Congregation Mickve Israel — Attraction in Savannah

HM 025-77 Congregation Mickve Israel (Founded 1733) 20 E. Gordon Street Savannah, Georgia 31401 (Photos 3/2018)

The oldest Congregation now practicing Reform Judiasm in the United States. Mickve Israel was founded by a group of Jews, mainly of Spanish-Portuguese extraction, which landed at Savannah, July 11, 1733, five months after the establishment of the Colony of Georgia.

The Congregation was incorporated in perpetuity by a special Act of Georgia Legislature on November 20, 1790. After having worshipped in various temporary quarters for almost a century, in 1820, the congregation built its own Synagogue - the first in Georgia - on the Northeast corner of Liberty and Whitaker Streets. The present Synagogue was consecrated on April 11, 1878.

In 1789, the Congregation received a letter from President George Washington, which stated in part: "May the same wonder-working Diety who long since delivering the Hebrews from their Egyptian suppressors, planted them in the promised land - whose providential agency has lately been conspicuous in establishing these United States as an independent nation - still continue to water them with the dews of Heaven and to make the inhabitants of every denomination participate in the temporal and spiritual blessings of that people whose God...

Interesting gothic synagogue. Although the original congregation was founded as a Sephardic (Spanish Jewish) congregation back in 1735, the membership shifter toward reform German Jews by the 1870's. The docent pointed out that it is the only synagogue in the USA, and probably the world, to be purposely built in the shape of a transept cross "because the Jews of Savannah felt that this would help them be accepted by their Christian neighbors when the new building was constructed after the Civil War" (he actually said this). My Spanish friend confirmed that the interior was reminiscent of a Spanish Cathedral. Why I am only giving it three stars is that the tour started late, only lasted 20 minutes, and the tour guide, incredibly, made a comment about "Florida Jews being people that he and his wife wanted to get away from when they decided to retire to Savannah". This is after a show of hands asking people on the tour where they are from, and Florida came up by a considerable number of people on the tour. Granted, this might have been an attempt at "humor" but many of the people on the tour just stared at each other in disbelief. The Synagogue should vet their docents to a...

Historic synagogue in a gothic revival "church-style" building as it's over 150 years old, the congregation is over 300 years old.

Rabbi Robert Haas and his wife April are amazing people as are the various aged congregants: alas as most American synagogue congregations they skew on the majority in the over 50 age and above, though that is getting some turnaround.

If you want a primarily Hebrew and orthodox religious experience, look elsewhere. But if you want to get meaning from your reflective prayer ( you should want to have "Kavanah" for your prayer) then come here by all means and be welcomed whole heartedly.

Fyi: Kavanah roughly translated from the Hebrew via the kabbbalistic tradition means to have pure heart and 100% devotion in your prayer study, else don't even bother to go through the motions as you only will receive that which you give freely & sincerely from your heart & soul speaking...