In Israel the Jewish identity is represented in large part by the state. Here in America, the Synagogue is the primary institution of Jewish identity.  What follows is a brief history of the Natchez Synagogue based on information given to me by the late Mr. Nathanson, former leader of worship, not rabbi, at the Natchez, Mississippi, Synagogue.  It is a look at the Synagogue’s history, present state of affairs, and hopes for the future.

     Temple B’nai Israel of Natchez was the first Synagogue in Mississippi. Its congregation was established in 1845, a time when cotton was king and plantations boomed around Natchez.  It was first called Hevrah Kadisha which indicated its origin as a burial society.

     The cornerstone of the first Synagogue was laid in 1870 during reconstruction, when the South was getting back on its feet economically and emotionally.  In 1871, in its biggest break with orthodoxy, the Minhag America or modified American for worship was instituted. This was a more progressive reform style of worship more suited to the American way of life.

     In 1872, the name was changed to Temple B’nai Israel to formally recognize the fact that the Synagogue was no longer just a burial society.  The early Synagogue was very scrupulous with finances. In 1867, Henry Dixon overcharged the Synagogue the paltry sum of $2.00 for installing a stove and was called to account for it.

     The Synagogue has always had good relations with the Christian churches. In 1871, the Baptist church offered the use of their church while the Synagogue was under construction.  On November, 21, 1903, less than a decade after the Spanish-American War, the temple burned down. During this trying time the Christian churches showed their good will and generosity.  The Jefferson Street Methodist Church offered the free use of its building. The Baptist Church again did the same. The Episcopal Church offered the use of its chapel. The Synagogue graciously accepted the Jefferson Street Methodist Church’s offer and sent a $200 gift as a token of appreciation.

     The Synagogue was never remiss in responding to others’ needs.  In 1903, a special meeting was called to protest and help in stopping the massacre of Jews in Kirchineff Russia.  However, soon a tiny but tenacious and devastating blow would come to the Synagogue. This was the boll weevil. This tiny creature destroyed cotton crops of the leading members of the congregation.

     1906 was the hey-day of the Synagogue. It reached its peak of with 141 members.  On March 24, 1905, the new temple with a modern electronic buzzer as an organist cue was first used. Bradley, one of the most faithful members of the Synagogue was then and would be for 50 years, organist at the Synagogue.  Early on the speaker had his foot pressing the buzzer during the entire discourse making a raucous racket. The buzzer was promptly removed and Bradley, adaptive as always, never missed a cue. He went for durations of 10 years without missing a Sabbath or festival service.

     Mr. Nathanson was full of facts about the history of Jewish people in the area. As he said, long ago in nearby Sicily Island, Louisiana, there was a Jewish community from Eastern Europe. They had been promised prosperity in America as farmers in fertile Sicily Island. However, floods obliterated them as a community. This was one way a community could be destroyed.

     One other way was through attrition.  Many young members of the congregation have left Natchez.  They didn’t leave didn’t leave because of faltering faith but rather for economic reasons.  One of Mr. Nathanson’s daughters moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana and became a lawyer married to a lawyer. Clifton Avenue, in Natchez, was once where a major concentration of rich congregants from the Synagogue lived.  Now they have all moved away and the thriving Jewish community that once was is only a memory.

     I was taken on a tour of the Synagogue and shown the 200-year-old handwritten Torahs. They are written in carefully constructed calligraphy in Hebrew. One is required to read them with a stylus to avoid getting oil from the fingers on them.  Above the altar is an eternal light that is always lit in recognition that God is always present there. Upstairs there is a beautiful old organ that deserves status as historical.

     At the time I visited Mr. Nathanson, the congregation had dwindled to the point that as few as three people attended the services. America is a land of cultural diversity. It is a tapestry of different cultures united and yet distinct. In Natchez, Mississippi, the synagogue has been part of the local tapestry. It would be a shame to lose this institution. The Synagogue has been part of the community’s spirit of cultural diversity which has characterized Natchez’s history under five flags. When the last service is held in the Synagogue and the perpetual light is extinguished it will be a dark day for all of us.