Synagogues may be considered "oldest" based on different criteria such as oldest surviving building or oldest congregation. Some older synagogue buildings have been in continuous use as synagogues, while others have been converted to other purposes, and a few, such as the Touro Synagogue, were shuttered for many decades. Some early established congregations have been in continuous existence, while other early congregations have ceased to exist.
Oldest congregations
Sephardi congregations
All of the oldest congregations in the new world were founded by Sephardi Jews and followed the Sephardic liturgy.
Congregation Shearith Israel, founded in 1654, in New York City, is the oldest congregation in the United States. Its present building dates from 1896–97.
Congregation Jeshuat Israel, founded circa 1658, in Newport, Rhode Island, is dated to sometime after the arrival of Jews in 1658 and prior to the 1677 purchase of a communal cemetery, now known as Touro Cemetery. In much of the nineteenth century, no Jews lived in Newport, and the ownership of the building and synagogue were entrusted to Congregation Shearith Israel. The building was reopened for the use of Ashkenazi Jews in 1883.
Nefutzoth Yehudah (Congregation Dispersed of Judah) in New Orleans, Louisiana, was founded in 1846. In 1881, it merged with the Ashkenazic congregation Shanarai-Chasset (Congregation Gates of Mercy) to form Touro Synagogue. The congregation joined the Reform movement in 1891.[2]
Ashkenazi congregations
Until 1795, all documented congregations in the United States followed the Sephardicminhag. However, many included Ashkenazi members as well.
There are a few references to an Ashkenazi Beth Elohim in Charleston prior to 1791, although this may have been a subgroup within the Sephardic Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim rather than a fully independent congregation[3]
The first Ashkenazic rite synagogue in the US was founded in 1761 in Easton, Pennsylvania.[4]
Shanarai-Chasset (Congregation Gates of Mercy) in New Orleans, Louisiana, was founded in 1828. In 1881, it merged with the Sephardic Nefutzoth Yehudah (Congregation Dispersed of Judah) to form Touro Synagogue in New Orleans. The congregation joined the Reform movement in 1891.[2]
Oldest existing buildings
This list includes only buildings originally built as synagogues that are still standing. Some continue in use as Jewish houses of worship; others have been adaptively reused. Fewer than 100 purpose-built synagogues constructed prior to 1900 remain standing.[5] A portion of these are highlighted below.
Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim, located in Mobile, the oldest congregation in Alabama, was formally organized on January 25, 1844. Their first synagogue was Emanuel Street Synagogue, dedicated on December 27, 1846. The current Springhill Avenue Temple is their fifth location.[8]
Alaska
Congregation Beth Sholom was first organized on September 5, 1958, in Anchorage.[9]
Arizona
Emanu-El dedicated the first synagogue in the Arizona Territory on October 3, 1910, in Tucson. The congregation stopped holding services there in 1949. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and currently houses the Jewish Heritage Center of the Southwest.[10]
Temple Israel (Stockton, California), founded 1851. Congregation has been in continuous existence, housed in four different locations over time.
The two next oldest congregations in California are Emanu-El and Sherith Israel, in San Francisco. Both were founded in 1851. The two synagogues were founded simultaneously because the city's Jews could not agree on whether to follow the prayer customs of the Polish or German Jews. Emanu-El was therefore, founded as the congregation of the German Jews and Sherith Israel as the congregation of the Polish Jews.[13]
Temple Emanuel Synagogue in Pueblo, Colorado, built in 1900, is the city's oldest synagogue, according to the synagogue itself.[16] The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.[17]
Temple Israel, Leadville, Colorado's 1884 building was restored as a synagogue and Jewish pioneer museum in 2008. The original congregation dissolved before 1914. The Hebrew Cemetery was established in 1880.
