Congregation Shearith Israel Records
Item
Country
US
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
eng
Contact information: postal address
15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011
Contact information: phone number
001 212 294 8301
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
RCMiller@cjh.org (archive and library services)
Inquiries@cjh.org (research inquiries)
Inquiries@cjh.org (research inquiries)
Reference number
I-4
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (official language of the state)
Congregation Shearith Israel Records
Language of title
eng
Creator / accumulator
Congregation Shearith Israel (New York, N.Y.)
Date(s)
1755/1996
Language(s)
dut
eng
heb
por
Extent
10 boxes
Type of material
Textual Material
Scope and content
This collection comprises records of the Congregation Shearith Israel in New York dating from the 18th to the 20th century. It is composed of ten series: I. Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Material; II. Histories; III. Administration; IV. Clergy; V. Services and Celebrations; VI. Education; VII. Societies; VIII. Chatham Square Cemetery; IX. War Activities; and X. Synagogue Publications.
As a Sephardic congregation, the documents of the Shearith Israel include essential information on the Portuguese and Spanish Jewish community of New York since the mid-18th century. Of particular interest is the first series, which comprises 18th and 19th-century materials divided into subseries arranged by subject:
A - Administration (1771-1898): financial, property, and trustee records, namely statements of accounts, receipts, a list of offerings, land indentures for the synagogue of Mill Street and the land adjoining the Jews' Burying Ground, property plans for auditorium seats and the Mill Street property, meeting minutes, reports, resolutions, lists, and correspondence.
B - Services and Celebrations (1730-1938): documents regarding forms of service and prayers, notes from a Sofer (scribe) concerning Torah scrolls (folder 12), and lists of offerings (folder 14) and those receiving honours in 1844-50 (folder 13). Box 1, folder 10 includes a 1761 translation of Yom Kippur prayers by Isaac Seixas and prayers for the government and congregations in Curaçao, London, and Suriname, among other records. The Book of Extracts of Misheberag Ascaboth, maintained by Hazan Joseph Jesurun Pinto, including a calendar in Portuguese, is kept in box 1, folder 11. Box 1, folder 16 describes the transfer and contents of the cornerstone from the Crosby synagogue to the new synagogue on 19th Street and an order of service for the cornerstone's laying.
C - Education (1878-1897): includes a library catalogue for Polonies Talmud Torah School (1878), undated correspondence, and an 1897 invitation that Rev. H. Pereira Mendes sent to congregants, inviting them to attend a series of lectures held on diverse themes.
D - Societies (1806-1902): items pertaining to the Hebra Hased Va Amet, the oldest Jewish benevolent society in New York City, and the Congregation's Sisterhood.
E - Chatham Square Cemetery (1812-1941): comprises two folders. Box 2, folder 6 contains a bill for repair work, a historical summary, lists of names of those interred, a survey of the burial ground, copies of land indentures, a 1941 New York State Act permitting a public highway to be built through cemetery land, and two photographs of a grave site. Box 2, folder 7 includes a bound ledger compiled by Nathan Taylor and Rosalie S. Phillips in 1894, listing tombstone inscriptions and containing a map of the graves.
The other nine series of this collection comprise various materials from the late 19th century and the 20th century, among them: the Congregation's services and celebrations, societies, dedications and memorial services held at Chatham Square Cemetery; relief work conducted during World Wars I and II; trustee meetings and reports; and papers pertaining to the clergy. They also contain announcements, bulletins, calendars, historical summaries, invitations, news clippings, newsletters, orders of service, pamphlets, prayers, press releases, programs, reports, sermons, and souvenir journals.
As a Sephardic congregation, the documents of the Shearith Israel include essential information on the Portuguese and Spanish Jewish community of New York since the mid-18th century. Of particular interest is the first series, which comprises 18th and 19th-century materials divided into subseries arranged by subject:
A - Administration (1771-1898): financial, property, and trustee records, namely statements of accounts, receipts, a list of offerings, land indentures for the synagogue of Mill Street and the land adjoining the Jews' Burying Ground, property plans for auditorium seats and the Mill Street property, meeting minutes, reports, resolutions, lists, and correspondence.
