dutch or British West Indies. The synagogue was formally dedicated 2 December 1763. The Touro congregation annually reads President Washington's letter on religious pluralism and celebrates the occasion with invited speakers. They have included Supreme Court justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan; and Brown University presidents Ruth Simmons and Christina Paxson. Published by The Society of Friends of Touro Synagogue National Historic Shrine, Inc paperback