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THE TORAH BELLS OF MYER MYERS cont'd
The American Context Each year, around the time of Memorial Day, our Congregation has a special ceremony at our historic Chatham Square Cemetery. The cemetery dates back to 1683. At this ceremony, we pay respect to those who laid the foundations for Jewish life in New York, and, indeed, in America. We mark the graves of those of our congregants who fought in the American Revolution. Myer Myers is buried in this cemetery, although the stone marker of his grave has eroded away over the course of the past two centuries. The small Jewish community of New York, along with the Jewish communities of the other four Colonial congregations, were keenly aware of the blessings they enjoyed in America. The freedoms granted to all citizens, of all religious backgrounds, were not taken for granted by the Jews. They knew that so many Jewish communities around the world did not have these freedoms. They knew that even here in America, these freedoms had to be won. Under the Dutch, and then under the British, the Jews of New York struggled for the expansion of rights. When it became clear that a revolution against British rule was inevitable, a remarkably high number of Jews enrolled in the cause of the patriots—as soldiers, as financial supporters, as enthusiastic advocates. Much of New York Jewry went into exile rather than to live under British rule. Once the United States had been established as an independent nation, President George Washington proclaimed a day of national thanksgiving for November 26, 1789. Congregation Shearith Israel held a service on that first Thanksgiving Day (and has continued to do so each year since), at which time Rev. Gershom Mendes Seixas delivered an address. He noted that the Jewish community had reason to rejoice “as we are made equal partakers of every benefit that results from this good government; for which we cannot sufficiently adore the God of our fathers who hath manifested his care over us in this particular instance; neither can we demonstrate our sense of His benign goodness, for His favourable interposition in behalf of the inhabitants of this land.” For the first time since antiquity, Jews were living in a land where they were equal citizens with equal rights. The small Jewish community of the early United States was keenly aware of the fact that they were enjoying rights and responsibilities denied to Jews in every other land in the world. They were committed to participating actively and proudly in American life, as full fledged citizens of the United States. Myer Myers was among the ardent patriots of the Jewish community. He understood the importance2 of living in a free, open society, with a democratically elected government. He certainly must have felt privileged to be able to live a life faithful to Jewish tradition, while at the same time conducting a flourishing business with a large and diverse clientele. A manifestation of Myers’ thoughts are evident in the address that he and two other Jewish leaders presented to Governor George Clinton on December 9, 1783. On behalf of the Jewish community of New York, they said: “Though the society we belong to is but small when compared with other religious societies, yet we flatter ourselves that none has manifested a more zealous attachment to the sacred cause of America in the late war with Great Britain. We derive therefore the highest satisfaction from reflecting that it pleased the Almighty Arbiter of events to dispose us to take part with the country we lived in; and we now look forward with pleasure to the happy days we expect to enjoy under a constitution wisely framed to preserve the inestimable blessings of civil and religious liberty. Taught by our Divine Legislator to obey our rulers, and prompted thereto by the dictates of our own reason, it will be the anxious endeavour of the members of our Congregation to render themselves worthy of these blessings, by discharging the duties of good citizens….” The address to Governor Clinton was made in the name of “the members of the ancient congregation of Israelites.” Shearith Israel, after all, dates itself back to the arrival of twenty-three Jews in New Amsterdam in 1654. In 1783, the congregation was already in existence for almost 130 years! Even in the decades preceding the American Revolution, the Jews of the Colonies did enjoy widespread freedoms. They shared in the spirit of the newly developing American society and appreciated the significance of being constructive and faithful citizens. Concluding Thoughts The Torah bells fashioned by Myer Myers, as we have seen, are reflections of various influences: the Jewish tradition, the Western Sephardic heritage, Jewish communal life in 18th century New York, the American milieu. As a gifted gold and silversmith, Myer Myers drew on these influences to create objects of great beauty and significance. In our Congregation, we do not treat the Torah bells as museum pieces, but as organic aspects of our religious ritual. The Torah bells generally can be seen in our synagogue each Sabbath morning, adorning one of our Torah scrolls. On Rosh Hashanah, and on other holy days, the Myer Myers Rimonim are placed atop the Torah scrolls that we use during services. Before reading the Torah, we customarily invite young children to participate in removing the bells and Torah cloak. Thus, the young generation of our Congregation come into direct contact with these centuries-old bells, created by one of our illustrious members of those days. So, these beautiful bells are not just aesthetically pleasing; and they are not just historical mementos. They are used as part of our ongoing ritual. They continue to be a part of our synagogue service and synagogue ornamentation. And that is exactly what Myer Myers would have wanted. –––––––––– Bibliographical Sources Information for this lecture was drawn from the archives of Congregation Shearith Israel, and from the following published works: Angel, Marc D., “Thoughts about Early American Jewry”, Tradition, Fall 1976. Dexter, F. B., ed., The Literary Diary of Ezra Stiles, New York, 1901, entry on June 8, 1782. Mann, Vivian, ed., Crowning Glory: Silver Torah Ornaments Of the Jewish Museum NY, New York, 1996. Marcus, J.R., “Handsome Young Priest in the Black Gown”, HUC Annual, vol. 40-41, 1969/70. Pool, David and Tamar, An Old Faith in the New World, New York, 1955. Pool, David de Sola, Portraits Etched in Stone, New York, 1952. Rosenbaum, Jeanette, Myer Myers, Goldsmith 1723-1795, Philadelphia, 1954. Whiteman, Maxwell, Copper for America: The Hendricks Family And a National Industry 1755-1939, New Brunswick, 1971. Wolf, E., and Whiteman, M., The History of the Jews of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, 1957. < Previous |
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