Jews in AmericaHasia R. DinerOXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESSJews in AmericaImage Not Available OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESSNew York OxfordJews in AmericaHasia R. DinerJON BUTLER & HARRY S. STOUTGENERAL EDITORSReligion inAmerican LifeOxford New YorkAthens Auckland Bangkok BogotBuenos Aires CalcuttaCape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong IstanbulKarachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Paris So Paulo Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsawand associated companies inBerlinIbadanCopyright 1999 by Hasia R. DinerPublished by Oxford University Press, Inc.198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York10016Website: www.oup-usa.orgOxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University PressAll rights reserved.No part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the priorpermission of Oxford University Press.Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataDiner, Hasia R.Jews in America / Hasia R. Diner.p. cm. (Religion in American life)Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 0-19-510678-4 (edition)1. JewsUnited StatesHistoryJuvenile literature. 2. JudaismUnited StatesHistoryJuvenile literature. 3. United StatesEthnic relationsJuvenile literature.[1. JewsUnited States.]I. Title. II. Series.E184.J5D49291998 973.04924dc2198-176459 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Printed in the United States of Americaon acid-free paper Design and layout: Loraine MachlinPicture research: Lisa KirchnerOn the cover: Hannukah in New York (detail), by Malcah Zeldis. CourtesyMalcah Zeldis/Art Resource, NY.Frontispiece: A Judaica merchant in Washington, D.C. exhibits his patriotismin the shops window display.For my young, younger, and youngest readersShira, Eli, and MatanContentsIntroduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Jon Butler and Harry S. StoutC H A P T E R 1First Journeys: 16541820. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11C H A P T E R 2Across America: 18201880. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31C H A P T E R 3Transplanted People: 18801924 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51C H A P T E R 4Becoming Americans: 19241945. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79C H A P T E R 5On the Move: 19451967. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103C H A P T E R 6At the Crossroads: Since 1967. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146Chronology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149Further Reading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155Image Not Available In 1865 the American Jewscelebrated the festival ofPurim with a charity ball.IntroductionhehistoryofJewishlifeinAmericadramaticallyillustrateshowareli-giousgroupcanadapttoanewcultureandretainimmensespiritualvitality.Inthecolonialperiod,AmericabroughttogetherthetwogreattraditionsofJudaismAshkenazic(EasternEuropean)andSephardic(Spanish and Portuguese) Judaism. In the 19th and early 20th centuries,twouniqueJewishdenominationaltraditionsemergedoutoftheAmerican experiencethe liberal Reform movement and the middle-of-the-road Conservative movement. They joined the Orthodox tradition asapartofthegrowingcomplexityofAmericanJudaism.ReactiontotheHolocaustandtheSix-DayWarinIsraelin1967signaledrenewedcom-mitments to a united Jewish identity, not only in America but throughoutthe world.ButJewsinAmerica ismorethanthestoryofhowAmericashapedJewishidentityitalsovividlyindicateshowJudaismhashelpedshapeAmericasreligiousidentity.ThefirstJewsintheBritishcoloniesprovedthat they could sustain a complex religious tradition with very few follow-ers. As their numbers grew, they confirmed the importance of institutions,includingdenominationalorganizationsandseminaries,andthesignifi-canceofwomeninupholdingandadvancingAmericanreligion.Andthrough a willingness to change, Jews revealed how religion would prosperin 20th century America despite the lure of secularized suburban life.7TJON BUTLER & HARRY S. STOUT, GENERAL EDITORSImage Not Available Jews in America8This book is part of a unique 17-volume series that explores the evo-lution, character, and dynamics of religion in American life from 1500 tothe end of the 20th century. As late as the 1960s, historians paid relativelylittle attention to religion beyond studies of New Englands Puritans. Butsincethen,Americanreligioushistoryanditscontemporaryexpressionhavebeenthesubjectofintenseinquiry.Thesenewstudieshavethor-oughlytransformedourknowledgeofalmosteveryAmericanreligiousgroupandhavefullyrevisedourunderstandingofreligionsroleinAmerican history.ItisimpossibletocapturetheflavorandcharacteroftheAmericanexperience without understanding the connections between secular activ-ities and religion. Spirituality stood at the center of Native American soci-eties before European colonization and has continued to do so long after.Religionandthefreedomtoexpressitmotivatedmilllionsofimmi-grantstocometoAmericafromremarkablydifferentcultures,andtheexposure to new ideas and ways of living shaped their experience. It alsofueled tension among different ethnic and racial groups in America and,regretfully,accountedfordifficultepisodesofbigotryinAmericansoci-ety.ReligionurgedAmericanstoexpandthenationfirstwithinthecontinental United States, then through overseas conquests and mission-ary workand has had a profound influence on American politics, fromtheeraofthePuritanstothepresent.Finally,religioncontributestotheextraordinarydiversitythathas,forfourcenturies,madetheUnitedStates one of the worlds most dynamic societies.The Religion in American Life series explores the historical traditionsthathavemadereligiousfreedomandspiritualexplorationcentralfea-turesofAmericansociety.ItemphasizestheexperienceofreligioninAmericawhat men and women have understood by religion, how it hasaffectedpoliticsandsociety,andhowAmericanshaveusedittoshapetheir daily lives. RELIGION IN COLONIAL AMERICAJon ButlerRELIGION IN NINETEENTH CENTURY AMERICAGrant WackerRELIGION IN TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICARandall BalmerCATHOLICS IN AMERICAJames T. FisherPROTESTANTS IN AMERICAMark NollORTHODOX CHRISTIANS IN AMERICAJohn A. EricksonJEWS IN AMERICAHasia R. DinerMUSLIMS IN AMERICAFrederick DennyNATIVE AMERICAN RELIGIONJoel W. MartinMORMONS IN AMERICAClaudia Lauper Bushman & Richard Lyman BushmanBUDDHISTS, HINDUS, AND SIKHS IN AMERICAGurinder Singh Mann, Paul David Numrich, & Raymond B. WilliamsALTERNATIVE RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS IN AMERICAStephen J. SteinCHURCH AND STATE IN AMERICAEdwin S. GaustadIMMIGRATION AND AMERICAN RELIGIONJenna Weissman JoselitWOMEN AND AMERICAN RELIGIONAnn BraudeAFRICAN-AMERICAN RELIGIONAlbert J. RaboteauBIOGRAPHICAL SUPPLEMENT AND SERIES INDEXDarryl Hart and Ann Henderson HartJON BUTLER & HARRY S. STOUTGENERAL EDITORSReligion inAmerican LifeImage Not Available Representatives of the Jewsof Spain plead with KingFerdinand and QueenIsabella not to expel themfrom the country. Jews hadlived comfortably in Spainfor hundreds of years andhad created a rich civilizationthere, but the Catholic rulersof Spain wanted it to be apurely Christian nation.Ferdinand and Isabellarefused to change theirminds and the expulsion of1492 is one of the milestonesin Jewish history.First Journeys:16541820nlateAugustorearlySeptemberof1654,atotalof23Jewssteppedfrom a ship onto the soil of what would one day be New York City, thelargestJewishcommunityintheworld.Butin1654itwastheDutchcityofNewAmsterdam,andthe23newarrivalswerethefirstJewsthere.Manyofthemscatteredtootherplacessoonthereafter,andallbutoneofthemhavedisappearedfromhistory.Weknow,however,thatthey had been traveling for a long time.TheJewswhoarrivedinNewAmsterdamcamefromtheDutchcolonyofRecifeinnortheasternBrazil.Afewgenerationsearlier,however,theirfamilieshadlivedinSpainandPortugalonEuropesIberianpeninsula.TheseIberianJewswereknownasSephardim(Sepharad isHebrewforSpain).UnderMuslimrule,thelargeandprosperouscommunityofSpanishJewscreatedarichcultureinwhichtight-knit,all-JewishcommunitiesenjoyedgoodrelationswiththeirSpanish neighbors. ButthisGoldenAgeofSpanishJewryendedinthe14thcenturywhen Christian rulers drove the Muslims out of Spain and began to per-secuteJews.TheserulersandtheRomanCatholicChurchwantedSpainto be an all-Christian society. They forced large numbers of Jews to con-vert to Christianity, often on pain of death. The authorities made it diffi-cultforthemtoremainJewishandlivefulllivesinSpain.MostJews11IChapter 1Image Not Available Jews in America12refusedtoconverttoChristianity,andin1492QueenIsabellaofSpainorderedallJewstoleavethecountryforever, ending a thousand years of Jewish life there.YetmanySpanishJewsdidbecomeChristiansinordertoremaininSpain.Ofthe80,000JewsontheIberian peninsula, about half converted to Christianityratherthanleavetheirhomes.TheseconvertswerecalledNewChristiansor,inSpanish,conversos,althoughChristianssometimescalledthembytheinsultingtermmarranos, meaningpigs.TheNewChristiansparticipatedinChristianworship,butsecretly,intheprivacyoftheirhomes,theytriedtoremain Jews. They faced many challenges. For exam-ple,althoughtheycouldnolongerfollowthecom-plicatedandstrictJewishdietarylawsknownaskashrut, theydidnotwanttoeatpork,whichJewsregardasanuncleanmeatyetporkisastapleofSpanishcuisine.TheNewChristianshadtoabandonsomeJewishcustomscompletely.Followingbiblicaldirection,Jewshadalwayscircumcisedtheirsonsateightdaysofage,physicallymarkingJewishboysasdifferentfromnon-Jews.TheNewChristians had to stop doing this. They also had to stop giving their chil-dren Hebrew names and educating them as Jews.Inthe15thcenturytheCatholicChurchlaunchedacampaignagainsttheNewChristians,accusingsecretJewsofspreadingdangerousideasamongrealChristiansthatquestionedbasicchurchdoctrines.PriestspreachedagainsttheNewChristians,andmobsattackedpeoplesuspectedofbeingsecretJews.In1483theChurchsetupapermanentcourt called the Inquisition to investigate and stamp out challenges to itsauthority.AnyonecouldbringachargebeforetheInquisition.Theaccusedwereheldindungeons,torturedwhileawaitingtrial,andthenusually executed. TheInquisitionwasalsoactiveinneighboringPortugal,towhichmanyconversos hadfled.Thepositionoftheconversos grewevenmoreThe Torah scroll, contain-ing the Five Books ofMoses, is the sacred sym-bol of Judaism. Jews fleeingthe persecutions in Spaintook Torah scrolls andother ritual objects withthem as they soughtrefuge throughout Europe.Image Not Available frighteningafterSpainandPortugalunitedunderasinglemonarchyin1580. Another 10 years later a large group of New Christians fled Portugalfor the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.AmsterdamwasattractivetoJews,whocouldworshipfreelythere.Jews did not enjoy all of the benefits of citizenship available to Christians,butingeneraltheNetherlandswasreligiouslytolerantarelieftotheJewsafterthepersecutionandsecrecyoftheIberianpeninsula.Manyoftheconversos whosettledinAmsterdamreturnedtoJudaism.TheytookHebrew names, learned their traditions, and created full Jewish commu-nitieswithrabbis,synagogues,Jewishschools,andJewishcemeteries.They could obtain kosher