B - Services and Celebrations (1730-1938): documents regarding forms of service and prayers, notes from a Sofer (scribe) concerning Torah scrolls (folder 12), and lists of offerings (folder 14) and those receiving honours in 1844-50 (folder 13). Box 1, folder 10 includes a 1761 translation of Yom Kippur prayers by Isaac Seixas and prayers for the government and congregations in Curaçao, London, and Suriname, among other records. The Book of Extracts of Misheberag Ascaboth, maintained by Hazan Joseph Jesurun Pinto, including a calendar in Portuguese, is kept in box 1, folder 11. Box 1, folder 16 describes the transfer and contents of the cornerstone from the Crosby synagogue to the new synagogue on 19th Street and an order of service for the cornerstone's laying.
C - Education (1878-1897): includes a library catalogue for Polonies Talmud Torah School (1878), undated correspondence, and an 1897 invitation that Rev. H. Pereira Mendes sent to congregants, inviting them to attend a series of lectures held on diverse themes.
D - Societies (1806-1902): items pertaining to the Hebra Hased Va Amet, the oldest Jewish benevolent society in New York City, and the Congregation's Sisterhood.
E - Chatham Square Cemetery (1812-1941): comprises two folders. Box 2, folder 6 contains a bill for repair work, a historical summary, lists of names of those interred, a survey of the burial ground, copies of land indentures, a 1941 New York State Act permitting a public highway to be built through cemetery land, and two photographs of a grave site. Box 2, folder 7 includes a bound ledger compiled by Nathan Taylor and Rosalie S. Phillips in 1894, listing tombstone inscriptions and containing a map of the graves.
The other nine series of this collection comprise various materials from the late 19th century and the 20th century, among them: the Congregation's services and celebrations, societies, dedications and memorial services held at Chatham Square Cemetery; relief work conducted during World Wars I and II; trustee meetings and reports; and papers pertaining to the clergy. They also contain announcements, bulletins, calendars, historical summaries, invitations, news clippings, newsletters, orders of service, pamphlets, prayers, press releases, programs, reports, sermons, and souvenir journals.
Administrative / Biographical history
The history of the oldest Congregation in the United States is intertwined with the history of the United States' first Jewish settlements. The arrival of 23 men, women, and children from Recife, Brazil, in 1654 marked the first settlement of Jews in North America. By 1655, more than ten Jewish men were in New Amsterdam, fulfilling the required prayer quorum by Jewish law. The group was prohibited from holding services publicly, but Governor Peter Stuyvesant (1612-1672) granted them a place to bury their dead. Decades later, the Congregation acquired the Chatham Square Cemetery, used between 1682 and 1831.
When the British took New Amsterdam in 1664, they gave Lutherans the right to worship freely. In 1683, the Charter of Liberties, passed by the Colonial Assembly, extended this right to those "who profess Christianity." Jews were allowed to worship publicly by 1692. In 1695, Rev. John Miller, Chaplain of the Grenadiers in New York, drew a map of the city, citing "the Jewes Synagogue" as being on the South side of Beaver Street. A different site, on the north of Mill Street, is described in a real estate document dated 1700 as a synagogue. This site was rented from John Harperdinck for eight pounds a year and was used for worship until 1728.
Although more Ashkenazi Jews were living in New York than Sephardi, the custom of the religious services followed Spanish-Portuguese practices. The use of a minority's traditions for the synagogue is in part due to the affluence and leadership of the Sephardic community and to the appeal their culture held for Ashkenazi Jews. The records of Shearith Israel were kept in Portuguese until the early 18th century, when an English copy was added to give access to Ashkenazi members.
The first building built intentionally to serve as a synagogue was constructed on Mill Street in 1728. Mill Street Synagogue was consecrated on April 8, 1730. It included a mikveh (ritual bath), a ladies' gallery, and a community centre, built in 1731 and used as a school and meeting hall.
During the Revolutionary War, Jewish patriots, including Hazzan Gershom Mendes Seixas, fled to Philadelphia when the British overtook New York. Loyalist congregants retained the synagogue and conducted services when they were able. Seixas incorporated several patriotic prayers once he returned to New York in 1785. Among these prayers was the beginning of Thanksgiving Day Services supporting George Washington's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation in 1789.
The sole Jewish Congregation in New York City until 1825, Shearith Israel was the religious authority for the city's entire Jewish community. The elected officers provided kashrut supervision, charity, and children's education. Kashrut was known to have been available in New York since 1660. That year, the Dutch government permitted Asser Levy and Moses de Lucena to conduct their business as butchers. Records indicate that New York exported kosher meat, particularly to Curaçao and Jamaica, from 1730 until after the Revolution.
