Feb. 19, 2023
if you stand at the threshold.
Touro Synagogue had an Open House on Feb 19, so I drove the three hours south from my NH home to visit. This synagogue was built in 1763 and was an important contribution to the realization of religious freedom in the colonies and post-colonial America. A five hundred-year-old Torah sits on display behind glass (not visible in the photo above).
There is a rich history of influential and prominent Jewish Newport founders and residents, and that history is celebrated at the nearby Loeb Visitors Center. Also celebrated is the 1790 letter from President George Washington to the Newport Hebrew Congregation assuring the Jewish peoples that this new nation of ours would welcome everyone regardless of religious beliefs.
