Presidential shulgoers at America’s oldest synagogue
STAN MARKS
WHEN you visit America’s oldest synagogue, the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, you can take a seat where US presidents have sat. The Touro Synagogue, now a national heritage site, was described by President John F Kennedy during a visit in September, 1963 as one of the oldest symbols of liberty in the US.
It and the nearby Colonial Jewish Burying Ground were immortalised in Henry Longfellow’s poem The Jewish Cemetery at Newport. Some historians believe that the Touro Synagogue was a catalyst for some of the wording in President George Washington’s drafting of the American Bill of Rights, which he penned one year after his visit to Touro in 1790.
At the time President Washington was presented with an address (a letter) from the Newport Congregation written by the warden of the synagogue, Moses Seixas. His words included: “We now (with a deep sense of gratitude to the Almighty dispenser of all events) behold a government erected by the majesty of the people a government which to bigotry gives no sanction, persecution no assistance but generously affords all liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship.”
President Washington’s reply a few days later included a very moving affirmation that almost exactly repeated the key phrases in Seixas’s letter and were also in the Bill of Rights. President Washington stressed a doctrine of brotherly love and mutual respect, in keeping with the idea of the synagogue’s founders. The synagogue was dedicated by Rev Isaac Touro, the spiritual leader of the Newport Congregation, in 1763 during Chanukah.
The ornate synagogue has a gallery supported by 12 Ionic columns, representing the 12 tribes of ancient Israel. Above these are 12 Corinthian columns supporting a domed ceiling. Newport, with its grand houses, America’s Cup atmosphere, and natural ambience, is well worth a visit, including its special Jewish heritage. Jews from Europe, including Spain and Portugal, were prominent in the bustling seaport of Newport’s daily life.
Stan Marks is the author of 14 books. He has worked as a journalist in Australia and overseas. For many years he edited the newsletter of the Jewish Holocaust Centre in Melbourne. Now retired, Stan received an OAM in the 2007 Australia Day honours for services to the community and journalism.
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