Congregation Mickve Israel (Savannah, Ga.) Collection
Item
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Country
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US
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Language of name of institution
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eng
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Contact information: postal address
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15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011
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Contact information: phone number
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001 212 294 8301
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Contact information: email
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RCMiller@cjh.org (archive and library services)
Inquiries@cjh.org (research inquiries)
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Reference number
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I-277
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (official language of the state)
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Congregation Mickve Israel (Savannah, Ga.) Collection
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Language of title
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eng
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Creator / accumulator
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Congregation Mickve Israel (Savannah, Ga.)
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Date(s)
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1790/1983
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Language(s)
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eng
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Extent
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1 box
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Physical condition
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Good
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Scope and content
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This collection comprises copies and transcripts of documentation from the Congregation Mickve Israel in Savannah, Georgia. It includes transcripts from the congregation's records (1790-1791), a copy of an 1849 statute of the State of Georgia relating to the congregation, and publications and newspaper clippings on the congregation's history. The transcripts also record important dates in the congregation's history from 1733 to 1904.
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Archival history
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Richard J. Kittrell donated part of the collection (State of Georgia statute) to the American Jewish Historical Society in 1971.
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Administrative / Biographical history
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The history of the Savannah Jewish community dates back to July 11, 1733, when 41 Jews from the Spanish and Portuguese congregation of London arrived at the newly-created colony of Georgia. The Portuguese Jewish physician Dr Samuel Nunes Ribeiro and his family were among them. These founders brought a Sepher Torah, two cloaks and a circumcision box from London. This Torah is still used on commemorative occasions at Mickve Israel.
The congregation was founded shortly after the arrival of these first Jewish pioneers, who also established a cemetery and a mikveh in the following years. The services were held in private homes. At an unknown date, the congregation rented a house on Market Square (Ellis Square), which was altered for regular congregational services. Although some Ashkenazic families, namely the Minis and the Sheftall, became identified with the Sephardic group, other Askhenazim arriving in Savannah did not integrate into the Sephardic congregation. This schism led to the delay in constructing a synagogue building. In the early 1740s, the congregation faced another challenge. The War of Jenkin's Ear and the advancement of the Spanish troops in the territory triggered the emigration of the Sephardic Jews. Only the Minis and Sheftall families remained in Savannah.
In 1786, after the Revolutionary War, there were enough conditions for reorganising the Mickve Israel congregation. Officers were elected, and a house on Broughton Street Lane was rented to serve as a synagogue. On November 20, 1790, Governor Edward Telfair granted the congregation a perpetual charter.
Only by 1818, before the growth of the Jewish population in Savannah, the congregation resumed the intention to build a synagogue. Moses Sheftall and Jacob De la Motta were the leaders of this movement. De la Motta consecrated the first synagogue erected in Georgia on July 21, 1820. However, nine years later, a fire destroyed the small wooden structure. Efforts to rebuild it began in 1834, and a new brick building was consecrated in 1841 by Reverend Isaac Leeser of Philadelphia.
Since its origins, the Mickve Israel congregation followed the Portuguese Minhag. However, in 1868, the first steps toward Reform Judaism were taken by omitting the celebration of the second day of festivals and introducing a choir with musical accompaniment. The transition took a long time and faced numerous resistances. The Portuguese Minhag remained in use until 1895. In 1902, the Union Prayer Book was adopted. Two years later, the transition of the Mickve Israel to Reform Judaism was complete after becoming a member of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. However, a last vestige of its Spanish-Portuguese heritage is proudly maintained in the Sephardic melody "El Norah Ah Lee Lah" sung during the closing hour of each Yom Kippur service.
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(source: Congregation Mickve Israel website)
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Access, restrictions
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The collection is open to all researchers except items that may be restricted due to their fragility or privacy.
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Author of the description
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Carla Vieira, 2022
