Glimpses Into American Jewish History

As this is our third column on the Reverend Dr. Henry Pereira Mendes, we’ll begin with a summary of his life.

In 1825, more than 70 years before the First Zionist Congress was held in Basel, Switzerland, Mordechai Manuel Noah startled the world by proposing a concrete plan for the establishment of a Jewish city of refuge in North America.

"Jewish communities from time immemorial have recognized educational institutions as the bedrock of Jewish continuity.

The development of the Jewish day school in the United States, before the beginning of the modern Jewish day school movement, was sporadic and uneven.

In 1519 Alonso Álvarez de Pineda, Spanish explorer and cartographer, led an expedition into Texas with the goal of finding a passage between the Gulf of Mexico and Asia. He and his men were probably the first Europeans to see the land that became known as Texas.

The ship’s captain apparently respected the Friedenwalds’ strict adherence to halacha because he allowed them to use his cabin for davening and other religious observances.

“Attuned to the ideal of establishing a new Zion in free America, they named their new colony Palestine.

Usually Jewish history books deal with those who have made their mark by doing extraordinary things. While such people obviously are important, there are those who may not have enjoyed much fame yet whose efforts and accomplishments were crucial to maintaining Yahadus in their community. Two such men are Henry S. Hartogensis and his son, Benjamin H. Hartogensis, who devoted their lives to the Jewish community of Baltimore.

In 1927 Captain N. Taylor Phillips1 delivered an address before Congregation Shearith Israel in New York in which he recalled some of the history and traditions of early New York American Jewry. His recollections give fascinating insight into Jewish religious life in America when the community was still in its infancy.

Penn wrote the following to a friend in England: “I found them [the Indians of the eastern shore of North America] with like countenances with the Hebrew race; and their children of so lively a resemblance to them that a man would think himself in Duke’s place, or Barry street, in London, when he sees them.”

Little has been written about the lives of Jewish women during colonial times. In general, historians have focused on the lives of men who were noteworthy during that era, primarily because more information is available about men who were publicly active than women who, more often than not, devoted the majority of their efforts to the home scene.

Practically to his last days the patriarchal founder was at his office almost daily and took an active interest in all matters connected with the business.

There were many who believed that some North America Indians were descended from Jews.

The front-page essay "The Multimillionaire Who Remained True to Orthodoxy" (Jewish Press, April 28) dealt with the early life of Harry Fischel.

For centuries Mexico was inhabited by a number of different Indian races.

The student followers of the Malach stood in direct opposition to his philosophy and to the standards of the yeshiva.

He was absolutely convinced that, religiously, they were much better off in Eastern Europe and Russia than in America.

The Peixotto family played a prominent role in the American Jewish community during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

There are those who have the foresight to establish institutions that leave a lasting impression on Klal Yisrael. One such man was Rabbi Abraham Nachman Schwartz, who founded Yeshiva Torah ve-Emunah Hebrew Parochial School in Baltimore.

The two Torah giants spent hours discussing a variety of Torah topics, some of which went well beyond subjects normally dealt with in Lithuanian yeshivas.

The Civil War caused a great divide among Americans, pitting brother against brother, relative against relative, friend against friend. Jews fought on both sides in this conflict, and they also found themselves beset with divided loyalties. Alfred Mordecai was one such individual who was forced to make a most difficult decision that cost him his career and alienated him from family and friends..

To further improve his English, my father would listen carefully to President Roosevelt's speeches on the radio to pick up the nuances of well-spoken English pronunciation.

The small island of St. Eustatius [in Dutch: Sint Eustatius, and now named simply Statia] is one of the Netherlands Antilles islands, along with St Maarten, Saba, Cura?ao, and Bonaire.

When the Turkish government issued a prohibition against selling property to Jews in Palestine, Hirschensohn’s financial situation deteriorated, and he left the country to secure a stable livelihood.

From his earliest youth Rav Schwab had a clear and unwavering desire to become a talmid chacham and serve as a rabbi.

Since the time of Avraham Aveinu, Jews have observed the mitzva of having their sons circumcised on the eighth day after birth.

In February 1861, Abraham Kohn, one of the founders of Chicago’s Congregation Kehilath Anshe Maariv and at the time the city clerk in the administration of Mayor John Wentworth, presented Abraham Lincoln with a unique American flag.

Despite such opposition, the Yeshivah of Flatbush opened that year with 22 children, four teachers for two classes – a kindergarten and a first grade.

London, in the late 1720's was overflowing with peoples of many origins.

Last month’s column outlined some efforts during the first half of the nineteenth century to establish Jewish agricultural colonies in America. In only one case was a colony actually established.