Fifty years after the first Jews settled in New York, waves of immigration increased their numbers as members of “the Sephardic Diaspora” --Spanish-Portuguese Jews who had originally settled in Europe after the Inquisitions--also sailed to North American shores.
Before the outbreak of the American Revolution, Jews represented no more than 2,500 of the colonial population of 3 million. Yet, despite their paltry numbers, they had succeeded in creating ccongregations in New York, Philadelphia, Newport, Richmond, Charleston and Savannah, all modeled on the Spanish-Portuguese traditions that, with the exception of New York and Philadelphia, they have long since been abandoned.
By 1700, immigration patterns began to alter the Jewish demographic of the American colonies. The Spanish Portuguese remained in Europe where many built powerful dynasties, while Jewish immigrants from Germany, Poland and other parts of eastern and central Europe accelerated. By 1720 Ashkenazis outnumbered Jews with roots to the Iberian Peninsula. Before the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, Jews, who represented no more than 2,500 of the colonial population of 3 million, had already created congregations in New York, Philadelphia, Newport, Richmond, Charleston and Savannah, all modeled on the Spanish-Portuguese tradition. The Ashkenazis, with customs and a language (Yiddish) of their own, were active in the affairs of these synagogues, observing their customs. But tensions grew. In 1801, a group broke off from Philadelphia's Congregation Mitveh Israel to form Rodeph Shalom, the first Ashkenazi synagogue in the United States.
Before the outbreak of the American Revolution, Jews represented no more than 2,500 of the colonial population of 3 million. Yet, despite their paltry numbers, they had succeeded in creating ccongregations in New York, Philadelphia, Newport, Richmond, Charleston and Savannah, all modeled on the Spanish-Portuguese traditions that, with the exception of New York and Philadelphia, they have long since been abandoned.
By 1700, immigration patterns began to alter the Jewish demographic of the American colonies. The Spanish Portuguese remained in Europe where many built powerful dynasties, while Jewish immigrants from Germany, Poland and other parts of eastern and central Europe accelerated. By 1720 Ashkenazis outnumbered Jews with roots to the Iberian Peninsula. Before the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, Jews, who represented no more than 2,500 of the colonial population of 3 million, had already created congregations in New York, Philadelphia, Newport, Richmond, Charleston and Savannah, all modeled on the Spanish-Portuguese tradition. The Ashkenazis, with customs and a language (Yiddish) of their own, were active in the affairs of these synagogues, observing their customs. But tensions grew. In 1801, a group broke off from Philadelphia's Congregation Mitveh Israel to form Rodeph Shalom, the first Ashkenazi synagogue in the United States.
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