meat and observe Jewish dietary laws. Men hadthemselvescircumcised,makingupfortheyearswhentheyhadbeenforcedtohidetheirJewishnessandpretendtobesomethingthattheywere not. Amsterdamhadanothergreatadvantage:Itwasabustlingcenterofinternational commerce, and commerce was familiar territory to the Jews.For centuries Jews in many parts of the world had been merchants insteadof earning their living as farmers, like most other people; hatred and prej-udice against Jews had led to laws that prevented them from owning land.ThesameprejudicekeptmostJewsoutoftheguilds,theorganizationsthatcraftsmenformedtoprotecttheirtrades,andthereforefewJewscouldbecomeskilledarti-sans. Instead the Jews bought andsoldgoods,travelingfromplacetoplace,buyingupagriculturalproduce,andsellingitinthecities. They also engaged in inter-nationaltrade,buyinggoodsinthecountrieswheretheywereproduced and selling them in thecountrieswheretheywerewant-ed.Withfewnaturalresources,theNetherlandshadestablishedFirst Journeys: 16541820 13Some of the Jews who leftSpain made their newhome in Amsterdam, a rel-atively tolerant society thatwelcomed them, in partbecause of their extensiveconnections and experi-ences in internationaltrade. This 1723 drawingdepicts Amsterdam Jews atworship during the HighHoliday of Rosh Hashanah. Image Not Available itself as an important center of international trade. Its wealth came fromtrade and it wanted more, which may be one reason why the Netherlandswelcomed the Jews so warmly.SotheJewsinAmsterdamhadagoodlifeinacommerciallyactiveand religiously tolerant society. In the 1630s and 1640s a number of JewsjoinedotherDutchmerchantsandtheirfamiliesonjourneystotheAmericancolonies.By1645almost1,500JewswerelivingintheDutchcoloniesinBrazil.InthetownofRecifetheybuiltasynagoguefortheircongregation,whichwascalledZurIsrael,therockofIsrael.TheybroughtarabbifromAmsterdam,IsaacAboabdaFonseca.Ahaham, orlearned person, named Moses Rafael de Aguilar supervised a school. In 1653 the Jews of Recife might have thought that their journeys hadcometoanend.Theyprosperedeconomicallyfromthetradeinsugarand slaves that had built the colony. They experienced religious freedom.Butin1654thePortuguesecapturedRecife.Withinafewmonthsremembering the horrors of the Inquisitionall the Jews left. Some wentbacktoAmsterdam.OtherssetsailforsomeoftheDutchislandsoftheCaribbean Sea. One group headed for the Dutch colony of Guyana on thenorthcoastofSouthAmerica.And23oftheexilesdecidedtogotothenorthernmost Dutch American colony, New Netherland.TwomenmetthemonthedocksofNewAmsterdam,thecolonyscapital. One was Peter Stuyvesant, the director-general of the colony, and Jews in America14In the early 17th century,Jews traveled on ships likethis to the Americas. There,they relied upon thosesame ships for trading,their main occupation.Image Not Available the other was Johannes Megapolensis, an official of the Dutch ReformedChurch. Stuyvesant, a fervently religious man, and Megapolensis did notwant anyone in the colony who did not belong to their church. They triedunsuccessfullytopreventtheJewsfromleavingtheship,justastheyhopedtopreventmembersofotherreligionsfromsettlinginNorthAmerica.Inalettertothecolonysowner,theDutchWestIndiaCompanyinAmsterdam,theyaccusedJewsofbeingadeceitfulraceandpracticinganabominablereligion.Stuyvesantaskedthecompanywhat he should do with the Jews who had shown up on his doorstep. The weary and penniless Jews also wrote to Amsterdam. They urgedtheirfellowJews,someofwhomownedsharesintheDutchWestIndiaCompany,tospeakoutontheirbehalftothecompanyandsecureforthem the right to remain in New Amsterdam.On February 15, 1655, Stuyvesant and the Jews received their answer.It was a mixed message. The companys directors agreed with StuyvesantsobjectionstotheJewsandhopedthatthenewterritoriesshouldnomore be allowed to be infected by people of the Jewish nation. But theyalsotoldStuyvesantnottopreventtheJewsfromsettlingandtradinginthecolony.InalettertoStuyvesant,theDutchWestIndiaCompanyallowedtheJewstoquietlyandpeacefullycarryontheirbusinessasbeforesaidandexerciseinallquietnesstheirreligionwithintheirhous-es. The Jews could enjoy the same privileges they had had in Amsterdam,although the company sternly warned them that they would have to takecareoftheirownpoor.NeitherthecompanynorthecolonyofNewNetherland would help them.In 1655 and 1666 Stuyvesant issued many rulings that made life diffi-cult for the Jews. They could not pray in public. They could not trade inthenorthernandsouthernreachesofthecolony,norcouldtheybe-comemechanics(skilledcraftsmenorartisans)orsellrealestate.Jewscould not serve in the militia but had to pay a special tax to make up fornot serving.DespiteStuyvesantsandtheDutchWestIndiaCompanyshostilitytowardJewsandtheirreligion,the23JewishimmigrantssoonjoinedbyotherSephardimfromAmsterdamsetaboutcreatingacommunityFirst Journeys: 16541820 15inNewAmsterdam.In1655the13adultJewishmaleswholivedthereaskedfor,andreceived,therighttoestablishacemetery.Thiswasmoreimportantthanhavingasynagogue.Jewscanprayanywhere,andtheJewishresidentsofNewAmsterdamprobablyprayedtogetherintheirhomes. But a cemetery had to be maintained by the community. It meantthattheJewsviewedthissettlementasapermanenthomeatleast,aspermanent as anything ever was in the history of the Jewish people. Not all the Jews who settled in what would become the United Stateswere Sephardim from Iberia. Some came to America after different jour-neys. German and Polish Jews, known as Ashkenazim, also settled in theAmericancolonies.Bythe1720sAshkenazimoutnumberedSephardim in New York City (New Amsterdam had become New York in 1664 whentheBritishcapturedthecolonyfromtheDutch).By1776,whentheUnited States went to war seeking independence from Great Britain, Jewsfrom Germany and Poland made up the majority of the American Jewishpopulation.TheirexperiencesdifferedfromthoseoftheSephardim.TheycouldnotlookbacktoaGoldenAgeintheirformerhomes.Ontheotherhand,theirfamilieshadnotsufferedpersecutionbytheInquisitionorbeen forced to become secret Jews. Yet in Poland and northern Germanythe Ashkenazim had known greater poverty than the Sephardim, and theSephardim considered them to be of lower social status. Thereweremanydifferencesbetweenthetwogroups.TheAshkenazimspokeYiddish,aJewishlanguagebasedonGermanandwritteninHebrewcharacters,whiletheSephardimspokeSpanishorPortuguese. When speaking Hebrew, the ancient language of the Jews, thetwogroupspronouncedsomewordsdifferently.Someotherdifferencesintherituals,prayers,andcustomsoftheirreligiousservicesalsosetthemapartfromeachother.Forexample,Sephardimheldmanyritualevents such as circumcisions in the synagogue, but Ashkenazim celebrat-edtheseeventsintheirhomes.Finally,theSephardimseemedtobelessstrict in their observance of Jewish law, perhaps because so many of themhadoncehadtoliveasChristiansorhadenjoyedfriendlyrelationswithnon-Jews. Jews in America16Thetwogroupswere,however,morealikethantheywere different. Ashkenazim and Sephardim read from the sametexts. One was the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible,whichJewsconsidertobethedirectwordofGod.TheotherwastheTalmudorOralLaw,acollectionofrabbis decisions on Jewish law, which tells Jews howtolive.AshkenazimandSephardimfollowedthesame Hebrew calendar. Both prayed in Hebrew. Withminorvariationstheirreligiousservicesweresimilar.BothgroupsobservedthesamelawsoftheSabbathandkashrut. BothfollowedalltheotherdetailsbywhichJews organize their personal lives and those of their communi-ties,circumcisingtheirsonsateightdaysofageandobservinglaws of ritual purity, which meant that married women bathed in a mik-vah (ritualbath)aftermenstruationsothattheycouldresumesexualrelations with their husbands. Ashkenazim and Sephardim celebrated thesameholidaysinbasicallythesameways:soundingtheshofar (ramshorn) on Rosh Hashanah, the New Year; fasting on Yom Kippur, the dayofatonement;eatinganunleavenedflatbreadcalledmatzo duringPassover;lightingcandlesforeightnightsduringHanukkah;buildingsmall huts during the fall holiday of Sukkoth, and many more.LiketheSephardim,theAshkenazimhadbeendrivenfromformerhomelands.ManyGermanJewshadbeenforcedtoleavetheirhomesafter the Thirty Years War (161848). The Jews of Poland had also suf-fered tremendously during that war, one of the most murderous periodsinallofJewishhistory.ManyofthedesperatelypoorPolishandGermanJewishrefugeesfledtoAmsterdamandLondon.LiketheNetherlands,EnglandwasmoretolerantofJewsandJudaismthantherest of Europe was.InLondonandAmsterdamtheSephardimandAshkenazimlivedapart.TosomeextenttheseparationwaseconomictheAshkenazimweregenerallypoorerthantheSephardim.Thetwogroupsmaintainedseparate synagogues, schools, cemeteries, burial societies, and other char-itableinstitutions.MembersofbothcommunitiesseemtohavebeenFor Jews to practiceJudaism, they need manyritual objects. This boardand knife were used in the18th century by Jews inNewport, Rhode Island, toprepare matzo, theunleavened bread con-sumed during the eight-day holiday of Passover.First Journeys: 16541820 17Image Not Available unhappyaboutmarriagesbe-tween Sephardim and Ashkenazim.They could not prevent such mar-riages,howeverafterall,Ash-kenazimandSephardimwerebothJews,aunitythatmeantmuchmorethananydifferencesof social snobbery. The Ashkenazim and Sephar-dimbroughttheirideasabouteachothertotheAmericas.BecausetheSephardimwerecommunityleaders,alloftheearly American congregations fol-lowed the Sephardic form of wor-ship,evenwhenthemajorityofmemberswereAshkenazim.Butthetwogroupsdidnotlivesepa-ratelyastheyhadinEurope.ThereweretoofewJewsinAmerica.Theyhadtosticktogether.IneachcitywhereJewssettledtheyformedonecongre-gationthatmaintainedaceme-tery,charitablesociety,school,andritualbath.Thecongregationalsogave all Jews kosher meat and matzo for Passover. AlthoughpeoplefrombothcommunitiesgotupsetwhenyoungAshkenazimandSephardimfellinloveanddecidedtomarry,thetwogroupsstayedtogetherastheyfoundedandmaintainedJewishinstitu-tions in America. Twice, however, Ashkenazim challenged the unity of thecommunity and the Sephardic leadership. In Charleston, South Carolina,Ashkenazim had a separate congregation for a brief time in the 1780s, butthetwogroupssoonreunited.Amorepermanentsplittookplacein Jews in America18Philadelphia was home toone of the six Jewish com-munities that formedbefore the AmericanRevolution. Here, as in theother cities where Jews set-tled, access to waterwaysfor merchant shipping wasessential.Image Not Available Philadelphiain1801whenaGermanJewishgroupboughtlandforitsown cemetery apart from the existing Jewish cemetery. No longer did thelocal Sephardic congregation represent all the Jews of Philadelphia.TheJewishpopulationinNorthAmericagrewveryslowly.Thefirst23 Jews arrived in 1654. By 1700 the number of Jews had risen to 200, by1776to2,500,andby1820to4,000.MostoftheJewslivedalongtheAtlanticcoast,creatingJewishcommunitiesinsuchportcitiesasNewYork;Newport,RhodeIsland;Savannah,Georgia;Charleston,SouthCarolina; and