Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, was founded in 1654, the first Jewish congregation to be established in North America.
Members of Shearith Israel left their mark on history, both in terms of their contributions to the congregation and in terms of their contributions to the civic life of New York and America.
Shearith Israel's cemeteries are critical to the preservation and transmission of our congregational story. Three historic and one active cemetery are maintained by the congregation and each has a tale to tell.
Omer Board
Shearith Israel’s “Omer Board” dates back to the Mill Street Synagogue of 1730, and may indeed go back to the early years of the Congregation’s history.
1730
Revolutionary War Torah Scrolls
In 1776, several British soldiers desecrated two of Shearith Israel’s Torah scrolls.
