- book announcement -
"Remnant of Israel: A Portrait of America's First Jewish Congregation -
Shearith Israel"
by Rabbi Marc D. Angel
isbn 1-878351-62-1
192 pages, 9 x 11"
hardcover with linen binding and french-fold jacket
illustrated throughout in full color
$50.00 list price
pub. date March 2004
Riverside Book Company, Inc.
New York City
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
pdf file of the jacket sent by e-mail on request.
In September 1654, twenty-three Jewish refugees from Recife, Brazil arrived
in the Dutch colonial town of New Amsterdam aboard the St. Charles, a
French warship. The Portuguese had just retaken Brazil from the Dutch, and
these Jews feared living under the same repression that had caused their
ancestors to flee Spain in 1492 and Portugal in 1497.
Despite strong protests by Peter Stuyvesant, the local governor,
the Dutch West India Company ordered that this small group be allowed to
stay in New Amsterdam. At first calling themselves Shearith Jacob, or
Remnant of Jacob, and later Shearith Israel, they became the first Jewish
congregation in North America.
For almost 175 years, Shearith Israel was the only Jewish
congregation in New York City, and its history has been deeply intertwined
with that of the city and the nation.
Active in both the synagogue and the outside world have been such figures
as Rev. Gershom Mendes Seixas, an incorporator of Columbia College and a
prominent patriot during the American Revolution; Commodore Uriah Phillips
Levy, a hero in the War of 1812 who later saved Thomas Jefferson's
Monticello from ruin; Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Nathan Cardozo; Emma
Lazarus, one of whose poems is inscribed on the base of the Statue of
Liberty; and Maude Nathan, who was active in the women's suffrage movement
as well as a Daughter of the American Revolution.
Published to mark Shearith Israel's 350th anniversary, this book
tells their individual stories as well as the history of the congregation,
explaining its origins, its rituals and its traditions. It is profusely
illustrated with portraits, historical documents and ritual objects. There
are beautiful views of the Little Synagogue, part of the present building
on Central Park West at 70th Street, which incorporates furnishings from
the congregation's 1730 synagogue on Mill Street, and of the recently
restored main sanctuary, with its stained glass and interior design by
Louis Comfort Tiffany.
This book tells a fascinating story, one that will appeal to
anyone interested in the history and culture of the Jewish people, of New
York City, and of the United States.
the author:
Dr. Marc D. Angel is Senior Rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel,
the historic Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of New York City. He has
served the congregation since 1969.
Author and editor of twenty books and numerous articles, he has
won the National Jewish Book Award in the category of Jewish Thought. His
pioneering works on Sephardic history and culture have been highly
acclaimed and well-received by scholars and general audiences alike.
Rabbi Angel has been an active communal leader, serving as
President of the Rabbinical Council of America, President and Honorary
President of Sephardic House, Vice President of the American Sephardi
Federation, and Chairman of the Rabbinic Advisory Committee of the Jewish
National Fund.
He has been a board member of the New York Federation of Jewish
Philanthropies, the HealthCare Chaplaincy, Cancer Care and many other
organizations.
He is a recipient of the National Rabbinic Leadership Award of the
Orthodox Union, the Bernard Revel Award of Yeshiva University for Religion
and Religious Education, and the Finkle Prize of the New York Board of Rabbis.
In 1992, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from
Yeshiva University, where he earned undergraduate and graduate degrees as
well as his rabbinic ordination. He also holds a Masters degree in English
literature from the City College of New York.
Rabbi Angel and his wife Gilda have three children and four
grandchildren.
Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author
and are not necessarily endorsed by the AJL
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