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THE JEAVISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
513
fxcmiiticm from cirtiiiii civil uikI iiiilitiin' duties by reason (if his sacred ollice as raljl)i and liazan (synagogue-reader), .stutiiiji; lliat the ministerial functions of his predecessors had secured for Orthodoxy, them the like innnunity. Even as late as I'H'i. violations of the ralibinieal laws were mailers tor imiuisition at the hands of the conjrre;,'alional aulliorilies. as. forinstance, shaving on Sahbalh (" I'ulil. Am. Jew. Hisl. Soc." i. Kalni, lh(^ Swedish traveler (([uoled at length 18). by Duly, l). 50. note), s|)eaks of the strict observance l)y New York .Jews of the Salibalh and dietary laws, and notes the covered heads al worship, the use of the t<(llil. and the seclusion of women-wor-
synagogue in New York in 174M. Xor were contemporary .selllers of (iernian origin
shipers at the
anydiircrcnt then
Such
ance.
in
the matlerof
New
cities as
Orlhodox observ-
York. Xcwjiort. Savan-
nah (17;):!). Charleston (17.")0), and I'hiladclphia (some time before 1781), were sought by Orthodo.x Sephardie Jews, as the following names of settlers testify: Abrasias, Andrade, Da Costa, De Lucena. (iomez. llendricks(Amslerdam). Hcnrii|Ues, Medina. Nunez or Nones. I'acheco. Uodrigucz.Sci.xas, in Xew York; and Abendana. Cardozo. Da Costa. De liUcena, Oouk'Z. ,Mailcira. .Marachc. Saspmlas. and Sei.xas. in I'hiladclpliia. IJut the cities of Penn-
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America, Discovery of America, Judaism in
formulates the demands then recent ly made in a petition to the congregational authorities for the
improvement of the liturgy. These consisteil of the addition to the regular service of English versions of the principal parts thereof; "the abolition of rabbinical interpolations [extracts from rabbinical writings] and of useless repetitions; and to read or chant with solemnity." Further, the delivery liy the hazan of a weekly lecture or discourse upon the .section read from the Law was asked for; the same to be "ex])lanatory of its meaning, edifying to the young, gralif.ving to the old, aud instructive to every a.ge and class of society." Other demands were made for the abolition of profane offerings, "and not to insult us with bad Spanish or Portuguese"; these ilemands having reference to the |iractise of making money doiuilioiis in |)ublic at certain sla.ges of the worship, which "otrcrings were announced alcnid in a mongrel Spanish-Portuguese replete with linguistic and grammatical society numbered nearly lifty members: but its efforts did not meet w itli the approval of the congregational authorities; and in 1S28 Ilarby removed to New York, where he died the same year. dialect, errors.
The
(Iratz. liarnitza. ICtting.
Those remaining, however. reiMed a hall and conducted their worship acform Con- <nrding to their own modernized ideas; gregation and thus the first conservatively Rein America, form congregation in America, with David Nunez Carvalho as honorary reader, was formed by those of Sei>hardic slock, the lineal deseemlants <if the rationalizing and cultured
.losephson.
Scplianlim of ancient days.
sylvania
— Philadelphia.
Lancaster, etc.
