This Year In. ..SOUTH AMERICA!
ly adjoins the museum lobby.
Inside, visitors admire the
marble bimah, wooden pews,
striking central chandelier
and the simple beauty of the
design, typical of Sephardic
congregations.
Opened in 1976, the
bicentennial year, this is the
newest home of the second
oldest congregation in the
United States. The origins of
Mikveh Israel date back to
1740 when Nathan Levy,
whose ship brought the Li-
berty Bell to the U.S., ob-
tained the deed to a plot of
land a short distance away on
Spruce Street.
Mr. Levy's daughter had
died, and he needed con-
secrated burial ground, so he
bought the plot for a Jewish
cemetery. At the same time,
the city's colonial Jews
started to pray together infor-
mally. By 1771, they had in-
corporated and were using
rented quarters in a property
not far from the present site.
In time they moved into
their own building — and
then into three other proper-
ties as they expanded and as
Philadelphia's neighborhoods
changed. Finally, they return-
ed in 1976 to the area where
Jewish life began and moved
into the contemporary build-
ing that adjoins the Jewish
museum.
Their former synagogues
are remembered in a tapestry
hanging in the lobby.
"Gallery to Heaven," shows
the exterior and the interior
of three of Mikveh Israel's
former synagogues.
Members of Mikveh Israel
still conduct services in the
Sephardic tradition of the
18th century. And the ritual
objects in their sanctuary are
steeped in tradition. Of the 17
Torahs in the ark, one was
donated in 1782 by Haym
Solomon, member of Mikveh
Israel and a chief financier of
the Revolution. Two sets of
Torah bells were made by col-
onial silversmith, Meyer
Myers of New York.
The Walloon chandelier, a
copy of the type found in the
Spanish Portuguese syna-
gogues in Amsterdam and
London, is another link to the
past.
Members of this second
oldest congregation had an
eventful history, particularly
because they lived in
Philadelphia, which became a
center of political activism.
Mathias Bush, president of
Mikveh Israel, was the first
merchant to sign the Non-
Importation Resolutions
against British goods. Ger-
shom Mendes Sexias, the first
rabbi of the congregation, was
a leading Revolutionary
patriot.
❑
QUESTION: How can we travel through South America
and know that we will enjoy Shabbat services and
the pleasure of meeting a whole new group of Jewish
friends?
ANSWER: Just travel through South America on a hosted
VARIG Brazilian Airlines' Jewish Heritage Tour.
lfOc.
y ,:1$'
,
:,,s.,,, -• - ••••• •
.
•
"
There are synagogues, Jewish clubs and
organizations all the way from glorious Bahia in
the north of Brazil to cosmopolitan Buenos
Aires thousands of miles to the south.
Feel that special kinship with the sizable
Jewish population of South America. You'll be
introduced to Brazilians and Argentineans who
enjoy the very same religious celebrations
and wonderful traditions shared by Jews every-
where. You'll meet Jews who settled in Manaus,
a city carved out of the Amazon Jungle in
1699. You'll visit with Jewish ranchers in the
south of Brazil and talk to Jews living in
Buenos Aires, the "Paris of South America," and
learn about their Jewish past and present.
You'll travel through this vast and magnificent
continent, secure in the knowledge that come
Friday night, you and your new friends will
experience the ancient sounds and rituals
of Shabbat services...Just like home.
h.s.. "4, 50-ve
Call your travel agent today or send in for
VARIG's colorful "Jewish Travellers Guide to
South America" and our Jewish Heritage
Tour Brochure.
Remember—This Year In ...SOUTH AMERICA!
Tell us more about your exciting Jewish Heritage Tours to
South America.
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
57