| Touro Synagogue | |
|---|---|
 Touro Synagogue, in 2017 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism |
| Rite | Ashkenazic (Nusach Sefard) |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue |
| Ownership | Congregation Shearith Israel |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | Newport,Rhode Island |
| Country | United States |
  Location inRhode Island | |
| Coordinates | 41°29′22″N71°18′43″W / 41.48944°N 71.31194°W /41.48944; -71.31194 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect | Peter Harrison |
| Type | Synagogue |
| Established | c. 1654(as a congregation) |
| Completed | 1763 |
| Direction of façade | East |
| Website | |
| thetourosynagogue | |
Touro Synagogue National Historic Site | |
| Area | 0.23 acres (0.00093 km2) |
| Part of | Newport Historic District (ID68000001) |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000927[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHLDCP | November 24, 1968 |
TheTouro Synagogue is asynagogue built in 1763 inNewport, Rhode Island. The building has been occupied by several different congregations over the years. The current occupant is known asCongregation Ahavath Israel (Hebrew:ק״ק אהבת ישראל). As the only surviving synagogue building in the U.S. dating to thecolonial era, it is theoldest synagogue building still standing in theUnited States andNorth America.[2][3][a] In 1946, it was declared aNational Historic Site.[4]
Touro Synagogue represents a profound symbol ofreligious freedom, acornerstone ofRhode Island’s founding principles underRoger Williams.[5] Rhode Island was established as a haven for those seekingfreedom of conscience, and the synagogue’s existence is a testament to the colony’s early commitment toreligious tolerance.[6] The first congregation was composed ofSephardic Jews, believed to have migrated from theWest Indies, where they had been part of the thriving trade networks connectingDutch andEnglish colonies. They followed theSpanish andPortuguese Jewish liturgy and customs, preserving their distinctcultural andreligious heritage.
Amid the upheaval of the late18th century, whenthreats of war loomed, the congregation entrusted the synagogue’s deed and Torah scrolls toNew York'sCongregation Shearith Israel for safekeeping. Over time, the demographic shifted, and by the late 19th century, the congregation became predominantlyAshkenazi, reflecting the broader changes in Jewish immigration patterns to the United States.
In recent years, Touro Synagogue became the subject of a legal dispute over its ownership. In 2012, the Newport congregation sought to sell artifacts to finance the building's restoration, leading to a court case with Congregation Shearith Israel. In 2017, theUnited States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled in favor of the New York congregation, a decision that was left standing when theU.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
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Touro Synagogue was designed byPeter Harrison, a noted British architect,immigrant toBritish America, and Rhode Island resident. It is considered his most notable work. The interior is flanked by a series of twelveIoniccolumns supportingbalconies, which signify the twelve tribes ofancient Israel, and each column is carved from a single tree.[7] The building is oriented to face east towardJerusalem. Theark containing theTorah is on the east wall; above it is a mural representing the Ten Commandments in Hebrew, which was painted by Newport artistBenjamin Howland.
Touro Synagogue's original congregation was Shearith Israel, founded in 1654, but they fled the original building during theAmerican Revolutionary War.[8] The Jeshuat Israel congregation dates to 1658, when 15Spanish and Portuguese Jewish families arrived, probably from the Dutch or BritishWest Indies. Many settled nearEaston's Point.[citation needed]
The new Touro Synagogue building was formally dedicated on 2December 1763 by the Jeshuat Israel congregation.[9] Notable leaders of the synagogue includedAbraham Pereira Mendes andHenry Samuel Morais (1900–01). The Touro Synagogue was built from 1759 to 1763 for the Jeshuat Israel congregation in Newport under the leadership of Cantor (Chazzan)Isaac Touro, a Dutch-born American rabbi. The cornerstone was laid byAaron Lopez, a Portuguese-born and Newport-based merchant and philanthropist who was the wealthiest person in Newport.[10] He supported Jewish causes and made his fortune through the trading of candles, whale oil, rum, slaves, in addition to being involved in the spermaceti candlemaking business and other commercial ventures.[11]Judah Touro, the son of Isaac Touro and his wife Reyna, made a fortune as a merchant inNew Orleans. He left $10,000 ($350,000 in current dollar terms) in his will for the upkeep of the Jewish cemetery and synagogue in Newport.[citation needed]
In 1946, Touro Synagogue was designated as aNational Historic Site,[4] and it is an affiliated area of theNational Park Service. The synagogue was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. In 2001, the congregation joined into a partnership with theNational Trust for Historic Preservation.
