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S
ituated out on the Atlantic
Ocean seven miles from
Cape Cod, Martha's Vine-
yard is one of the Eastern
seaboard's most popular vacation
spots.
Every summer, its population
swells from 14,000 to almost
90,000. Celebrities have summer
homes here; and tourists come
for a day or a week, taking the
ferry from Wood's Hole or Fal-
mouth. Spring and fall weekends,
too, are popular times for week-
end getaways.
What draws so many visitors,
whether for a day or a season, is
a tranquil island with miles of
paved bike paths, secluded beach-
es, wildlife preserves — woods,
salt marshes, meadows — and
lush vegetation.
In fact, the island got its un-
usual name when explorer and
seaman Batholomew Gosnold an-
chored here back in the 1600s
and found wild grapes. He named
the vineyard for his daughter
Martha, and soon Martha's Vine-
yard was the name of the entire
island . True to its name, the is-
land today has a vineyard and a
winery producing fine wines.
Each of the three main towns
on the island has its own partic-
ular attractions. In Edgartown,
the Vineyard Museum is a col-
lection of buildings that preserve
and interpret the island's histo-
ry. Oak Bluffs is home to the na-
tion's oldest carousel, which is
listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. It also features
an array of ornate Victorian ar-
chitecture.
And Vineyard Haven has a
special attraction for Jewish trav-
elers.
A 150-year-old Greek revival
building on Center Street is head-
quarters for the Martha's Vine-
yard Hebrew Center, a Reform
congregation.
Visitors are often surprised to
fine a Jewish community on this
rural island. But in fact, the Jew-
ish presence on the island dates
back to the early 1900s.
"At that time, there were just
three Jewish families," says
Arthur Wortzel, president of the
congregation. "Then, by the
1940s, 15 families got together to
form a congregation."
They purposely called their
congregation a "center," explains
Mr. Wortzel. "It was intended as
a meeting place. But there was
no resident rabbi and they con-
ducted services themselves."
Over the years, as more Jew-
ish families began to take vaca-
tions on the island; the
congregation expanded and
members began to hold Shabbat
services officiated by visiting rab-
bis.
Today it's a 400-member con-
gregation with its own rabbi,
Joshua Plaut, who serves the con-
gregation half-time; he's also rab-
bi for Hillel at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in Cam-
bridge.