Philadelphia.Eachofthesecommunitieshasitsownhistory,butinmanywaystheyweresimilar.Regardlessofwheretheylived,nearlyallJewsearnedtheirlivingasmerchants.Typicallytheyownedsmallstoresthatsoldhardware,candles,drygoods,andliquor.Larger,moresuccessfulmer-chantsalsoshippedrawmaterialssuchastimber,grain,furs,molasses,andtobaccotoEuropeandimportedmanufacturedgoodssuchasclothandironwareforsaletoAmericans.Afewoftheverywealthiestpartici-patedintheslavetradethatbroughtAfricanslavestotheAmericasandWestIndianrumandmolassestoNorthAmerica.MostJews,however,ownedandworkedinsmallstoresthatwerefamilybusinesses.Menandwomen, adults and children shared the effort of making a living.Another way in which American Jewish communities resembled oneanotheristhatallofthemlookedtoEuropeforsomeoftheirbasicneeds. For example, if Jews needed a Torah scroll, prayer books, or otherklaykodesh (holyobjects),theyhadtoimporttheseitemsfromabroad.Theyalsohadtoimportaspecialkindofknowledgethedecisionsofrabbis.InJewishtradition,arabbiwasascholar,teacher,judge,andauthority onhalakah (Jewish law). Rabbis decided questions about reli-gious practice, and individual Jews as well as whole communities turnedto rabbis when they did not know what the law required of them. But norabbishadchosentolivedinAmericauntil1840,wellaftertheendofthe colonial period. When questions of Jewish law arose, early AmericanJewish congregations wrote to rabbis in Amsterdam or London request-ing rulings. First Journeys: 16541820 19Becauserabbisseldomledreligiousservicesorgavesermons,AmericanJewscouldcarryonroutinereligiouspracticewithoutthem.Any male Jew could lead a service. Most early congregations did employ achazzan or cantor, who chanted the service. When they could, congrega-tionsalsohiredashochet, whoslaughteredlivestockaccordingtoJewishlaw, and a mohel, who performed circumcisions.But the real power in the Jewish communities of early America lay inthe hands of the parnassim, wealthy merchants who served as trustees ofthecongregation.Aboardoftrusteeselectedaparnass, whomadebasicdecisionsaboutthecongregationsaffairsandthelivesofitsmembers.Theparnass strictlyenforcedJewishlawandmadesurethatonlymem-bersingoodstandingreceivedthebenefitsofthecongregation.BecausethesinglesynagogueinthecityadministeredallcommunityservicestotheJewishpopulation,theparnass hadagreatdealofpower.HecoulddenyindividualJewstherighttomarriage,circumcisionofsons,burial,kosher meat, matzo, and charitable assistance during times of need. In the1770s,forexample,theparnass ofNewYorksShearithIsraelhadalongargumentwithHettyHays,theownerofaboardinghouse.Theparnassclaimed that Hays had been serving non-kosher meat, but she refused toallow a visiting rabbi from London to inspect her kitchen.InAmerica,Jewsmovedaroundalot.AJewishcoupleinNewYorkmighthavechildrenlivinginNewport,Philadelphia,andCharleston,inpartsoftheWestIndiessuchasAntigua,Barbados,andJamaica,orinLondon.Jewsalsohelpedeachotherintrade.SomemigratedtoplacesthatalreadyhadsmallJewishcommunitiesbecausearelativeorfriendhadencouragedthemtopursueeconomicopportunitiesthere.OtherswenttodevelopingfrontiersettlementssuchasAlbany,NewYork;Cumberland, Maryland; or Cincinnati, Ohioplaces that had no Jews. Solitary, far-ranging Jewish merchants and traders made their way tosome of the most remote areas of North America, often long before per-manent white settlements were established. As early as 1658 Asser Levyoneoftheoriginal23JewswhohadcometoNewAmsterdamownedproperty in the frontier outpost of Albany and had acquired the rights of Jews in America20a burgher, or citizen. Other Jews showed up there in 1678 and 1761, butnotuntiltheearly1830sdidenoughJewsliveinAlbanytomakeupacommunity.Similarly,afewloneJewsreachedtheheadwatersoftheJamesRiverinVirginiainthe1650s,butthefirstJewishsettlersdidnotarrivethereuntil1769.AcongregationinRichmondismentionedina1790 letter congratulating Virginian George Washington on his inaugura-tion as the first President of the United States.NearlyallofthecongregationsthatservedtheearlyAmericanJewsbeganasinformalgroups.IttooktimefortheJewstodecidethattheywerestayinginAmericaandneededpermanentinstitutions.Thisdeci-sionoftentookplacewhentheJewsofacommunityrealizedthattheyneededacemetery.Thentheyorganizedthemselvesintoacongregation.ButJewishtraditiondidnotrequirepeopletoworshipinabuildingspecifically designated as a synagogue, and sometimes years passed beforea community of Jews decided that they needed a synagogue.ThestoryofaPhiladelphiacongregationshowshowJewishinstitu-tions came into being. By the 1730s a group of Jews, mostly Ashkenazim,lived and traded in Philadelphia but had not taken any steps to create anorganizedJewishcommunity.In1738thesonofamannamedNathanLevydied.LevyhadnoplacetoburytheboyaccordingtoJewishtradi-tion, so he bought a piece of land. At first, it seems, this plot was a familyburialground,butbytheearly1740sitbelongedtoalooselylinkedJewish community that met for prayer on the Sabbath and holidays. Thenext step took place in 1761, when a group of Philadelphia Jews receivedaTorahscrollonpermanentloanfromaNewYorkcongregation.ThePhiladelphiaJewsbegantoholdreligiousservicesinaprivatehomeinSterling Alley. In 1771 they rented a space on Cherry Alley and gave theircongregation a name: Kahal Kodesh Mikve Israel, the holy congregationthe hope of Israel. Two years later they applied to colonial officials for aformal charter.ByandlargethefewJewsinPhiladelphia,NewYork,Newport,Charleston,andSavannahgotalongquitewellwiththeirnon-Jewishneighbors.Still,thehatredthatmanyEuropeanChristiansfelttowardFirst Journeys: 16541820 21JewshadnotdisappearedasEuropeansbecameAmericans.Ministersparticularly in Massachusettsdelivered sermons against the Jews, blam-ing them for the crucifixion of Jesus and calling them agents of Satan. Ina1669bookentitledTheMysteryofIsraelsSalvation, BostonministerIncrease Mather declared that the Jews carried the sin of killing Jesus andthat they bore the guilt of the blood of the Savior. Colonial newspapersattimespresentedstereotypesofJewsasdirtyandgreedy.DuringtheAmericanRevolution,forexample,theCharlestonGazette claimedthatthe Jews were collaborating with the British to make money. JustasinEurope,JewsinAmericafacedlimitsontheirrightsandfreedoms.Inthe18thcenturyJewscouldnotliveinMassachusetts,Connecticut, or New Hampshire. In most of the colonies and later someofthestates,Jewscouldnotvote,holdelectedoffice,orserveonjuries.TheserestrictionsdidnotsingleoutJews.Theyappliedtoanyonewhodidnotbelongtotheestablished,orofficial,ChristianchurchtheAnglican church in some places, the Congregational in others. Catholics,Quakers,andmembersofotherreligiousminoritiessufferedasmuchasJews from laws that tied political rights to religious affiliation.Despitesomeprejudiceandreligiousintolerance,AmericanJewsinthe 17th and 18th centuries had more freedom and fewer problems thanany other Jews in the world. The special circumstances of life in colonialAmericaandtheearlyUnitedStatesfavoredtheacceptanceofJewsandtheir religious traditions. Before and after the Revolution, America was araw, growing place that welcomed people who were willing to contributeto the economy. Trade kept the colonies alive and made them prosperous.TheJewsbroughtusefulcommercialskillsandexperiencesthatcolonialadministratorsandordinarypeoplevalued.Furthermore,theJewswerenottheonlyreligiousandethnicoutsidersinearlyAmerica.LiketheJews,theCatholics,Quakers,Methodists,Anabaptists,Mennonites,andother smaller groups quietly challenged the idea that only members of theestablished church could be accepted members of society. German, Irish,French,Welsh,andScottishsettlersaswellasJewscreatedanethni-cally diverse society in which different kinds of people could both partici-pate in public life and band together in their own communities. Jews in America22OneotheraspectoflifeinAmericawassigificanttotheJews.InalltheotherplaceswhereJewshadlived,thenon-Jewishmajorityhadregardedthemasthelowestgroupinsociety.Butasfreepeoplewithwhiteskin,JewsinAmericaenjoyedprivilegesdeniedtoblacks.Forthefirst time, the Jews were not the most different part of the population.Infact,JewsdidnotstandoutasterriblydifferentfromotherearlyAmericans. They made deliberate efforts to blend in, not wanting to callattentiontothemselvesorappearoutofstepwiththesocietyaroundthem.Withintheirowncommunitiestheyworshippedastheyalwayshad, ate kosher food, and educated their children in their traditions. Buton the outside they looked just like the people around them. They did notdressdifferently.Infact,astimewentonJewsinAmericaabandonedsometraditionalpracticeswhentheyfollowedthecustomsofthelargersociety:Menbeganshavingtheirbeardsanduncoveringtheirheads,women started wearing modern dresses with low necklines, and marriedwomen appeared in public without hair coverings.When the Jews finally began to build synagogues they again chose toblendin,notstandout.TheoldestsynagoguebuildingintheUnitedStates,JehuatIsraelinNewport,RhodeIsland,looksjustlikemanychurchesandpublicbuildingsofitstime.Dedicatedin1763,JeshuatIsraelispopularlyknownastheTouroSynagogueinhonorofIsaacTouro, its first leader, and his son, Judah, who provided funds to supportthe congregation. The synagogue was built in the Palladian style, a popu-lar18th-centuryarchitecturalstylebasedonRomanbuildings.Itscolumnsandpedimentsemphasizedbalance,symmetry,andelegance.Fromthestreetanobserverwouldhaveneverknownwhattookplaceinside. No markings or signs identified the building as Jewish.Life in early America was good to the Jewsprobably better than anylifetheyhadknownsincetheRomansdrovethemoutoftheirnationalhomeland in C.E. 70. America was more tolerant than any place the Jewshad known, with the possible exception of Spain in the Golden Age. InAmericaJewsinteractedfreelywithothersaroundthem.JewsandGentiles(non-Jews)establishedbusinesspartnershipsandsocializedintheir leisure hours. For example, Joseph Simon, a Jewish frontier trader inFirst Journeys: 16541820 2324WhileIreceivewithmuchsatisfactionyouraddressrepletewithexpressionsofaffectionand esteem, I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring you that I shall always retain a gratefulremembrance of the cordial welcome I experienced in my visit to New Port from all classesof Citizens.Thereflectiononthedaysofdifficultyanddangerwhicharepastisrenderedthe moresweetfromaconsciousnessthattheyaresucceededbydaysofuncommon prosperity and security.Ifwehavewisdomtomakethebestuseoftheadvantageswithwhichwearenowfavored,wecan-notfail,underthejustadministrationofagoodgovernment,tobecomeagreat and happy people.TheCitizensoftheUnitedStatesofAmericahavearighttoapplaudthemselvesforhavingWhile Jews were notable in the American colonies as non-Christians, the level of restriction againstthem never equaled that of Europe. In the age of the American Revolution, Jews felt a great deal ofcomfortthattheleadersoftheUnitedStatesdidnotexcludethem.DuringGeorgeWashingtonsvisited to New Port (now Newport) in 1790 ,he met with members of towns Hebrew congregation,and the ensuing exchange of letters testifies to the civil equality granted to all Americans.George Washington Writes the Hebrew Congregation in New Port, Rhode Island, 1790Image Not Available 25giventomankindexamplesofanenlargedandliberalpolicy,apolicyworthyofimitation.Allpossessalikeliberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship.Itisnownomorethattolerationisspokenofasifitwasbytheindul-genceofoneclassofpeople,thatanotherenjoyedtheexerciseoftheirinherent