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.