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Have you
inonths, Elizabeth tended
to the small seedling as it took
to grow. She
root and began,
ever given a gift
so wonderful,
someone carries it
devoted herself to nurturing
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soon, the Jewish families in
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with them the
rest of their life?
Please give blood.
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Call 1-800 GIVE LIFE
for the plant to bloom.
continued on page 126
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ISRAEL
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Newport's historic Touro Synagogue.
Touro Synagogue
Highlights Newport
RUTH ROVNER SPECI AL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
S
ituated at the southern tip
of Rhode Island on Nara-
gansett Bay, with a deep
water harbor filled with
yachts and other pleasure boats,
Newport is distinctly a seaside
town.
With street names such as
America's Cup Way and a giant
shellfish sculpture on its pedes-
trian mall downtown, the nau-
tical theme is everywhere
evident.
It's also well known for its el-
egant seaside mansions — the
largest concentation of mansions
anywhere in the United States
— which were the summer
homes of socialites.
But Newport has another at-
traction that makes it a special
destination for the Jewish trav-
eler. It is home to the oldest syn-
agogue in continuing use in the
United States.
A modest brick building
halfway up a hilly street not far
from the center of town, Touro
Synagogue was our first stop dur-
ing a recent visit to Newport.
When we arrived, visitors were
already clustered outside, wait-
ing for the next tour to begin. The
synagogue attracts 35,000 visi-
tors annually, and in the sum-
mer, tours are given daily, several
times a day, to accommodate the
numerous visitors.
While waiting for the tour, we
read the plaque posted outside
which designates Touro Syna-
gogue as a National Historic Site.
Soon Rabbi Chaim Shapiro led
the way inside. The modest ex-
terior had not prepared us for the
stately and ornate sanctuary,
with its domed ceiling, gleaming
candlelebra, and 12 classical
columns, representing the 12
tribes of Israel.
The rabbi, who often gives
tours himself and also supervis-
es the other tour guides, invited
us to take seats as he sketched in
the background of the synagogue
and of Congregation Yeshuat Is-
rael, whose members still wor-
ship here.
The Orthodox congregation
was founded by Sephardic Jews
from Amsterdam. In the 1650s,
when the Dutch started sending
explorers to the New World, es-
pecially the Caribbean, Sephardic
Jews also set out by sea and set-
tled in Curacao, St. Thomas and
Barbados.
In 1858, 16 Sephardim from
Barbados traveled to a newly
founded colony called Rhode Is-
land. "It was founded by Roger
Williams, who established the
principle of religious freedom for
all," said Rabbi Shapiro.
In Newport they founded the
second Jewish congregation in
the U.S. The first had started
four years earlier when a small
group of Sephardim came by boat
to New York.
The early Newport settlers
prospered as merchants and
shippers. And by the 1750s, they
bought a piece of land and vot-
ed to build a permanent syna-
gogue. "At the time there were
fewer than 35 Jewish families in
Newport, so this was quite an ac-
complishment," said the rabbi.
To build their house of wor-
ship, they contacted prominent
architect Peter Harrison. At first,
he was hesitant to take on the as-
signment. "He said,'How can I do
this? I've never even seen a syn-
agogue!"' related Rabbi Shapiro.
But the leader of the congre-
gation, Isaac Touro, was able to
describe in careful detail the Por-
tuguese Sephardic synagogue in
Amsterdam. "And from these de-
scriptions, Harrison designed the
.