natural rights. For happily thegovernment of the United States, whichgivestobigotrynosanction,toperse-cutionnoassistance,requiresonlythattheywholiveunderitsprotectionshould demean themselves as good citi-zens,ingivingitonalloccasionstheireffectual support.ItwouldbeinconsistentwiththefranknessofmycharacternottoavowthatIampleasedwithyourfavorableopinionofmyadministration,andfer-vent wishes for my felicity.MaythechildrenoftheStockofAbraham,whodwellinthisland,continuetomeritandenjoythegoodwilloftheotherinhabitants,whileeveryoneshallsitinsafetyunderhisownvine and fig-tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.Peter Harrison, who had designed several churches in NorthAmerica, designed the Touro Synagogue (dedicated in 1763) forJews in Newport, Rhode Island. On the inside it replicated the styleof the Spanish-Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam.Image Not Available western Pennsylvania, shared a 40-year part-nershipwithColonelAlexanderLowry,anon-Jew,tradingwithIndians.SimonalsohadbusinesspartnershipswithseveralotherGentiles as well as with Jews.SofreelydidJewsminglewiththeirChristianneighborsthatmanymarriagesbetweenJewsandChristianstookplace.SometimestheGentilespouseinthesemar-riagesconvertedtoJudaism,andsometimestheJewishspouseremainedintheJewishcommunity.Mostoften,however,JewswhomarriedChristiansjoinedtheChristianmajority. ThestoryofAbigailFranksshowshowcomfortableJewscouldbein18th-centuryAmericaand the problems that went alongwiththiscomfort.Abigailwasthedaughterof a New York merchant named Moses Levy.Sometimearound1712shemarriedJacobFranks,whohadrecentlycometoAmericafromEngland.LikeAbigailsfather,herhusbandsucceededinhismanybusiness ventures. Their sons went into business, too. Abigail wrote manyletterstothemastheywentoffontheircommercialventures,alwaysreminding them to remain true to their Jewish traditions. Her letters alsodescribedhersociallife,whichincludedvisitstonon-Jewishfriends.Abigailspentsomesummersvacationingwiththesefriends.Butwhenher daughter married Oliver Delancey, a Christian, she kept the marriagea secret for six months because she was so ashamed. Abigail Franks neveragreed to meet her son-in-law. In her view, marrying a Gentile was goingtoo far.TheJewishexperienceinAmericahadstartedoffonshakygrounds.PeterStuyvesantgavethefirstgroupofJewsalessthanfriendlywelcome Jews in America26This marker outside the cityhall of Charleston, SouthCarolina, honors the memoryof Francis Salvador, a Jewwho served in the SouthCarolina Provincial Congressin the years immediately sur-rounding the AmericanRevolution. He fell in battleon August 1, 1776.Image Not Available onthewharfofNewAmsterdamsharbor.Butduringthe17thand18thcenturies American Jews came to identify with their homes and neighbors,and when Americans challenged Great Britain and declared their indepen-dence, most Jews enthusiastically joined the patriot cause. Many men vol-unteered for the army. Jews in South Carolina, for example, formed a self-proclaimed Jew Company. A Jewish doctor helped provide medical reliefto the troops at Valley Forge, and Jewish merchants supplied goods to theContinentalArmy.MordecaiSheftellofSavannahtriedtobringgoodstothe American people by running the blockade that the British navy had setuptocloseAmericanports.TheBritishcapturedhim,jailedhimonaprison ship, and then exiled him to the island of Antigua. OneJewwhoplayedanimportantpartinrevolutionaryaffairswasHaymSalomon.BorninPoland,SalomoncametoNewYorkinthe1770s. By 1781 he was in Philadelphia, a center of the patriot cause, serv-ingasanassistanttoRobertMorris,thesuperintendentoftheOfficeofFinanceoftheUnitedStates.SalomonloanedmoneytotheContinentalCongress without interest, and James Madison praised Salomon for help-ing the struggling revolutionary cause.The Revolution did not instantly change the status ofJews in America, but it started a process that dramaticallyaltered their lives. Once they had won their independencefromEnglandandjoinedinthefederationcalledtheUnited States, the various former colonies had to rewritethelawsbywhichtheygovernedthemselves.Startingwith New York in 1777, many states guaranteed religiousfreedomtoall.Bythe1820sthelasttracesofstate-leveldiscriminationagainstJewshadvanished,exceptinNorth Carolina.Perhaps more important, the federal Constitution of1789 made it possible for Jews to enjoy the full benefits ofAmericanlife.Article6,section3oftheConstitutionstatedthatnoreligioustestshalleverberequiredasaqualificationtoanyofficeorpublictrustundertheFirst Journeys: 16541820 27David and Phila Frankswere the children of Jacoband Abigail Levy Franks.Their father was one ofthe most influential andsuccessful Jews of 18th-century New York.Image Not Available UnitedStates.ThismeantthatwhenitcametoservinginCongress,thearmy,thediplomaticservice,oreventhePresidency, religion could never disqualify anyone for federaloffice.(TheFourteenthAmendment,passedin1865aftertheCivilWar,requiredthatstatelawsnotabridgetheprivileges of any citizens of the United States.) Perhaps the most important part of the ConstitutionforJewswastheFirstAmendment,thefirstsectionofwhatwehavecometoknowastheBillofRights,whichsaid: Congress shall make no law respecting an establish-mentofreligion,orprohibitingthefreeexercisethereof.Eversincethesewordswerewritten,courtshavedebatedhow to interpret establishment and free exercise in practi-calsituations.ButtheConstitutionscommitmenttoreligiousneutrality opened up a new era for Jews.In1788thechazzan ofPhiladelphiasMikveIsraelcongregationwasinvitedtojointheFourthofJulyparadethatcelebratedPennsylvaniasratificationoftheConstitutionoftheUnitedStates.Hemarcheddownthecitysmainstreetarm-in-armwithtwoProtestantclergymen.Organizersoftheparadehadpreparedaspecialtable,aboundinginkosher food, for the citys Jews. All faiths were equal in the new nationat least in the eyes of the law.The changes brought by the Revolution and the Constitution did notaffectonlytheJewsrelationswithGentiles.TheyalsoshookupJewishcommunities.Takingtheircuesfromthesocietyaroundthem,inwhichpolitical life had opened up to allow broader participation, Jews began tomaketheircongregationsmoredemocratic.Manycongregationswroteconstitutions for themselves, using words and phrases associated with theRevolutionary period. The new constitution of New Yorks Shearith Israelcongregation, for example, began, Whereas in free states all power origi-nates and is derived from the people. . . .Many synagogues took exclu-sive power away from the parnassim and allowed all adult men to vote onsynagogue matters. Instead of fining people who had violated Jewish law, Jews in America28In Savannah, Georgia,Jewish merchant MordecaiSheftell (above) and hispartner Philip Minis playedan active role in the revo-lutionary war efforts. TheBritish authoritiesdenounced Sheftell andMinis for their participa-tion in that resistance andcited their Jewishness asnoteworthy.Image Not Available congregationsappealedtomembersgoodwillandconsciencetoensureobservance of the law.AmericanJewsstoppedthinkingofsynagoguesasplaceswheretheyhadtobelong,withrulestheyhadtofollow.ThesynagoguebecameavoluntaryinstitutionthatindividualJewsjoinedbecausetheychoseto.ThemoreJewscametoregardsynagoguemembershipasvoluntary,themoresynagogueshadtorespectthewishesofmembers.Soonthosemembers would depart from tradition.AftertheRevolutionnewJewishcommunitiesformedinrecentlyopened-uppartsoftheyoungcountry.Fromthe1770sthrough1820JewishcongregationsformedinRichmond,Virginia;NewOrleans,Louisiana;Cincinnati,Ohio;Baltimore,Maryland;andastringofotherplaces. Jews no longer limited themselves to coastal communities. As theystartedtheirjourneys,theynolongerlookedtoEuropeforguidanceinhow to be Jewish. The Jews of America felt free to create the institutionsthey wanted.First Journeys: 16541820 29Image Not Available Cincinnati was the firstJewish community to befounded west of theAppalachian Mountains.Jewish immigrants settledthere because of commer-cial opportunities. Theymade a living in wholesaleand retail business and ranshops selling groceries,liquor, clothes, and drygoods.Across America: 18201880nJune15,1842,AbrahamKohnlefthishomevillageinBavaria,southernGermany.Heconfessedtohisdiary,IweptbitterlyasIkissedmydearmother,perhapsforthelasttime,inWittelshofen,pressingherhandandcommendinghertotheprotectionoftheEternal,theFatherofallwidowsandorphans.Kohnwasnotalone. A childhood friend and his brother Moses accompanied him. TheywerejustthreeofthethousandsofyoungJewishwomenandmenwholefttheirEuropeanhomesinthemid-19thcentury.Smallgroupsofsib-lingsandfriends,mostlyyoungunmarriedpeople,abandonedthevil-lagesofsouthernandwesternGermany,Alsace,Bohemia,Hungary,Posen, Lithuania, and western Russia to seek opportunities in America.ThemassmigrationofyoungJewsfromcentralEuropetheareabetweenFranceandRussiabeganinthe1820s.By1880about150,000Jews from central Europe had come to the United States. Life in this partofEuropewasdeterioratingfortheJews,mostofwhomwerepoorvil-lagers and not particularly well educated. In the past, they had eked out aliving through peddling, other kinds of small-time commerce, and crafts,but these occupations could support them no longer. Europe was indus-trializing.Railroadsandotherimprovementsincommunicationandtransportationmeantthattravelingpeddlerswerenotneededtomovegoodsfromplacetoplace.Atthesametime,theoldhostilityof31OChapter 2Image Not Available Christians toward Jews was increasing. And many young Jewish men lefttheir home countries to avoid being drafted into the army.TheoceancrossingtotheUnitedStatestookaboutsixweeks,dependingupontheweather.MostshipsdockedinNewYork,butsomewenttoBaltimore,NewOrleans,orPhiladelphia.ManyofthenewarrivalsalreadyknewsomeonelivingintheUnitedStates.Theyspenttheir first days in the new country reuniting with friends and family.Abraham Kohn arrived in New York from Bavaria the day before thebeginningofRoshHashanah,theJewishNewYear.Thetimingseemedpromising: Kohn wrote of a new year, a new career before me, in a newhome.HeprayedatthenewAttorneyStreetSynagogue,CongregationShaarHashomayim(thegatesofheaven)onNewYorksLowerEastSide. On this self-reflective holiday, which calls Jews to take stock of theirdeeds during the past year and prepare for the new one, Kohns thoughtsturned to both his past and his future. He wrote in his diary, I prayed tothealmighty,thankinghimforthevoyagehappilyfinishedandaskinggoodandabidinghealthformydearmotherandbrothersandsisters.Iprayed then for my own good health and asked for all of us good fortune.May the dear Lord hear my prayer! May he bless and bestow upon us hisinfinite mercy and charity! Amen.Likemostimmigrants,Kohnfacedtheproblemofmakingaliving.Unabletogetajobasastoreclerk,hedidwhatcountlessotheryoungJewishmenhaddone.Hebecameapeddler.Thesemenputpackssometimesweighingasmuchas100poundsontheirbacksandbegannew American journeys, carrying pots and pans, needles and thread, mir-rors,fabric,andsometimesevenstovesandfurniture.Somewalked.Those with a little money rode on horse-drawn wagons. They staked outroutesintheSouth,Pennsylvania,WestVirginia,ortheMidwest,andsomeofthemmadeitallthewaytoCaliforniaandNevada.AbrahamKohn chose to peddle in New England, with