[yshavurah] Fw: Tuesday: 10 Minutes of Torah - 350 Years of Jews in America
- From: "Cheryl Levine" <clevineys@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Havurah Listserv" <yshavurah@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2005 08:00:11 -0400
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----- Original Message -----=20
From: Union for Reform Judaism=20
To: TMT@xxxxxxxxxxx=20
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2005 3:05 PM
Subject: Tuesday: 10 Minutes of Torah - 350 Years of Jews in America
=20
September 20, 2005 Week 96, Day 2 16 Elul 5765 =20
Hurricane Katrina and the Jews of the Gulf Coast
By Kevin Proffitt
=20
The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina has =
shocked and saddened us all. It is a heart-breaking tragedy of still =
unknown proportions. Many Jews in southern Louisiana, Mississippi, and =
Alabama are among those affected by the storm. While not a large group =
in number, the Jews of the Gulf Coast have a long history and have =
contributed greatly to the success and growth of the region.=20
Jews arrived in New Orleans shortly after it was =
settled in 1718. Ironically, one of the ways we know Jews lived in the =
city is the "Black Code" edict of 1724, which ordered their expulsion. =
Following the Louisiana Purchase in the early nineteenth century, Jews =
returned to New Orleans after the territory became part of the United =
States. New Orleans's first synagogue, Shaarei Chessed, was chartered in =
1828. Other congregations followed, including Temple Sinai in 1846, =
which became the city's first Reform synagogue, and Congregation Gates =
of Prayer, organized in the mid-nineteenth century.=20
In Mississippi, Jews settled along the Gulf Coast and =
sought employment in the cotton and steamboat trades. In Biloxi and =
Natchez, there are records of Jewish cemeteries dating back to the =
1830s. By the late twentieth century, there were at least twenty =
synagogues in Mississippi with a combined membership of nearly 3,000.=20
The first Jews to arrive in Alabama came as traders in =
the 1750s and lived there through the 1760s. In the 1820s, Mobile became =
the site of the first permanent Jewish community in the state. The =
oldest synagogue in Alabama, Congregation Shaarai Shomayim u-Maskil el =
Dol, was established in Mobile in 1844.=20
As Jews did throughout the South, Gulf Coast Jews =
integrated themselves into the life and culture of the region. Many =
Southern Jews fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, including =
an estimated 300 from Mississippi and more than 130 from Alabama. Jews =
also made significant contributions to economic, cultural and political =
life. Israel I. Jones, a tobacco merchant and alderman during the 1830s, =
became the leading Jew in Mobile and the man who introduced streetcars =
to that city, and Martin Behrman served four terms as mayor of New =
Orleans in the early twentieth century.
Unfortunately, Gulf Coast Jews have also been viewed =
with suspicion because of their religion. One obvious example from =
recent times occurred in the 1960s as a result of their work in the =
Civil Rights movement. The South was tense and volatile during this =
time, in Mississippi in particular, since the state was the national =
home of White Citizens' Councils as well as a center of activity for the =
Ku Klux Klan. Many Gulf Coast Jews, including Reform rabbis Julian =
Feibelman of Temple Sinai in New Orleans, Charles Mantinband of Temple =
B'nai Israel in Hattiesburg and P. Irving Bloom of Sha'arai Shomayim in =
Mobile took courageous and public stands fighting for equality of =
African Americans, which often put them at considerable risk.
Today, these historic Jewish communities are being =
threatened by the forces of nature. Beyond the personal losses of life =
and property, the buildings that housed many synagogues and Jewish =
institutions have been damaged or destroyed by winds and rising water. =
Cherished religious objects have been irreparably damaged; Jewish =
schools and businesses have been destroyed; some Jews have found it =
difficult to maintain their Jewish lifestyle due to scarce supplies of =
kosher food. One member of the Orthodox Union described the =
psychological damage done: "There is a sense of despair and worse--every =
single possession is lost, jobs [are] gone. People are separated from =
family and friends. They have no means of communicating with each other. =
It is beyond comprehension what is going on."
Thankfully, Jews from all over the country have =
pitched in to help. Organizations including the Union for Reform Judaism =
have established relief funds. Please visit the URJ Relief site for more =
information. The Jews of the Gulf Coast need our assistance now to =
rebuild their lives and to continue their proud history.=20
Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica, vol. 2, pp. 505-507 =
and vol. 12, pp. 154-156 and 1041-1042; Bertram W. Korn, The Early Jews =
of New Orleans (Waltham, Mass.: American Jewish Historical Society, =
1969); and Leo E. Turitz and Evelyn Turitz, Jews in Early Mississippi =
(Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1983).
Kevin Proffitt is the Senior Archivist for Research =
and Collections at the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish =
Archives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he has worked since 1981. A frequent =
lecturer on American Jewish history and consultant on synagogue =
archives, his publications include Starting from Scratch: Creating the =
Synagogue Archives.=20
For more information, visit the American Jewish =
Archives web site.=20
=20
We are all concerned about the victims of Hurricane =
Katrina and their families. To find out what the Union for Reform =
Judaism is doing and how you can help, click here.=20
Do you know a teen who regularly checks e-mail and is =
interested in exploring Jewish issues? Then iTorah is for that teen. A =
weekly e-mail on topics of Jewish interest written by the leaders of =
NFTY and Kesher. Visit the iTorah website to sign up.=20
10 Minutes of Torah is produced by the Union for =
Reform Judaism - Department of Lifelong Jewish Learning and the American =
Jewish Archives. Visit our Web site for more information. =A92005=20
=20
=20
EARLY BIRD DEADLINE IS SEPTEMBER 25!
Register now for the Union for Reform Judaism Biennial Convention - =
http://biennial.urj.org
Women of Reform Judaism's Assembly - http://wrj.rj.org/assembly05/
. . .
Help the victims of the Hurricane - http://urj.org/relief/.
Register to Vote for Reform Judaism in the World Zionist Elections
US:www.VoteReformJudaism.com.
Canada: www.VoteReformJudaismCanada.com.
To unsubscribe email TMT-unsubscribe-request@xxxxxxxxxxx
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