Two hundred fifty years and counting …

NEWPORT – In 1763 in Newport, a lovely new building was dedicated to accommodate the growing Jewish congregation. Today, 250 years later, that same building, Touro Synagogue, still stands as the oldest synagogue in America; yet, it is not a museum.

It is, instead, the home for an active local congregation and a living symbol of religious freedom for all Americans. Those legacies were commemorated during the weekend of Aug. 16 – 18, through a series of inspiring events. In celebration of the 250th anniversary, hundreds of people attended a dizzying array of events: erev Shabbat and Shabbat morning services, a lecture by Brandeis University Professor Jonathan Sarna about Touro’s living legacy of religious freedom, walking tours of colonial Jewish Newport, a gala at the historic Francis Malbone Estate, Touro Synagogue Foundation’s annual meeting and the annual reading of the George Washington letter with United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan as the keynote speaker. (See “Kagan’s speech recognized as ‘among the finest given at Touro.’”)

On Saturday, Touro Synagogue’s Congregation Jeshuat Israel, which was founded in 1658, hosted services and Torah study.  Later in the day, Sarna led further text study and focused on phrases in two of the most important letters in American religious history, namely the letter written on Aug. 17, 1790 by Moses Seixas, warden of Congregation Yeshuat Israel (better known as the Hebrew Congregation of Newport), and President George Washington’s response. These letters, Sarna declared, proclaimed the radical idea that religious freedom is an inherent right that cannot be taken away from any citizen in the newly formed United States of America. This specific notion, Sarna said, became embedded in the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution.

After the lecture, the tour of colonial Jewish Newport included many sites where Rev. Isaac Touro, Moses Michael Hayes and other congregation members of the time pursued business, raised families and prayed as Jews and as American citizens.  During the evening, many celebrants attended the elegant “Soirée under the Stars” at the Malbone Estate, which is owned by James Leach, a Touro Synagogue Foundation board member. The event, attended by nearly 200 people, included a supper buffet and a birthday cake to honor the synagogue’s 250th anniversary. Characters playing George and Martha Washington and Isaac and Reyna Touro were dressed in colonial garb.

Of course, the main event of the weekend was the letter-reading ceremony, which included Kagan’s speech. U.S. Senator Jack Reed served as master of ceremonies for the event and four teens received Slom Scholarships. The Judge Alexander George Teitz award was given posthumously to Noreen Drexel for her life of service to, and generous support of, those in need in Rhode Island. Following the main program, attendees gathered for a reception at Patriots Park.

Andrew Teitz, chair of the Touro Synagogue Foundation, asked, “How do we top this one for next year?”

But rest assured, the 67th reading of the George Washington letter will be held on Aug. 17, 2014.

Touro Synagogue: 85 Touro St., Newport. Tourosynagogue.org, 847-4794.

Sam Shamoon (sam.shamoon@gmail.com), a resident of Providence, is a board member of the Touro Synagogue Foundation.

Linda Shamoon (lkshamoon@gmail.com) resides in Providence.