Boston as the base where hestocked up on supplies. Later he went west to Chicago.Wherevertheypeddled,whatevergoodstheysold,Jewsfilledaspe-cialplaceintheAmericaneconomy.Americanslivedspreadoutacrossthe countryside, on small farms relatively far from towns and cities. Many Jews in America32couldnoteasilygotostores.ButifAmericanfarmers could not get to the goods they needed,thegoodscametothem,strappedtothebackof a young Jewish immigrant.AtfirsttheseyoungmenspokenoEnglishatall.Duringtheweektheywalkedtheroadsfromfarmhousetofarmhouse.Doorssome-timesslammedintheirfaces.Localchildrenthrewstonesatthem.Robbersattackedthem.Afewrobberiesbecamemurders,andtheyoungJewishimmigrantendedupdeadonalonelystretchofroadinsomeisolatedregion,farfromfamilyorfromacommunitythatcouldperformitslastacttowardhim:properJewish burial.Nomatteriftheweatherturnedcoldortemperaturessoaredthepeddlershadtobeouttheresellingtheirgoods.Usuallytheysleptoutdoors.Afriendlyfarmermightofferthemabarnforthenight,andaverygenerousonemightofferarealbedinthehouse,infrontofawarmfire.AbrahamKohnrecordedinhisdiaryhow,onthenightofaheavysnowfall,ahousewife had told her husband not to let the peddler stay the night. Shewas afraid of strangers . . . we should go our way, Kohn wrote. And out-side there raged the worst blizzard I have ever seen. O God, I thought, isthisthelandoflibertyandhospitalityandtolerance?Eventually,thewoman changed her mind and let the peddler stay.OnFridayafternoonstheJewishpeddlerstriedtocongregateintownsorcitiesthathadJewishcommunities.Theretheymightfindasynagogue,akosherboardinghouse,oracongenialgroupoffellowJewswithwhomtheycouldprayandeatandrelax.TheycouldmarktheSabbath in the company of other Jews, and they could restthe meaningof Sabbathbefore they resumed their arduous routes. Usually, however,circumstancespreventedthemfromobservingtheseventhdayand keeping it holy, and few boardinghouses offered kosher food.Across America: 18201880 33Peddling represented thelowest rung in Jewishcommerce. Thousands ofyoung Jewish men inAmerica went door-to-door selling goods to fam-ilies. This peddler in Ohiowas lucky. He had a horseand wagon and did nothave to carry his goods onhis back.Image Not Available Jewish peddlers found it almost impossible to observe the day-to-daydetailsofproperJewishlife.Rulesaboutfoodvexedthepeddlersmost.Accordingtokashrut, Jewscouldeatthefleshofsomeanimalsbutnotothers.Pork,themostcommonmeatintheAmericandiet,wasforbid-den. Meat had to be slaughtered in a very specific way by ashochet. Jewscouldnoteatmeatandmilkatthesamemeal.Manyfounditeasiertogiveupkashrut, andthosewhowouldnotdosooftenlivedasvegetari-ans.PeddlersreportedthatsomeoftheCherokeeIndiansofNorthCarolina called the Jews they met egg eaters. Peddlingwasahard,lonely,andoftendangerousjob.ButformanyJewsitwasthefirststeptoamoresettledfuture.Peddlingwasthebasisfor the creation of dozens of Jewish communities across the United States.AfterthepeddlershadbeenintheUnitedStatesforafewyearsandhaddevelopedtradingroutes,theysentmoneytoEuropesothatbrothers,cousins, nephews, or friends could join them. With their help the peddlercouldexpandhisbusiness,penetratingdeeperanddeeperintotheAmerican hinterlands. ModeratelysuccessfulJewishpeddlerssavedsomemoneyandopenedsmallstoresinlittletownsandmedium-sizedcities.Suchtownstypically had a few Jewish-owned stores, almost all selling the same kind Jews in America34Jews from Central Europemade their way all acrossthe American continent,going wherever theythought they might be ableto make a living. In the mid-1850s, the Brunner brothersopened their store inJacksonville, Oregon, nearthe gold fields. Image Not Available ofitems,clusteredinthedowntowndistricts.Merchantsusuallylivedabove or behind their stores.ThemomentwhenapeddlertradedinhispackforamerchantsapronwasaturningpointintheformationofJewishcommunitiesallovertheUnitedStates.Whenapeddlerhadenoughcapitaltoopenastoreheusuallygotmarried,sometimesgoingbacktohisformerhomevillageinEuropetofindabrideandalsotoshowoffabitandletthetownspeoplewhohadknownhimasaladseehowwellhehaddoneinhis new home. He would then take his brideand quite often a few otherunmarriedyoungJewishwomenbacktotheUnitedStates.Theotherwomenalmostalwaysmarriedotherformerpeddlerswhowerenowopeninguptheirstores.Thesenewlymarriedshopkeepersdidnotcom-pletelygiveuptheirpeddlingcareers.Manyofthemcontinuedtoselldirectly to the farmers while their wives and children tended the stores.JewishwomenfromcentralEuropehadgrownupinatraditioninwhich wives and daughters worked. In both Europe and the United StatesJews made a livingjust barelyin small businesses that required every-bodyslabor.Inmostcaseswomenworkedinthefamilystore,helpingout. But sometimes women made the important decisions, and many ofthem had their own businesses, independent of their husbands.Some Jewish women, often widows, ran boardinghouses for the ped-dlers and other single immigrant men who needed a place to stay. Otherwomenoperatedtheirownstoresintheirownnames.SarahGoldwater,who lived in Californias Tuolumne County in the 1860s, did not want toberesponsibleforherhusbandsdebts,soshefiledastatementwiththecourthouse,saying,fromandafterthisdateIintendtocarryonandtransact in my own name and on my own account, the business of tailor-ingandmerchandising....Iwillbepersonallyresponsibleforalldebtscontracted by me in said business.Throughoutthe1830sand1840sformerpeddlersandtheirshop-keepingwivessettleddowninplaceslikeAlbany,Rochester,Syracuse,Buffalo,andUtica,NewYork;Memphis,Tennessee;St.Louis,Missouri;SiouxCity,Iowa;Milwaukee,Wisconsin;Cleveland,Columbus,Akron,and Cincinnati, Ohio; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Louisville and Lexington,Across America: 18201880 35Kentucky;Washington,D.C.;Portland,Maine;Portland,Oregon;anddozensofothercities.JewishmerchantsopenedsomeofthefirstshopsinLosAngeles,SanFrancisco,Denver,andDetroit.OvertimethesecitiesdevelopedfullJewishcommunitieswithsynagogues,schools,cemeteries,charitablesocieties,andplaces of recreation.AftersomeJewshadsettledinatown,thattowndrewotherJewsfirstfrom the same part of Europe as the orig-inalsettlers,butwithinadecadeortwofromotherregions.Jewscametothesecommunitiesbecausetheyknewtheywouldnotbealone.InChicago,forexample,documentsfromthe1830scitydirectories,newspapersubscriptionlists,advertisements,andvoterslistsshowfourorfiveJewslivingintherawfrontiertownthatwasstilltroubledbyroamingbears.TwentyJewishimmi-grants arrived between 1840 and 1844. In1845theyestablishedacemetery,andthemenformedaminyan, thegroupofatleast10peopleneededforprayerservices.ThatyearsYomKippurservicetookplaceaboveastore.Soonafterward14Jewishmenformally incorporated into a congregation, the first in the Midwest. TheycalledthemselvesKehilathAnsheMaariv(KAM),thecongregationofthe men of the west. The founders of KAM wrote to other Jewish congre-gations in the United States for help getting started, something that mostnew, struggling congregations did. In 1847 Chicagos Jews hired a shochetand a baal koreh, a Torah reader. In 1851 they dedicated their first syna-gogue building and opened a day school to teach their children. Jews in America36Simon Baum and MarjanaBettman, the first Jews tobe married in Oregon, sentout invitations to their 1858wedding. The arrival ofJewish women and the birthof children ensured theestablishment of permanentcommunities.Image Not Available MostofthefirstJewswhosettledChicago,soontobecalledAmericas Second City, came from Bavaria. Beginning in the 1840s theywerejoinedbyJewsfromBohemia,Poland,andLithuania.Eachgroupformed its own congregation, consecrated its own cemetery ground, andlived in a somewhat separate neighborhood, at least at first. Jewish life inAmerican towns and cities reflected European regional differences, but inmostcommunitiesJewsbandedtogethertoformassociationstotakecare of those in need. Regardless of where Jews came from, they believeditwaseveryonesresponsibilitytoprovideorphanages,job-informationservices,freecoal,foodforthehungry,matzo atPassover,dowriestohelppoorgirlsgetmarried,hospitalitytotravelers,andsupportforimpoverishedwidows.Theycreatedandsupportedinstitutionstopro-vide these services. Soon,however,AmericanJewsbegantobedividedbydifferencesthat had nothing to do with their nation of origin. Some Jews had strayedfromstrictobservanceofJewishtradition,perhapsbecausetheyhadspentsomanyyearsaspeddlersandcouldnotfollowthemanylawsofJudaism.MostAmericanJewsbecameratherflexibleaboutJewish Across America: 18201880 37Throughout AmericaJewish women gatheredtogether to form mutualaid and charitable societies.This group in Arizona, likemost of the others, calleditself the Hebrew LadiesBenevolent Society. Image Not Available practice. They did not mind the idea of modifying some parts of traditionunder new conditions. AndtherewereJewswhowereeagertochangeaspectsofJudaism.Starting in the early 19th century, some Jews in Germany and the UnitedStatesbelievedthatJudaismhadtobecompletelychanged,orreformed.TheyintendedtobringJudaismintolinewith19th-centuryrationalism,a way of thought that emphasized science, reason, and progress, and theywanted to do away with parts of the faith that did not seem to fit modernknowledge.Forexample,intheirtraditionalprayers,Jewsprayforadaywhenthedeadwillcomebacktolife.Reformerseliminatedthisprayerbecauselogicandsciencesaythatthedeadcannotberesurrected.SupportersofreformalsowantedJewishreligiousritualtohavemoredecorumto be more orderly and more artistically beautiful.InChicagoin1861agroupofReformJewsfollowedDr.BernhardFelsenthaloutofKehilathAnsheMaarivtofoundtheReformSinaiTemple. They made profound changes in the ways Jews prayed and lived,stressingtheneedtoupdateJewishpracticeandtogetridofthingsthatseemednottomakesenseorthatdifferedtoosharplyfromthecustomsofChristians.TheChicagoreformerswantedJewstohold their main religious service on Sunday rather thanSaturday, and they found the traditional Jewish practiceofhavingmenandwomensitinseparatesectionsofthesynagoguetobeoutofstepwiththeworldaroundthem.Theylikedtheideaofaddinganorgantoreli-giousworship,andtheywantedtodropprayerswhosewords and sentiments they did not agree with.Not all Jews supported these changes. Some resistedchangesandevenleftcongregationsthattheythoughtwerechangingtoomuch.WhentheWashingtonHebrewCongregationinthenationscapitaladdedanorganin1877,atraditionalgrouplefttofoundAdasIsrael. The traditionalists called themselves Orthodox.OrthodoxdevotiontotraditionisrepresentedbyAbrahamRice,whocametotheUnitedStatesfrom Jews in America38David Kokernot served inthe Army of the Con-federacy during the CivilWar. Jewish men fought for either the Union or theConfederacy dependingupon where they lived. Image Not Available Bavariain1840.Thefirstordainedrabbiinthiscountry,RicecametoserveacongregationinBaltimore.AlmostfromthebeginningRicedis-likedtheUnitedStates.HebelievedperhapsrightlythatconditionstheremadeitverydifficultforJewstopracticetraditionalJudaism.Ricewrote to a friend and teacher in Germany, I live in complete darkness. . . .Thereligiouslifeinthislandisonthelowestlevel,mostpeopleeatfoulfoodanddesecratetheSabbathinpublic....Thousandsmarrynon-Jewishwomen....IwonderwhetheritisevenpermissibleforaJewtolive in this