CONGREGATION SHEARITH ISRAËL The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue

Congregation Shearith Israel, The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in the City of New York was founded in 1654, the first Jewish congregation to be established in North America. Its founders were twenty-three Jews, mostly of Spanish and Portuguese origin, who had been living in Recife, Brazil. When the Portuguese defeated the Dutch for control of Recife, and brought with them the Inquisition, the Jews of that area left. Some returned to Amsterdam, where they originated. Others went to places in the Caribbean such as St. Thomas, Jamaica, Surinam and Curacao, where they founded sister Sephardic congregations. One group of twenty-three Jews, after a series of unexpected events, landed in New Amsterdam. They were not welcomed by Governor Peter Stuveysant, who did not wish to permit the Jews to settle here. However, these pioneers fought for their rights and won permission to remain. During colonial days, the Jewish community was relatively small.

Until the year 1730, the Congregation met in rented quarters. In 1730, Shearith Israel consecrated its first synagogue building on Mill Street, now known as south William Street. Many of the furnishings of that building are preserved in our Little Synagogue.

Shearith Israel as the only Jewish Congregation in New York from 1654 until 1825. During that entire span history, all of the Jews of New York belonged to this Congregation, which provided for all the needs of the Jewish community, from birth to death. It offered education in both religious and general subjects, provided kasher meat and Passover provisions, and performed a wide variety of charitable and other functions for the Jewish people.

Even from its earliest days, Shearith Israel had Sephardic and Ashkenazic members. Although the synagogue service follows the customs of Spanish and Portuguese Jews, the membership is diverse, and at present is composed of Sephardim and Ashkenazim who work together in harmony for the well-being of the Congregation and the community.

Our present synagogue building, on 70th Street and Central Park West, is the fifth, which our Congregation has occupied. Our first synagogue on Mill Street, built in 1730, was replaced by larger structure on the same site in 188. In 1834, the Congregation moved to a new building on Crosby street, and in 1860, Shearith built its fourth home, on West 19th, near Fifth Avenue. As New York City continued to grow and the population moved northward, Shearith Israel built this magnificent building on 70th street and Central Park West, designed by the noted architect, Arnold Brunner.

Congregation Shearith Israel

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