The Congregation's first organised charitable society was formed in approximately 1758. In that year, the minutes mention a Hebra (society) allowed to receive synagogue offerings and loans. A system of life pensions was provided for needy members of the Congregation. This system was first mentioned in the 1760 minutes and most likely followed an example set by Congregation Sha'ar Hashamayim of London. In July 1802, the Congregation established the oldest existing Jewish philanthropic organisation in New York. Hebra Hased Va-Amet (Kindness and Truth Society) maintains the Congregation's cemeteries, helps poor Jews obtain a Jewish burial, and assists communities that have experienced disasters. Shearith Israel began other charitable societies over the years. Some lost energy and faded away, but others merged with existing societies and are still operating.
The Congregation was also responsible for its members' religious and secular education. The earliest reference to a rubi (teacher) is Benjamin Elias, mentioned in the synagogue minutes in 1728. A school building was erected in 1731 within the Mill Street Synagogue, and the earliest school was called Yeshibat Minhat Areb. Later it became known as the Hebra, referring to the name of the building it occupied. In 1801, Myer Polonies left a generous sum to create a school, and Polonies Talmud Torah opened on May 2, 1802.
The increased Jewish immigration to the United States in the early 1800s created the need for a larger synagogue. As the city grew, congregation members followed the northward movement of the residential population.
Shearith Israel had to choose between moving uptown or rebuilding on the same existing lot. Sentiment won over demographics, and a second Mill Street Synagogue was built in the same location. It was dedicated on April 17-18, 1818.
The Jewish population increase also led the Congregation to buy land for a new cemetery on the north side of 13th Street (used only from 1802 to 1803) and later, in 1804, at 11th Street. This cemetery supplemented the one at Chatham Square. A severe yellow fever epidemic in 1822 led city officials to prohibit further burials within certain areas, closing off the Chatham Square cemetery. From 1823 through 1830, when further city development reconstructed 11th Street, the Second Cemetery was the only Jewish burial ground used. Another area on 21st Street was acquired in 1829, and Beth Hayim Shelishi (The Third Cemetery) was dedicated. When a city ordinance prohibited further burials south of 86th Street in 1851, the Congregation started to use land at Cypress Hills Cemetery on Long Island.
Meanwhile, the trustees had sold the building of the Mile End's synagogue in 1833 and built a new one on Crosby Street, completed in 1834. The Crosby Street Synagogue served the Congregation for 25 years. By 1850, the neighbourhood had deteriorated, and residents moved away again. The Congregation sold the Crosby Street Synagogue in 1859, and services were held temporarily at 894 Broadway until a new building on 19th Street was erected. Hazzan Jacques Judah Lyons consecrated the 19th Synagogue on September 12, 1860. Residential movement uptown, coupled with problems in the design and structure of the building, led trustees to resolve to sell the building in 1864. However, it was only at the end of the century that the Congregation moved uptown. The 19th Street Synagogue was ceremoniously closed, and the new synagogue on Central Park West and 70th Street was consecrated on May 19, 1897.
When the British took New Amsterdam in 1664, they gave Lutherans the right to worship freely. In 1683, the Charter of Liberties, passed by the Colonial Assembly, extended this right to those "who profess Christianity." Jews were allowed to worship publicly by 1692. In 1695, Rev. John Miller, Chaplain of the Grenadiers in New York, drew a map of the city, citing "the Jewes Synagogue" as being on the South side of Beaver Street. A different site, on the north of Mill Street, is described in a real estate document dated 1700 as a synagogue. This site was rented from John Harperdinck for eight pounds a year and was used for worship until 1728.
Although more Ashkenazi Jews were living in New York than Sephardi, the custom of the religious services followed Spanish-Portuguese practices. The use of a minority's traditions for the synagogue is in part due to the affluence and leadership of the Sephardic community and to the appeal their culture held for Ashkenazi Jews. The records of Shearith Israel were kept in Portuguese until the early 18th century, when an English copy was added to give access to Ashkenazi members.