land. AnotherrabbiplayedakeyroleindevelopingAmericanReformJudaism.HewasIsaacMayerWise,therabbiofCincinnatisKehilatKadoshBeneYeshurun,theholycongregationofthechildrenofJeshurun, and he took a middle position between radical Reformers andAcross America: 18201880 39Sculptor Moses Ezekielworks on a bust of IsaacMeyer Wise in 1899. By thistime, Wise reigned as theundisputed leader ofAmerican Reform Judaismand had already foundedthe three crucial institu-tions of the movement: theUnion of American HebrewCongregations, theHebrew Union College, andthe Central Conference ofAmerican Rabbis. Image Not Available thestrictOrthodox.Wise,whocamefromBohemiain1846,claimedtohavebeenordainedasarabbiinGermany,buthiscriticsalwaysnotedthat he could not prove it.WisebelievedstronglythatJudaismhadtomodernizeandcomeuptodate.IfJudaismintheUnitedStatesdidnotfitinwithAmericanculture,youngAmericanJewswouldbelessloyaltotheirfaithandlesswillingtoparticipateinJewishreligionandJewishcommunities.Forexample,ifJewscontinuedtoprayforareturntotheirancienthomeland,thenAmericanJewswhowerehappyintheUnitedStateswouldseparatefromJudaism.Wisealsowasconvinced,aftervisitingJewishcommunitiesinlarge cities and small towns, that American Jews needed tohaverabbiswhoweretrainedintheUnitedStates,fluentin English, in step with American values, and scientific intheirapproach.HewantedallAmericanJews,wherevertheycamefrom,tousethesameprayerbookandprayaccordingtothesamereligiousritual.In1856hepub-lishedthisritual,whichhecalledMinhagAmerica (TheAmerican Rite).SomeReformersclaimedthatWisedidnotgofarenough.LedbyRabbiDavidEinhornofBaltimoreandthen New York, the extreme Reformers criticized Wise. TheOrthodox, led by Isaac Leeser, the chazzan of PhiladelphiasMikveh Israel, also criticized himthis time for being toowilling to abandon key elements of Jewish practice. Despitecriticismfromextremistsonbothsides,Wisecreatedthreeenduringinstitutionsthatbecametheheartof American Reform Judaism. In 1873 he created the Union of AmericanHebrewCongregations,whichincludedthecongregationsthatfollowedhisideas.In1875hewelcomedthefirstclasstotheHebrewUnionCollege(HUC),atrainingschoolforAmericanrabbisinCincinnati.In1889 he led graduates of HUC and others in the formation of the CentralConferenceofAmericanRabbis,anassociationofrabbiswhoidentifiedwith the Reform movement. Jews in America40In 1838, Isaac Leeser ofPhiladelphias Mikveh Israelpublished the first Americantextbook to teach theHebrew language. Thisbook, like many of his otherpublications, was aimed atJewish children.Image Not Available Image Not Available But most of the Jews in Reform congregations had no interest in cre-atingadenomination,orseparatestream,withinAmericanJudaism.They identified with all other Jews. Even if they did not know the phrase,theybelievedinaprinciplefoundintheTalmud:kolyisraelarevimzehbzeh, all of the people of Israel are responsible for each other. (Israelhere refers to the Jewish people.)AlthoughJewswerebeginningtodivideintogroupsaccordingtotheir views about reform, they presented a united front when members oftheirfaithfacedprejudiceanddiscrimination.Jewsorganizedandprotestedtocallattentiontotheseproblems.In1840,forexample,JewsintheUnitedStates,GreatBritain,andFranceprotestedtheactionsofsomeChristiansandMuslimsinSyriawhoaccusedJewsofkilling peopleandusingthebloodtomakematzo. Thiskindofaccusation,calledabloodlibel,hadbeencommonintheMiddleAges,butJewsinAmerica and western Europe were shocked that it could happen again inthe 19th century.Anotherexampleofsolidarityoccurredin1855,whenJewishcom-munitiesacrosstheUnitedStatesheldmeetingsandwrotelettersonbehalfofJewishmerchantswhowantedtodobusinessinSwitzerland.TheSwissgovernmentdidnotgiveJewishbusinessmen,evenAmericancitizens, the same rights it extended to others. Jews believed that this waswrong and wanted the United States government to break an 1850 treatywithSwitzerlandunlessitchangeditsdiscriminatorypolicy,althoughneither happened. And in 1858, after Christians in an Italian city had kid-nappedandforciblybaptizedaJewishchild,leaderssuchasLeeserandWise,alongwithAmericanJewishnewspapersandmagazines,ralliedAmerican Jews to protest.TherewasnoconflictbetweenbeingAmericanandbeingJewish.American Jews felt that they were part of a worldwide Jewish people, buttheyalsofeltconnectedtotheUnitedStates.Theygotinvolvedinthecivic affairs of their communities, something that would have been diffi-cult in Europe. They voted, served on juries, joined volunteer fire compa-nies, and worked in law enforcement. They held elective office, especiallyinsmalltowns.VotersinLosAngeleselectedMorrisGoodman,aAcross America: 18201880 41Bavarian immigrant, to the city council in 1850, and two years later vot-ersinSanFranciscoelectedElcanHeydenfeldttotheCaliforniastateassembly.ThepeopleofVirginaCity,Nevada,madeJewishimmigrantMarkStrousetheirchiefofpolicein1863.BernardGoldsmithservedasmayor of Portland, Oregon, from 1869 to 1871. In Chicago, peddler-turned-shopkeeper Abraham Kohn became activeinthenewlyformedRepublicanpartyduringthe1850s.TheRepublicanpartyreflectedKohnsstrongaversiontoslavery.Hiscontributiontotheparty paid off: In 1860 he was elected city clerk. Probably because of Kohnspositionandhisservicetotheparty,animportantIllinoisRepublican,AbrahamLincoln,visitedKohninhisclothingstorein1860.Wedonotknow what they talked about, but after Lincoln was elected President Kohngave him a very special gifta satin replica of the American flag that Kohnhadmade.ItwasembroideredwithwordsfromJosh.4:9intheBible,inbothHebrewandEnglish:AsIwaswithMoses,soIwillbewiththee;Iwill not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of good courage.ThoselastsixwordsmighthavebeenamottofortheJewsoftheUnitedStatesduringthemid-1800s.Theyearsbetween1820and1880saw both improvement and deterioration in their condition. The last lawsthatallowedJewsandotherstobekeptoutofpoliticallifebecauseoftheirreligionwereeliminated.In1826,afteraveryheateddebate,theMarylandstatelegislaturepassedtheJewBill,whichallowedJewstohold political office. New Hampshire removed its last legal restrictions onJews in 1877, North Carolina in 1885. Very few Jews lived in these states,however, so the exclusion of Jews from full participation in public affairshad not become a major political issue there. Equality was now the law, but relations between Jews and the largelyProtestantmajoritywerenotalwayssmooth.SomeProtestantsectsbelievedthatitwastheirdutytoconverttheJewstoChristianity.TheseevangelicalsconsideredtheconversionoftheJewsanimportantstepintheChristianmissiontohastentheSecondComingofChrist.OnesuchgroupwastheAmericanSocietyforMelioratingtheConditionoftheJews(ASMCJ),foundedin1820byEliasBoudinot,whohadbeenaminorofficialinGeorgeWashingtonsadministration.Itandother Jews in America42organizationstriedtoconvinceJewsthatJudaismwaswrongandChristianityright.TheASMCJsconstitutionexpresseditscommitmentto employing missionaries to labor among the Jews of the United States,tothetemporalreliefofindigentanddeservingindividualsofthatdenomination, to the circulation of tracts, Bibles, and testaments amongthem,andtothecommunicationofChristianinstructionthroughanyother appropriate channel. The ASMCJ set up programs to attract Jews,particularlywomenandchildren.ItturnedstorefrontsinJewishneigh-borhoods into schools and recreation centers for the poor and distributedfood, hoping in the process to convert the Jews. One of its tactics was toroamthecharitywardsofhospitalslookingforJewswhowereabouttodie, then try to get the dying people to make deathbed conversions. Inresponse,Jewishcommunitiesformedtheirownorganizations.Leaders such as Isaac Leeser and Rebecca Gratz, an influential member ofLeesersPhiladelphiacongregationMikvehIsrael,fearedtheChristianmissionariesandfoundedprojectstocounteractthem.WithLeesersblessing,GratzopenedthefirstJewishSundayschoolin1838inPhiladelphia.Beforethattime,parentsarrangedforchildrentoreceiveJewishinstructionfromprivatetutors,andsomecongregationshadAcross America: 18201880 43The Union of AmericanHebrew Congregationsrepresented the majorityof organized Jewish con-gregations in America inthe late 19th century. Thiswould not last. When thispicture was taken in 1890the great migration ofeastern European Jews toAmerica was in full swingand the women and menof that migration wouldnot have any interest inthe Reform movement. Image Not Available schools.Gratz,however,openedherschooltopoorJewishchildren.Leeser and Gratz picked Sunday for the school because on that day all theshops and schools were closed and children would be able to attend.Leeser held traditional views on Jewish religious practice and thoughtthatteachersshouldbemen,notwomen.Buthewaswillingtodepartfrom past practices and let Gratz open her school because he consideredthemissionarythreatsogreat.GratzandLeeserhopedthattheschool Jews in America44Constitution of the United Hebrew BeneficentSociety of Philadelphia PREAMBLETo provide in the best manner possible for the relief of our unfortunate and indigentbrethren, and to ameliorate their sufferings to the utmost of our abilities, is the per-formance of an obligation which strengthens the bonds of society, by the endearingties of benevolence and gratitude.Impressedwiththesetruths,wewhosenamesareheretosubscribed,citizensoftheStateofPennsylvania,herebyunitedinabenevolentassociation,andforourgovernment, as members thereof, adopt the following rules and regulations; each ofus pledging himself to the others to observe them with honour and good faith.Wherever Jews settled they created institutions to provide for assistance and companion-ship. Even before they formed synagogues they found ways to help each other in times ofcrisis.Theybelievedthattheywereresponsibleforthemselvesandforeachother.In1822, the Jews of Philadelphia created the United Hebrew Beneficent Society and drafteda constitution to clearly state its purpose. wouldgivetheyoungstersenoughawarenessofandprideintheJewishtradition that they would not be swayed by the evangelicals.MostProtestantAmericansdidnotthinkthatJudaismdeservedthesame respect as Christianity, especially Protestant Christianity. The insti-tutionsofAmericanpubliclifewerebiasedtowardChristianity.Likeallchildreninpublicschools,JewishchildrenrecitedChristianprayersandreadfromtheKingJamesVersionoftheBible,thestandardProtestanttext.LawsthatrequiredbusinessestocloseonSunday,the Christian day of rest, also meant that Jews could notkeeptheirbusinessesopenonthatdayeventhoughtheyobservedtheirSabbathonSaturday.In1861theAppellateCourtofNewYorkdeclaredthatChristianitywas part of the states common law, saying that althoughthelawshouldrespectandprotectotherreligions,Christianitywastheacknowledgedreligionofthepeo-ple.In1864SenatorCharlesSumnerofPennsylvaniaintroducedanamendmenttothefederalConstitutionthat would declare the United States a Christian govern-ment.Congress,however,believedthatitviolatedthefundamental intent of the Constitutions framers and didnot pass the amendment.Privateinstitutionsalsoreflectedthebiasagainstanon-ChristianreligiontakingrootintheUnitedStates.In1874CornellUniversityinIthaca,NewYork,hiredFelixAdler,arabbiandthesonofarabbi,toteachHebrew.Likemanycolleges,CornellofferedcoursesinHebrewtoequipscholarstostudytheBible.ButonemagazinesaidofAdlers