A good friend of mine and former president of our congregation is a direct descendant of Gershom Mendes Seixas (pronounced SAY-shis). The Dean of American Jewish History, the late Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus, said that my friend’s family is the last of the Jews connected to the American Revolution that has remained Jewish until this day.
So, who was this man…Seixas, not my friend.
His parents had to flee Portugal due to the Spanish Inquisition. As other “conversos,” the Seixas family had “converted” to Christianity, but the authorities knew they were secretly practicing Judaism. Gershom had been born in America; his teacher had been his father. While the younger Seixas didn’t have a college degree and surely not ordination, the Jewish education and sense of identity given him by his father, gave Seixas enough knowledge to be named chazzan of New York’s Shearith Israel Congregation. That synagogue was the only one in New York at the time, the spiritual home of the 300 Jews who lived in the city. We’re talking about the middle of the 18th century when no ordained rabbi lived in this country and Jewish communities had to rely on the most knowledgeable among them to lead them in prayer and take on all the other rabbinic responsibilities.
Seixas was truly respected. Not only did the Jewish community hold him in high regard, but the Protestants in the city did so as well. As a matter of fact, Seixas was named a trustee of Columbia College (now University). He was a fierce patriot who through word and deed supported the American Revolution. He was so well-known that he, though not an ordained rabbi, was invited to join two other clergymen at the inauguration of George Washington….and the reason I’m writing about Seixas today is because it is the 231st anniversary of that inauguration.
When Chazzan Seixas died in 1816 all of New York City mourned his death. Columbia commissioned a medal with his likeness. Something like that doesn’t happen every day; surely it was even more rare in that time in the history of our nation.
It should be noted that Washington’s attitude towards the Jews was very positive. Some say that because of his heart-felt kindness, especially in the letter that he wrote upon his election as President to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island, the foundation for our success as a People was laid in this country.
(Speaking of synagogues – I was? – It’s funny how “big” $100 looks when you make a donation to the congregation, but so “small” when you spend it at the mall)