Touro Synagogue: "To bigotry no sanction . . . ."

I thought I'd post a tribute today to the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, for no other reason than that it is a beautiful building with an inspiring history.

Touro Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in America. That alone would make it worthy of recognition, but its history is far richer than mere longevity would suggest.

The claim by some evangelicals that America is a Christian nation is, of course, preposterous, especially in the case of Rhode Island. It was founded by Roger Williams and other dissidents from Massachusetts as “a lively experiment” in tolerance and diversity that called for the separation of church and state when that was still a radical idea.

As the Touro Synagogue explains on its web site, 15 Jewish families arrived in Newport in 1658. They founded a congregation there and established a Jewish cemetery in 1677. In 1759 the congregation purchased land for a synagogue, which was completed and dedicated in 1763.

Newport suffered greatly when the British captured the town in 1776, during the Revolutionary War. Most of the Jews left because they supported the American cause. But even in their absence, Touro Synagogue survived; the British used it as a hospital  for their troops until French forces allied with the rebels liberated the town.

The synagogue played a vital role in civic affairs during the years that followed. A town meeting was held there in 1781, when George Washington visited Newport to plan the final phase of the war with Gens. Rochambeau and Lafayette.

After the war, the Touro Synagogue served as a meeting place for the Rhode Island General Assembly, the Rhode Island Supreme Court and the town of Newport.

As if all that isn't enough to assure the synagogue's place in history, Touro Synagogue became a symbol of America’s commitment to diversity when President George Washington, responding to a letter from the warden of the synagogue, wrote “to the Hebrew congregation in Newport” pledging the nation’s support for pluralism and religious freedom.

In his letter, Washington wrote that the government of the United States “gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” Think how much stronger we would be as a nation if all of us committed ourselves to that ideal.

You don’t have to be religious to appreciate Touro Synagogue’s storied past and its contemporary standing as a symbol of freedom. When I first visited, many years ago, I was struck by the contrast between the elegant simplicity of the synagogue’s exterior and the breathtaking beauty within.

Newport is justly famous for its Gilded Age mansions, but to me, the Touro Synagogue is a far more impressive monument to American greatness than the ostentatious homes of yesteryear.