appointment, Christianity is imperiled in consequence.AllreligionsenjoyedtheprotectionandneutralityoftheConstitutionandthelegalsystem.Sometimes,however,theattitudesoftheChristianmajoritybecamemattersofpublicpolicyandJewschal-lengedit.DuringtheCivilWar,forexample,about7,000JewishmenservedintheUnionArmyand3,000SouthernJewsfoughtfortheConfederacy. In fact, Jewish men joined the armies of the Union and theAcross America: 18201880 45Rebecca Gratz opened thefirst Jewish Sunday school in1838. But there were nobooks for Jewish children ormanuals for teachers inEnglish, so she wrote herown. This book was pub-lished in 1845 (the Jewishyear 5606).Image Not Available Image Not Available Jews in America46Confederacyinasomewhathigherproportionthanthegeneralpopula-tion, and on the home front Jewish women raised money for the troops,sewedbandages,andprovidedthesamekindsofsupportservicesthatotherwomendid.Butin1861CongressdeclaredthatregimentscouldchoosetheChristian clergymanoftheirchoiceaschaplainandturnedthearmyschaplaincyprogramovertotheYoungMensChristianAssociation (YMCA). AnumberofJewsservedinthe65thRegimentofthe5thPennsylvaniaCavalry,commandedbyColonelMaxFriedman,aJew.TheyelectedastheirchaplainSergeantMichaelAllen.AlthoughAllenwas not a rabbi, he was a Hebrew teacher who had studied in Europe tobecome a rabbi. When the YMCA discovered this violation of the law, itusedthethreatofdishonorabledischargetoforceAllentoresign.Undaunted,theregimentelectedanotherJewishchaplainArnoldFischel, an ordained rabbi from New York. The War Department rejectedhiselectionbecauseFischelwasnotChristian.JewsacrossAmericaprotested, and one rabbi wrote to Congress in support of Jewish soldiersrightstoreligiousfreedomaccordingtotheconstitutionoftheU.S.whichtheyendeavortopreserveanddefendwithalltheirmight.Thenationforwhichthesesoldierswerefightingsurelyshouldnotinsulttheirreligion.Afterhearingprotestsandreadingpetitions,Congresschanged the law in 1862 so that Jewish clergy could serve as chaplains.Religious intolerance was not the only problem Jews encountered intheir relations with Gentile Americans. Not only did some Gentiles con-sider Judaism an alien religion that did not belong in a Christian nation,theyoftenharboredethnicprejudicesagainstJewsasapeople.ManyAmericansharboredattitudesthattodaywouldbecalledanti-Semitic.(ThetermsSemiticraceandanti-Semitism,meaningprejudiceagainstJews,appearedinGermanyin1879.ItreferredtoJewsasSemites,aspecificracialgroup.ThisisdistinctfromthelatertermSemiticlanguages,usedtodefinethelingusticgroupingofHebrew,Arabic, Aramaic, and Amharic.) These anti-Semitic Americans believed that Jews were fundamentallydifferentfromotherpeople.SometimestheyeventhoughtthatJews46looked different,withphysicalfeaturesthatsetthemapartfromothers.Cartoondrawings,literature,anddramadepictedJewswithverylargenoses,deepdarkeyes,anddeformedbodies.Thesephysicalstereotypeswere accompanied by other ideas about Jewsthat they were greedy, thatthey loved only money, and that they felt no loyalty to the country wherethey lived. Such anti-Jewish attitudes were the fruit of many centuries ofEuropeanhistoryduringwhichChristianshadpersecuted,mistrusted,and dehumanized the Jews.Most Americans who held anti-Semitic views kept them to themselves,butsometimesanti-Jewishfeelingsbecameactions.OnDecember17,1862,inthemidstoftheCivilWar,GeneralUlyssesS.GrantissuedanorderexpellingallJewsfromthemilitarydistrictunderhiscommand(Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee). Grant claimed that Jews were mak-ing profits by trading with the Confederacy and that Jews, as a class [were]violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department. Such things had happened to Jews before, in Europe. But the UnitedStateswasdifferent.EuropeanJewsaffectedbyorderslikeGrantshadpackedtheirbagsandmovedsomewhereelse.ButtheJewsofPaducah,Kentucky,knowingthattheConstitutionandU.S.lawprotectedthem,sentarepresentativetoWashingtontomeetwithPresidentLincoln,express their outrage, and demand a change in policy. LincolnperhapsrememberingAbrahamKohnandthegiftoftheflagimmediatelycan-celed Grants order.Notallproblemsofdiscriminationweresoeasilyresolved.JosephSeligman was a fabulously wealthy Jewish businessman in New York City.HehelpedtheUnitedStatesgreatlyduringtheCivilWarbymarketingUnion bonds on European money markets. In 1877 Seligman set out withhisentirehouseholdforasummervacationatSaratogaSprings,anele-gantresorttowninupstateNewYork.WhentheSeligmansenteredtheGrand Union Hotelwhere they had vacationed for yearsthe managerofthehotelrefusedtoadmitthem.HetoldSeligmanthatthehotelnolongerreceivedJewishguests.ThebettersortofChristianswhovaca-tioned at Saratoga Springs considered Jews vulgar and flashy and did notwant to spend their leisure time with such crude types.Across America: 18201880 47Seligman was not a typical Jew. Most American Jews in the 19th centu-rycouldnothaveaffordedtostayattheGrandUnionHotel.They were more like Abraham Kohn, who had started as an impoverished immi-grantpeddler,thenownedaverysmallstore,andfinallybecomethepro-prietorofamodestlysuccessfulbusiness.SomeAmericanJewswerequitepoor;throughoutthiseraeveryJewishcommunityhadtodealwiththeproblems of poverty. The communities considered it their moral obligationtohelpwidowsandorphans,newlyarrivedimmigrantswithnomoney,and the many failed peddlers who could not make it in the United States.Between1820and1880theJewishpopulationintheUnitedStatesrosefrom4,000toabout250,000.By1880Jewslivedinalmosteverystate, generally clustered in cities. A quarter of all American Jews lived inNew York City. Jews in America48Puck, a popular American mag-azine of the late 19th century,satirized the behavior of theGrand Union Hotel inSaratoga Springs, New York,when it refused to accommo-date its longtime customerJacob Seligman. Jewish lawprohibits eating pork, and thepigs on the front porch (left)imply the lenghts the hotelwill go to in order to keepJews out. Image Not Available Despitetheirsuccesses,however,JewsstoodonthemarginsofAmerican society. At any time, from any direction, criticism and hostilitycouldcometheirway.ButiftheystillfeltlikeoutsidersintheUnitedStates,JewsneverthelessjoinedwithotherAmericansincivicactivitiesandpubliccauses,voting,holdingoffice,andparticipatinginpublic lifeforthecommongood.TheycelebratedAmericanholidayssuch asThanksgivingandtheFourthofJuly.TheirAmerican-raised orAmerican-bornchildrenspokeEnglishandidentifiedwiththe United States. In1876PhiladelphiahostedtheCentennialExposition,afairthatmarkedthe100thanniversaryofAmericanindependence.TheJewishcontribution to the exposition was provided by the Bnai Brith, an orga-nization that American Jews had founded in New York in 1843 for mutu-al support and assistance. By 1876 it had lodges all over the country. Forthe Exposition, the Bnai Brith erected a statue called Religious Liberty.CreatedbyaJewishsculptornamedMosesEzekiel,itsymbolizedwhatJewsheldmostdearabouttheUnitedStatesitscommitmenttofree-dom of religion. The19thcenturyhadseenatransformationinwhichJewshadchanged from immigrants to Americans, adjusting themselves as much aspossibletolifeintheUnitedStates.Yetthatadjustmentwouldsoonbecomplicated by dramatic events in Europe.Across America: 18201880 49Image Not Available The image of the Statue ofLiberty was the beacon ofwelcome to those seekingfreedom and opportunity,and it played a powerfulrole in the words andgraphic images producedby Jewish immigrants andmillions of others.Transplanted People:18801924heAmericanpoetEmmaLazaruswasdescendedonherfatherssidefromSephardimwhocouldtracetheirancestrybacktoSpain.HermothersfamilywereGermanJewishimmigrantswhohadprosperedintheUnitedStates.In1883Lazarusenteredapoetrycompetition. Theorganizersofthecompetitionplannedtoauctionoffthewinningpoemtoraisemoneyforsomethingunusual,somethingmonumentalthe pedestal on which an enormous statue would stand. The statue was ofa woman holding a torch, and it was to be placed on Bedloes Island at thetip of Manhattan in New York Harbor, the gateway to the United States. EmmaLazaruswonthecompetition,butthestorydoesnothaveaperfectlyhappyending.Lazarusdiedat33,beforethestatuesunveiling.Theplaquebearingherpoemwasnotfastenedtothestatueforanother20 yearsand then it somehow got placed inside the pedestal where fewcouldseeit.Itwouldbe30moreyearsbeforetheplaquewasmovedtothe outside of the Statue of Liberty.Neither the poetry contest nor the statue was inspired by the massivewave of immigration flowing into the United States. France had given thestatuetotheUnitedStatesasasymbolofFrench-Americanfriendship.ButtoEmmaLazarusayoungJewishwomanwhohadgrownupinfreedomandcomfortinNewYorkCitytheUnitedStatesmeantthepromise of a better life for people suffering elsewhere.51TChapter 3Image Not Available Themorethan25millionimmigrantswhoarrivedintheUnitedStatesbetween1880and1924couldnotreadLazarusswords,butherpoem,TheNewColossus,wasabouttheirexperiences.Inparticular,itexpressed the feelings of 2.5 million eastern European Jewish immigrants,most of whom entered the United States through New York Harbor, pass-ing beneath the Mother of Exiles, as Lazarus called the statue. She wrote: Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,I lift my lamp beside the golden door!TomillionsofJewsineasternEurope,thechancetocometotheUnitedStatesrepresentedagoldenopportunity.Theirletters,folksay-ings,andmusiccalledtheUnitedStatesColumbussgoldenemedine,golden land. They did not expect to find riches effortlessly in the UnitedStates,buttheysawthecountryasaplacewheretheycouldmakealiv-ingand a place where they could live.Survivalweighedheavilyontheirminds.Lifehadneverbeencom-fortableforeasternEuropeanJews.SomelivedinRussia,undertheruleoftheczars.OtherslivedinPoland,whichbecameanindependent Jews in AmericaBetween 1880 and 1924,about 30 million immi-grants, such as these menat Ellis Island, arrived in theUnited States from Europe,primarily from eastern andsouthern regions. Of those,2.5 million were Jews whocame primarily from Russia,Poland, and parts of theAustro-Hungarian Empire. 