Adas Kodesch Shel Emeth in Wilmington, Delaware, is the oldest congregation in the state. It was formed from the merger in 1957 of the Orthodox Adas Kodesch Congregation, which was established in 1885, and the Chesed Shel Emeth Congregation. It is usually referred to simply as Adas Kodesch and is billed as "The First Synagogue in the First State".[19]
Adas Israel Congregation's original building, now known as the Lillian and Albert Small Jewish Museum, was built in 1876, after the congregation split from Washington Hebrew Congregation over the issue of organ music during services. Originally located at 6th and G Streets, the dedication was attended by PresidentUlysses S. Grant on June 9, 1876.[20] The building has been relocated several times due to redevelopment and now sits at 3rd and F Streets NW.[21]
Florida
Temple Beth-El, Pensacola, Florida (1933)
Ahavath Chesed in Jacksonville, and Temple Beth-El in Pensacola each has claims to being the oldest Jewish congregation in Florida. The Jacksonville congregation was meeting for prayer by 1867, but appears to have incorporated later than Pensacola which dedicated its first building in 1876, well before Jacksonville's 1882 building. The current synagogue building in Pensacola opened in 1933.[22]
The United Hebrews of Ocala building was built in 1888. It is the oldest Florida synagogue building still standing.[5] It is now the Ocala Bible Chapel, a Christian congregation.
First Congregation Sons of Israel is the oldest synagogue in “The Nation's Oldest City”, St. Augustine, Florida. The congregation was chartered in 1908. The current synagogue building was dedicated in 1923. It is the oldest Florida synagogue building continuously used as a synagogue since construction.
Congregation of B'nai Israel Synagogue of Augusta, Georgia, was organized in 1846, and its 1869 building is still present on Telfair Street in downtown Augusta and is currently being restored as the future home of the Augusta Jewish Museum.
Temple Beth Tefilloh of Brunswick, Georgia, was established in 1886, and its 1889–90 building was designed by renowned Jewish architect Alfred S. Eichberg. Beth Tefilloh has been continuously active since its founding.
Hawaii
Temple Emanu-El dates back to 1938 when 35 Jewish families on Oahu formed the Honolulu Jewish Community. In 1939, in cooperation with the Jewish Welfare Board, a small chapel on Young Street was leased and converted into a Jewish Community Center (JCC), which also served as Honolulu's first permanent synagogue.[23]
Idaho
Ahavath Beth Israel, Boise, Idaho (1895–96).[7] The synagogue was built for Beth Israel, founded in 1895. In the 1980s, the congregation was formed as a merger of Congregation Beth Israel and Ahavath Israel, founded in 1912.
Illinois
KAM Isaiah Israel merged several older congregations in Chicago. The oldest congregation of these was Kehillat Anshe Maariv, which was founded in 1847.
Temple B'nai Jeshurun, founded in 1859, in Leavenworth, Kansas, is the oldest congregation in the state.[29]
Louisiana
Shaare Tefilah, New Orleans, Louisiana (1860–65)
Touro Synagogue in New Orleans, Louisiana, is the oldest congregation in the state. Touro Synagogue traces its origins back to Shanarai-Chasset (Congregation Gates of Mercy), which was founded in New Orleans in 1828.[2][30]
Shaare Tefilah (Gates of Prayer) in New Orleans, Louisiana, is the oldest surviving synagogue building in the state.[5] Architect J. Thiele designed the brick structure to replace an earlier building, but construction was delayed by the Civil War. The synagogue was dedicated in 1865. The building is located at 709 Jackson Avenue in the Lower Garden District. The former synagogue had been converted to use as a storage facility; however, it was recently purchased and was converted to a 12-unit apartment building.[31][32]
B'er Chayim Temple in Cumberland was founded during the Civil War, and its current building was constructed in 1865–67. It is the oldest continuously operating Maryland synagogue.[5]
Massachusetts
Temple Israel, Boston (1884–85)
Ohabei Shalom, founded in 1843, is the oldest congregation.
Temple Israel (Boston) constructed its 1884–85 building, now a church, that is now the oldest synagogue still standing in Massachusetts.[5]
Shaarai Torah, built in 1906, is the oldest synagogue building still standing in Worcester.
B'nai Israel was organized in Natchez in 1843, making it the oldest congregation in Mississippi.[34][35]
An historic marker on the corner of South Street and South Main Street in Jackson marks the site of the first synagogue built in the state, Beth Israel, built in 1867. The building was destroyed by fire on July 10, 1874.[36][37]
Gemiluth Chessed (Acts of Loving Kindness) is a Moorish Revival synagogue in Port Gibson, Mississippi. It is the oldest surviving synagogue in the state,[5] and the only building of this architectural style. It was built in 1892 by a community of Jewish immigrants from German states and Alsace-Lorraine. Due to declining population, the congregation closed in 1986.