The Touro Synagogue is located at 72 Touro Street and remains an activeOrthodox synagogue. The building underwent a restoration in 2005–2006,[4] and a recreation of the original dedication ceremony was conducted in 2013 in honor of the 250th anniversary.[4]
On August 18, 1790, PresidentGeorge Washington visited Newport as part of a tour ofNew England following Rhode Island'sratification of the Constitution.[12] He met with various local religious groups including Christians, Freemasons, and the Touro Synagogue congregation, known as Congregation Yeshuat Israel at the time, and read open letters in a prearranged ceremony.[13] Touro Synagogue's warden, Moses Seixas, wrote to Washington, expressing the support of the Congregation for Washington's administration and good wishes for him.[14]
Washington sent a letter on August 21 in response, which read in part:
... the Government of the United States ... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance. ... May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.
— Letter of George Washington to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island[15]
The Touro congregation annually reads President Washington's letter on religious pluralism and celebrates the occasion with invited speakers. They have included Supreme Court justicesRuth Bader Ginsburg andElena Kagan;[16] andBrown University presidentsRuth Simmons[17] andChristina Paxson.[18]
As of June 2011, the original letter is owned by the Morris Morgenstern Foundation and is valued between $5 million and $10 million.[19]
The congregation at Newport was initially composed of Jews with roots in theSephardic Spanish and Portuguesediaspora, and by the eighteenth century, with someAshkenazi Jews.
The first Jewish residents of Newport, fifteen Spanish Jewish families, arrived in 1658. It is presumed that they arrived via the communities inCuraçao, home to the oldest active Jewish congregation in the Americas, dating to 1651, andSuriname. The small community worshiped in rooms in private homes for more than a century before they could afford to build a synagogue.[20]
The community purchased and dedicated theJewish Cemetery at Newport in 1677.
In the late 1700s, the Jewish community removed the Torah scrolls and sent them for safekeeping, along with the deed to the building, toCongregation Shearith Israel in New York. The keys left the Jewish community and were passed to the Goulds, a Quaker family in Newport.
From the 1850s on, the building was occasionally opened for worship for the convenience of summer visitors. It was reopened on a regular basis in 1883 as Jewish life in Newport revived with the late nineteenth century immigration ofeastern European Jews (Ashkenazim). The synagogue acquired a nearby building and ran a Hebrew school and other activities. It continues to serve as a thriving congregation with many year-round programs.
The congregation currently uses theArtScrollNusach Sefard prayer book.
Marc Mandel became the rabbi in July 2012. As of 2012[update], the congregation consisted of about 175 families.[21][22] Stephen Belsky served as interim rabbi from 2023-2025. The current rabbi is Gershon Klapper.[23]
During 2005 and 2006, Touro Synagogue invested in a restoration project for its valued antique metal artifacts. In total, 150 metal objects, from eighteenth century hardware to European chandeliers and silverrimonim (ceremonial bells used on theTorah), needed to be rebuilt, have their surfaces stabilized, and have missing parts replaced. The project was carried out by the Newport-based restoration company Newmans Ltd.[24]
Conflict over the ownership of the Touro building and its contents surfaced in 2012. Newport's Congregation Jeshuat Israel put up for sale ceremonial bells, called rimonim, to theMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston, for $7.4 million. New York'sCongregation Shearith Israel sued the Newport congregation, saying that Shearith Israel owns the Touro synagogue building and its contents, based on the 18th century transfer of deed. They wanted to evict the Newport congregation from the Touro building and site. In April 2015 both sides of the dispute said several attempts at mediation had failed and they were preparing for trial.[25]
In May 2016 a federal judge ruled on the matter, rejecting Congregation Shearith Israel's claim to oversight. U.S. District JudgeJohn J. McConnell, Jr. noted that "for at least the past 20 years, Shearith Israel has not taken any meaningful action in its capacity as trustee for the Touro Synagogue and lands."[26] In June 2016 Congregation Shearith Israel announced it would appeal the decision.[27] Congregation Shearith Israel was awarded ownership on August 2, 2017 by theUnited States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit inBoston.[28]
On March 18, 2019, theUnited States Supreme Court declined to take up the case; thus, the lower court ruling that Congregation Shearith Israel owns Touro stands.[29]
Justice Elena Kagan, United States Supreme Court, was the keynote speaker at the 66th Annual George Washington Letter weekend at Touro Synagogue
Brown University President Ruth J. Simmons delivered the keynote address at the 60th Annual Reading of the George Washington Letter at the nation's oldest synagogue, Touro Synagogue in Newport, R.I., on Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007
Brown President Christina Paxson delivered the keynote address at the annual reading of President George Washington's Letter to the Hebrew Congregations of Newport on Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014, at 1 p.m. in Touro Synagogue.
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