52Image Not Available countryin1920(forseveralcenturiesbeforethatithadbeendividedamongGermany,Russia,andAustria-Hungary).MillionsmorelivedinRomaniaandtheeasternprovincesofAustria-Hungary.EasternEuropean Jews had few rights, sometimes none. In Russia, they could notlive outside a part of the country called the Pale. Everywhere laws set lim-its on where Jews could travel and what jobs they could hold.ForcenturiesJewshadoccupiedaparticularroleintheeconomy:traders,peddlers,middlemenbetweentheupperclassesandthevastmajority of peasants. Jews also worked as artisans, innkeepers, and liquordistillers.Afterabout1860,however,relationsbetweenpeasantsandlandowners and between city and country people changed. Because of thecoming of the railroad, the beginnings of factory production, the emanci-pation of the serfs, and urban development, eastern Europe did not needtheJewsandtheirtraditionaloccupationsanylonger.TheJewsfacedincreasingpoverty.Toescapeit,manymovedtothecitiesofeasternEurope and took jobs in new factories, particularly clothing factories. ButthereweretoofewfactoriestoabsorbtheJewswhohadbeendisplaced.Millionscouldnotmakealivingineitherthecitiesortheshtetlach, thesmallJewishtowns.Somefacedstarvation.Fewbelievedthattheyhadafuture in Europe.Itwasnotjustthattheycouldnotmakealiving.RelationsbetweentheJewsandtheGentileshadlongbeentense,andfromtimetotimeJews had been the victims of acts of violence. But after 1881 the violencewasorganized,systematic,andtoleratedmaybeevenencouragedbygovernments,especiallyinRussia.Pogroms,organizedattacksonJewishcommunities, were bloody and frequent. Not only did the authorities notdefend the Jews, they often helped cause the pogroms. Jews were robbed,beaten,raped,andkilled.Riotersdestroyedtheirhomes,lootedtheirstores,andburnedtheirsynagogues.In1881and1882,atotalof225Jewish communities endured pogroms. The violence continued, with brief lulls between outbreaks. So manypogromsbrokeoutin1906thatJewishleadersadmittedthattheycouldnot keep track of the number. That year 800 Jews died in a pogrom in theTransplanted People: 18801924 53cityofOdessaalone.PogromswerelikelytooccurwhenGentilesfacedeconomicorpoliticalhardtimes.ThepeasantstookouttheirangerandfrustrationontheJews,whohadlongbeenthescapegoatsforEuro-pean Christians.SomeoftheworstpogromsfollowedafailedRussianrevolutionin1905andRussiasdefeatintheRusso-JapaneseWarthefollowingyear.Violence against Jews was also severe from 1914 through the early 1920s,yearsthatsawWorldWarIinEuropeandtheCommunistRevolution in Russia.Those who could escape fled to the United States. About a third of alleasternEuropeanJewsemigratedtotheUnitedStatesbetween1880and1924. Jewish immigration averaged 20,000 a year from 1881 to 1892 and37,000ayearfrom1892to1903.Between1903andthestartofWorldWarIin1914,whenimmigrationgroundtoahalt,76,000easternEuropean Jews came to the United States. That number could have been higher, but some Jews went to Canada,Argentina,Australia,orSouthAfricabecausetheycouldnotmeettherequirementsforadmissiontotheUnitedStates.ThoserequirementswerespelledoutinimmigrationlawsthattheU.S.Congresspassedin1891,1903,1907,and1917.TheimmigrationlawspreventedcertainkindsofpeoplefromenteringtheUnitedStates.Mostrestrictionsinvolved people with diseases such as tuberculosis and trachoma. Otherswereaimedatkeepingouttheextremelypoor,whomCongressfearedwould be an expense to the public. In1924,however,CongressclosedthedoorsoftheUnitedStatestothe flood of immigrants eager to enter the country. It passed the JohnsonAct, a law that created quotas for immigration. Each country in the worldwasassignedaspecificnumber,andonlythatmanypeoplefromthatcountrycouldemigratetotheUnitedStateseachyear.Thecountrieswhere most Jews lived, such as Russia and Poland, received very low quo-tas, which meant that few immigrants from these lands could enter. AlthoughtheJohnsonActcuttheflowofJewishimmigrantstoatrickle,immigrationhadalreadybroughttremendouschangestoJewishlife in America. By 1925 4.5 million Jews lived in the United States, which Jews in America54hadoneoftheworldslargestJewishpopulations.Jewswerestillaminorityinthecountry,buttheirnumbershadgrown enormously.TheJewishmigrationwasdifferentfrom the migrations of many other eth-nicgroups.Inmostcases,morementhanwomencametotheUnitedStates.AmongItalians,Greeks,Poles,andHungarians,forexample,maleimmi-grants outnumbered female immigrantsbecausemanyofthemenplannedtoreturntotheirhomelandsafterearningmoneyintheUnitedStates.Theydidnotbringtheirfamilieswiththem,althoughovertimemanydecidedtostay in their new homeland and sent fortheir wives and other relatives.But Jewish women, like their broth-ers, wanted to get out of Europe. WomenandmenalikeintendedtomakeanewstartintheUnitedStates,andtheyimmigratedinequalnumbers.InlargeAmericancitiesparticularlyNewYork,wherealmostthree-quartersofthemsettledtheJewishimmigrantsmarried,hadchildren,andestablishednewcommunities.They had come to stay.Inotherways,though,theJewishimmigrantsfromeasternEuropeweremuchlikeotherimmigrantgroups.Mostwereyoung,betweentheagesof16and45.Theseable-bodiedworkers,bothmenandwomen,foundjobsandworkednotjusttomakealivingforthemselvesbutalsoto bring over other family members. The majority of them went to workingarmentfactories.Mostoftheothersopenedsmallshops.Manywhostartedoutasfactoryworkerslateropenedstoresandbecameself-employed, although on a small scale.Transplanted People: 18801924 55In the 1880s conditionsdeteriorated for the mil-lions of Jews who lived inczarist Russia. They not onlyendured increasing povertyand economic displacementbut the regime imposedharsh edicts upon them,including mass expulsionsfrom towns and regions.Image Not Available AquarteroftheJewishimmigrants,however,wereyoungerthan16orolderthan45.TheJewishimmigrationincludedyoungchildrenandolderpeoplebecausewholeJewishcommunitiesuprootedthemselvesandtransplantedthemselvestotheUnitedStates.Theyhadtothinkabout educating their children for life in the United States as well as life ina Jewish community. TheirexperiencesbeforeimmigrationshapedthecommunitiestheybuiltintheUnitedStates.Likeallimmigrants,theyhaduniqueculturaltraditions,manyofwhichremainedunchangedintheirnewhomes.Othertraditions,however,wouldchangedramaticallyaspeopleadaptedto American conditions.IneasternEurope,Jewslivedindense,all-Jewishcommunities.Particularlyinsmalltowns,liferevolvedaroundtraditionalpractices.People observed Jewish law in every part of their lives, and Jewish valuesunderlayeverythingtheydid.TheyreveredtherabbisandscholarswhostudiedJewishlaw.ThoserabbiswarnedtheJewsofeasternEuropeagainstgoingtotheUnitedStates.TherabbisfearedthatJewswhowishedtoobservetheirtraditionswouldfindlifedifficultintheUnited Jews in AmericaMost of the Jewish immi-grants were young menand women who rightlybelieved that they had nofuture in Russia and otherparts of eastern Europe.One important part ofstarting a new life was get-ting married, and Jewishcommunities in America cel-ebrated weddings withstyle, even if both bride andgroom labored in factories.56Image Not Available States,whichonerabbicalledatrefamedinah, anuncleanland.Nodoubt the rabbis were aware of the rise of Reform Judaism in the UnitedStatesandofthegeneralrelaxationofpietythere.Perhapstheyevenknew that in 1885 a conference of Reform rabbis in Pittsburgh had passeda Declaration of Principles that dramatically altered what it meant to be aJew. The American Reform rabbis had declared that all such . . . laws asregulatedietarenolongernecessary.Theyhadalsoannounced,Weconsider ourselves no longer a nation but a religious community. To tra-ditional Jews in eastern Europe these changes conflicted with a basic prin-ciple of traditional Judaism: that God, Torah, and the people Israel repre-sentedasingle,unbreakableunity.Judaism,totraditionalJews,didnotseparate religion from the idea of peoplehood. It also did not give anyonethe right to invalidate laws considered divinely ordained.TherabbiswhodidnotwantJewstogototheUnitedStatesalsoknewhowhardJewsthereworkedtomakealiving,oftenviolatingtheSabbathandignoringotherelementsoftraditiontosupporttheirfami-lies. No matter what the rabbis said, however, life had become perilouslydifficultforJewsineasternEurope.Theshadowofthepogromshungoverthem.VastnumbersofthementhusiasticallyleftfortheUnitedStates, where they searched for ways to be true to tradition whilemaking a new life for themselves.They created religious institutions that reflected their love oftradition. Dozens of kosher butcher shops and bakeries sprang upinJewishneighborhoods.SodidsmallschoolsmodeledontheeasternEuropeanheder (aschoolthattaughtyoungchildrenHebrewlanguage,prayer,andthebasicsoftheBibleandsomeTalmud).Communitiesalsobuiltmikvaot, orplacesforritualbathing,sothatmenandwomencouldconformtotherulesoffamilypurity,whichrequiredmarriedcouplestorefrainfromsexualcontactduringandforaweekafterthewifesmenstrualperiod; at the end of this time, the wife would immerse herself ina mikvah.IntheirneighborhoodstheJewsorganizedsmallcongrega-tions,usuallymadeupofmenwhocamefromthesamesmallTransplanted People: 18801924 57Food merchants wereamong the most impor-tant figures in any city.Respected members of thecommunity often adver-tised their grocery busi-nesses with the title Dr.after their names, asMoritz Kohn did on thissales statement. Image Not Available towns,cities,orregionsineasternEurope.Knownashevrot (informalgroups)oranshes (menof,followedbythenameofthetown),thesegroupsprayedastheyhadbackhome.Oftentheymetinstorefrontsorthebasementsofapartmentbuildingsverydifferentfromthelarge,majesticsynagoguesthatwerebeingbuiltbyJewswhohadbeenintheUnited States for a long time.SomeofthemoreprosperouseasternEuropeanimmigrantsformednew,moreelaborateOrthodoxcongregationsorjoinedoldertraditionalones.ThefirstRussiansynagogueinNewYork,CongregationBethHamedrash,wasfoundedin1852.In1872itadoptedthenameKahalAdathJeshurunAnsheLubtz,thecongregationofthecommunityofJeshurun, the people of the town of Lubtz. In 1887, as new arrivals fromeastern Europe made their way to the Lower East Side every day, the syna-gogue dedicated an ornate building on Eldridge Street in the heart of thatneighborhood.TheEldridgeStreetSynagoguesymbolizedtheupwardmobilityoftheimmigrants,whoprayedinatraditionalstyleandobserved the details of Jewish practice.SomeyoungimmigrantmenstudiedattheJewishTheologicalSeminaryofAmerica(JTS),aNewYorkCitybasedtrainingschoolforrabbis.JTShadbeenfoundedin1886bywealthyJews,mostofwhomhadbeenbornintheUnitedStatesorhadlivedthereforalongtime.It Jews in AmericaJews had special dietaryneeds because of the lawsof kashrut, which regulatedthe Jewish diet.Consumerswould want to know thatthe meat they bought con-formed to those rules andthat shopowners, such asthis couple, followed thestrict kosher procedures. 58Image Not Available beganasanOrthodox,butAmerican,seminary.Duringthe1910sand1920s,JTSwouldgraduallycreateConservativeJudaism,aformofJudaism midway between Orthodoxy and Reform. Initsearlydecades,however,JTStriedtobuildabridgebetweeneasternEuropeanOrthodoxyandAmericanlife.ItsfoundersfearedthattheAmerican-bornchildrenofeasternEuropeanimmigrantswouldbedrawn to neither the old-style Orthodoxy from Russia and Poland nor theformality and churchlike decorum of Reform. The founders of JTS want-ed the school to be American in its outward style while remaining true tothecoreoftraditionalJewishpractice.OneofitsearlieststudentswasMordecaiKaplan,ayoungimmigrantfromLithuania,whowouldlaterplay a crucial role in defining and shaping American Judaism.LiketheJTS,theRabbiItzhakElhananTheologicalSeminary(RIETS) wanted to train Orthodox rabbis who were both deeply commit-ted to tradition and at home in the United States. RIETS opened in NewYork City in 1915; in 1928 it became the nucleus of Yeshiva University. YetRIETS traced its origins to the 1880s,whenJewsinNewYorkhadfoundedtwoyeshivas, orHebrewschools:EtzChaim(treeoflife)andMahzikeTalmudTorah(thosewhoholdontothestudyoftheTorah).ThefoundersoftheseOrthodoxschoolshadtriedtocreateintheUnitedStatestraditionalinstitutionsjust likethoseofeasternEuropebut thiswasnotpossible.EventhemostcommittedtraditionalinstitutionshadtoaddsecularAmericanstudies,andtheyoungmenwhostudiedinthem soon adopted American ways. JewsintheUnitedStatesfoundtheissueofreligiousauthorityvex-ing.InEuroperabbisreceivedpowerTransplanted P