Temple Beth Sholom, Las Vegas, Nevada, founded in 1931.
New Hampshire
Temple Adath Yeshurun of Manchester, founded in 1891, is the oldest congregation in New Hampshire.
Temple Israel, first permanent Jewish house of worship in New Hampshire, Portsmouth, 1910.[41]
New Jersey
Building at 637 Garden Street, Hoboken, in Hudson County, built in 1883
Congregation B'nai Jeshurun of the Town of Paterson, incorporated by the New Jersey Legislature on December 22, 1847. The congregation was later named The Barnert Temple in honor of a past-president and former Mayor of PatersonNathan Barnert. In 1987, the congregation to Franklin Lakes.[42][43]
Congregation B'nai Jeshurun was founded in 1848. Originally located in Newark, it is currently located in Short Hills, NJ.[44]
Har Sinai Temple was founded in 1857. Originally located in Trenton, it is currently located in Pennington, NJ.
Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple, the fourth Jewish congregation founded in New Jersey, was established in New Brunswick on October 11, 1859 where it still functions today as the oldest temple in Middlesex county as well as the oldest synagogue in New Jersey to still be located in its city of origin.
B'nai Jeshurun, founded 1825, the second Jewish congregation in New York City and the ninth in the United States, now located on the Upper West Side, Manhattan.
Congregation Darech Amuno (variously spelled Darech Emunah and Darech Amino), Greenwich Village was established in 1838. The Orthodox congregation is also known as the Greenwich Village Synagogue and had a weekly Shabbat minyan at 53 Charles Street, New York, NY until 2020.[48][49]
Beth Shalom v'Emeth Reform Temple (B'ShERT), founded as Temple Beth Emeth in 1911, is the last remaining Reform congregation in Brooklyn between Prospect Park and the Atlantic Ocean (Coney Island).
Eldridge Street Synagogue, 1886–87, Manhattan, was the first grand house of worship built by Eastern European Jews
Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia was founded in the 1740s. It was the fourth congregation founded in the future United States and the second oldest in continuous operation.
Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, founded in 1847, was the sixth Reform Jewish synagogue founded in the United States. (Rodeph Shalom is now Reform but was originally Orthodox).
Sha'are Zedeck, built in 1952, is the oldest synagogue in Puerto Rico.
Rhode Island
The Touro Synagogue in Newport, founded c.1658, is the oldest Jewish house of worship in North America that is still standing. It was built in 1759–63.
First permanent Jewish congregation in Tennessee, Children of Israel, 1858 in Memphis. Originally known as Congregation B'nai Israel-Children of Israel, Temple Israel (Memphis) was formed by 36 German Jewish families in 1853 and chartered by the state of Tennessee on March 2, 1854.[54]
Congregation Ohabai Sholom (The Temple) in Nashville, had its beginnings in the late 1840s when a group of Jewish residents met for religious services. The synagogue lists its beginning year as 1851, when a benevolent society purchased cemetery property. It began as Khal Kodesh Mogen David and received a charter on March 2, 1854.[55]
Congregation Bikur Cholim Machzikay Hadath is It is the oldest synagogue in Washington state. It is in the Seward Park neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The congregation was founded in 1891
The state's first synagogue, Temple Emamu-El in Spokane, was built in 1892 and later demolished. The congregation later merged with Keneseth Israel to form the present-day Temple Beth Shalom.
In 1914, Sephardic Bikur Holim Congregation was established. It is open for three daily prayers, on every Sabbath and all holidays. The congregation's original members hail from the country of Turkey.
The 1863[60]Gates of Heaven Synagogue in Madison is the oldest synagogue building in the state and the ninth-oldest in the country.[5] It was moved to James Madison Park in 1970 and is now owned by the city of Madison.[61]
^Queen II, Edward L.; Prothero, Stephen R.; Shattuck Jr., Gardiner H. (1996). The Encyclopedia of American Religious History. Vol. 2. New York: Proseworks. p. 487. ISBN0-8160-3545-8.
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