The first building built intentionally to serve as a synagogue was constructed on Mill Street in 1728. Mill Street Synagogue was consecrated on April 8, 1730. It included a mikveh (ritual bath), a ladies' gallery, and a community centre, built in 1731 and used as a school and meeting hall.
During the Revolutionary War, Jewish patriots, including Hazzan Gershom Mendes Seixas, fled to Philadelphia when the British overtook New York. Loyalist congregants retained the synagogue and conducted services when they were able. Seixas incorporated several patriotic prayers once he returned to New York in 1785. Among these prayers was the beginning of Thanksgiving Day Services supporting George Washington's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation in 1789.
The sole Jewish Congregation in New York City until 1825, Shearith Israel was the religious authority for the city's entire Jewish community. The elected officers provided kashrut supervision, charity, and children's education. Kashrut was known to have been available in New York since 1660. That year, the Dutch government permitted Asser Levy and Moses de Lucena to conduct their business as butchers. Records indicate that New York exported kosher meat, particularly to Curaçao and Jamaica, from 1730 until after the Revolution.
The Congregation's first organised charitable society was formed in approximately 1758. In that year, the minutes mention a Hebra (society) allowed to receive synagogue offerings and loans. A system of life pensions was provided for needy members of the Congregation. This system was first mentioned in the 1760 minutes and most likely followed an example set by Congregation Sha'ar Hashamayim of London. In July 1802, the Congregation established the oldest existing Jewish philanthropic organisation in New York. Hebra Hased Va-Amet (Kindness and Truth Society) maintains the Congregation's cemeteries, helps poor Jews obtain a Jewish burial, and assists communities that have experienced disasters. Shearith Israel began other charitable societies over the years. Some lost energy and faded away, but others merged with existing societies and are still operating.
The Congregation was also responsible for its members' religious and secular education. The earliest reference to a rubi (teacher) is Benjamin Elias, mentioned in the synagogue minutes in 1728. A school building was erected in 1731 within the Mill Street Synagogue, and the earliest school was called Yeshibat Minhat Areb. Later it became known as the Hebra, referring to the name of the building it occupied. In 1801, Myer Polonies left a generous sum to create a school, and Polonies Talmud Torah opened on May 2, 1802.
The increased Jewish immigration to the United States in the early 1800s created the need for a larger synagogue. As the city grew, congregation members followed the northward movement of the residential population.
Shearith Israel had to choose between moving uptown or rebuilding on the same existing lot. Sentiment won over demographics, and a second Mill Street Synagogue was built in the same location. It was dedicated on April 17-18, 1818.
The Jewish population increase also led the Congregation to buy land for a new cemetery on the north side of 13th Street (used only from 1802 to 1803) and later, in 1804, at 11th Street. This cemetery supplemented the one at Chatham Square. A severe yellow fever epidemic in 1822 led city officials to prohibit further burials within certain areas, closing off the Chatham Square cemetery. From 1823 through 1830, when further city development reconstructed 11th Street, the Second Cemetery was the only Jewish burial ground used. Another area on 21st Street was acquired in 1829, and Beth Hayim Shelishi (The Third Cemetery) was dedicated. When a city ordinance prohibited further burials south of 86th Street in 1851, the Congregation started to use land at Cypress Hills Cemetery on Long Island.
Meanwhile, the trustees had sold the building of the Mile End's synagogue in 1833 and built a new one on Crosby Street, completed in 1834. The Crosby Street Synagogue served the Congregation for 25 years. By 1850, the neighbourhood had deteriorated, and residents moved away again. The Congregation sold the Crosby Street Synagogue in 1859, and services were held temporarily at 894 Broadway until a new building on 19th Street was erected. Hazzan Jacques Judah Lyons consecrated the 19th Synagogue on September 12, 1860. Residential movement uptown, coupled with problems in the design and structure of the building, led trustees to resolve to sell the building in 1864. However, it was only at the end of the century that the Congregation moved uptown. The 19th Street Synagogue was ceremoniously closed, and the new synagogue on Central Park West and 70th Street was consecrated on May 19, 1897.
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Access points: corporate bodies
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The collection is composed of ten series and oversized separate materials. Some series are divided into subseries arranged by subject.
Access, restrictions
The collection is open to all researchers except for items that may be restricted due to their fragility or privacy. The early 18th and 19th-century material is available on microfilm only. Digital copies of some records are available online:
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2022
Bibliography
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