— as
well as
Richmond. Va.. were the favored dwelling places for tho.se of (Jerman extraction, to .iudge from such names of early residents as Arnold liamberger (173<i). Frank, jiossibly also Marks, Lyon. Philipps. Simon, all in I'liilailcl-
and Mar.x. Kcliine. I'.lkan. Darnistadl. W'oolf, (from 17!ll). Kursliccdi. and liloch. all in Hichm Of .Michael Hart (Lancaster. r77ti) his daughter pliia;
1
writes (Markens. j). 83): "lie was strictly ol)servant of Sabbaths and festivals; the dietary laws were
adhered to in his home, although he was compelled The (jerman to be his own xli'ihit (slau,i;hterer)." Jews were i)rol)alily still in great minority for divine services were everywhere conducted according to the )rtliodox Sephardie ritual in its ancient forms, amplitieil and elalioraled by certain abuses that had
t
upon it. Aniicipaling events, hf here mentioned that the first synagogue founded by Orthodox (Jermans in l'hila<lelphia. was <-xtant in JHOl; in New York, that of 15'nai Jeshurun was founded in 1H2."); followed bv Anslie Chesed in isiill (consolidated in 1S74 with Ti'mple lielli el). In lisiu a I'olisb cnngrcgalion. .Sha'are Zedek. was eslablished lhere;in ISII thi' .Sha'are llashomayim, which consolidaled in ls!)!l w ilh the Aliawalh Chesed. (Concerning the fiaindalion of syna.i;o,gues in other cncrusl<'il themselves it
may
states, see
Markens,
lished
in
pp.
I.e.,
lish translation of the
New Y'T^
78-1:2.1.)
The
lirsl
Eng-
Sephardie service was |)ub-
'">
'"""•
'^t
Lady Magnus,
"Oullines of Jewish llislory," p. 347. "For Lstiac Lciscrs edition, see li.st of piiblications at the end of this arlicle. The lirst notes of dis.salisfaction with the existin.i; routine of a lengthy ami eumljersome liturgy and thus the lirsl ullerancesof Reform First Re- were sounded in the Orlliodo.x Sepharform of die eongregalioTi of Charleslon. S. C., Sephardie and by a Sephardi of ihe Sephardim. Isime llarby (of Ihe Morocco fmnilv Origin, Arbib). born at Charlislon in 17HS. was a not<'d publicist and drainalisi and thi' lirst president of lln' Reformed Socii'ly of Israelites in
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thai city. In his lirst aimual address(Nov. 21, |H2.")) he expaliati'S on the principlis and aims of the society which were "to promote true principles of Judaism according to its purity uud spirit" aud
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L-3:i
First Re-
lie a moot ((uestion how far these which w<'re tlK'U held to strike at the were iiitluenced f unilamc'iital priiici]iles of Judaism or .suggested by the antecedent Reform movement in Germany, where, ten years earlier. Jacobson had originated a similar introduction of the vernacular into the lli'brew liturgy, and of the vernacular sermon and hymns (at Seesen. Berlin, and Hamburg). The prcibal)ilities seem .sri-atly in favor of Ihe supposition that the ("harleslon movement was independent, if for no oiher ri-ason than that the aristocratic- Sephardim of that conunimity would have
it
may always
iimovatioiis
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derogalory merely to adopt what Ashkenazim (Germans and Poles) had inaugurated: such was felt it
the feeling existent in religious as well as .social nuilters between these two great bodies of Jews. Thus inau.mu'ated. ibis conservative reform, aiming at the eslbelic and intelligent development of divine si'rvice. although |ierhaps not inunediately siu-cessful, showed in the seipience of events that it had struck lasting root; for when, in 1840, a new synagogue was built by the congregation, then under the guidance of Rev. Gustavus Posnanski (of German extraction), who had been minister since 183."). an organ and choir were introduced, together with a prayer-ritual modilied after the llamlmrg prayerbook. This Icil to the secession of Ihe Orthodox minority, and to Ihe formation by them of a separate congregation; which schism continued until recou-
took i>lace in 18(iC. The Charleston movement toward a conservative reform, thus iiuiugurated, .irradmdly lost force, owing probably to Ihe
solitlalion
complete lack of theologically e<iuipped leaders. It did not .appear again with any promiinnce for three or fiMir decades, when, under the naini' of Conservahitherto Ortives, various important congregations thodox adopleil some of ihe features of Ri'form (inlioduclion of the organ, family pews, and an .Vmong these congregations idibrcviali'd liturgy). wen- Riiai Jishur'un (Henry" S. Jacobs, minister) and Shaaray Telilla (F. de Sola Mendes, minister),
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