| Today is: Tuesday, Adar 26, 5772 · March 20, 2012
• First Property Purchase in the US by Jewish Congregation (1677)
In 1658, fifteen Jewish families emigrated from South America to (what was to become) the United States. These families were of Sephardic lineage and settled together in Newport, Rhode Island, where they established a Jewish congregation. For many years they held weekly prayer services in private homes. When the need arose for a Jewish cemetery, the community purchased a piece of land on Wednesday, February 28, 1677. This was the very first piece of land in the colonies which was owned by a Jewish congregation. In this cemetery are buried many of the early members of this congregation, and it is still maintained by the Jewish community today. For more about the Newport Jewish community, see entry for the 8th of Elul.
Accept the truth from wherever it comes
- Maimonides
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