Programs & Events 2024
Touro Synagogue Foundation announces the second event of its 2024 Judah Touro Program Series. Join us on Thursday, May 9 at 7:00 pm ET on Zoom when author and genealogist Genie Milgrom talks about her book My 15 Grandmothers.
Genie Milgrom was born to a Roman Catholic family of Spanish ancestry in Havana, Cuba. In an unparalleled work of genealogy, she has fully documented her unbroken maternal lineage of 22 generations, going as far back as pre-inquisition Spain and Portugal. Genie has traveled extensively into Fermoselle, the village of her ancestors in the Zamora region of Spain while doing field research on the past Jews of Fermoselle and the surrounding area.
Genie is the author of several award-winning books, My 15 Grandmothers, How I Found My 15 Grandmothers, A Step By Step Guide, and her latest book, Pyre to Fire. She is the president of Tarbut Sefarad-Fermoselle in Spain and past president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Miami and the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies. She has spoken at the Knesset in Israel and throughout the world about Jews returning from the Inquisition.
The event is free but registration is required. Click here to register:
On Thursday, March 21, 2024, Salve Regina University professor Dr. Emily Colbert Cairns presented Esther in Early Modern Iberia and the Sephardic Diaspora: Queen of the Conversas.
Although Esther is a minor figure for mainstream Jews and Christians, her cameo role at Purim merely hints at the more prominent place she has held for marginalized Jewish women over time. Professor Colbert Cairns’ book Esther in Early Modern Iberia and the Sephardic Diaspora: Queen of the Conversas tells the story of Esther in both Inquisitorial Iberia and throughout the Sephardic Diaspora (roughly 1500-1700). Professor Colbert Cairns explores texts written from Christian and Jewish perspectives to show why Esther was a significant figure throughout the religious divide.
Emily Colbert Cairns is an Associate Professor of Spanish at Salve Regina University. She attended Hamilton College and the University of California, Irvine. Through her academic research, she explores conversos in the Iberian world and the Sephardic diaspora. Her interest in identity as created by the diaspora comes from her own family’s personal stories.
Event video: View program
2023 Programs & Events
76th Annual George Washington Letter Reading
August 20, 2023 – Touro Synagogue
The 76th annual reading of the George Washington Letter took place at Touro Synagogue on Sunday, August 20, 2023. To honor the theme of public service, former Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, was this year’s reader of the Washington Letter. Angela Johnson, Rogers High School social studies teacher and the 2021-2022 Newport Public Schools Teacher of the Year read the Seixas letter. David Cicilline, former Congressman from Rhode Island and now the president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, delivered the keynote address.
The event was live-streamed on the Touro Synagogue – Newport, RI Facebook page.
Rhode Island School of Design Museum Local Collections Program
March 30, 2023 – Judah Touro Program Series
On Thursday, March 30, 2023, The Rhode Island School of Design Museum Local Collections Program presented a comparative perspective of objects chosen by staff from the RISD museum collection in comparison with the Ner Tamid (eternal light) and the center chandelier in Touro Synagogue. Howard Newman, a nationally respected Newport artist and conservator, restored both of these synagogue pieces and participated in the conversation.
Jennifer Rosner – ONCE WE WERE HOME – Book Talk and Signing
March 21, 2023 – 6:00 pm in Touro Synagogue
National Jewish Book Award Finalist Jennifer Rosner joined us at Touro Synagogue to present her new novel Once We Were Home. Poignant, moving, and carefully crafted, her book is based on the true stories of children stolen in the wake of World War II. We were excited and honored to partner with our friends and neighbors, Charter Books, 8 Broadway, Newport, RI, to host this special event and book signing. Signed copies of the book are available at the Loeb Visitors Center and Charter Books.
Picturing Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews in 17th & 18th Century Amsterdam
February 9, 2023 – Judah Touro Program Series
Dr. Samantha Baskind presented a talk titled, Picturing Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews in 17th & 18th Century Amsterdam. Her presentation featured works by Rembrandt, Bernard Picart, and others, who drew and painted Jewish residents of Amsterdam. The paintings and etchings included scenes in the synagogue and from daily life, giving us a remarkable insight into the life and practices of the Jews who came to Newport during the colonial period. Samantha Baskind is a Distinguished Professor of Art History at Cleveland State University. She joined the faculty at CSU in August 2004, having taught at the University of Miami, James Madison University, and the University of Pittsburgh. She is the author or editor of several books, most recently The Warsaw Ghetto in American Art and Culture (2018).
(Image of drawing by Rembrandt, courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London.)
The Architecture of the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam
January 12, 2023 – Judah Touro Program Series
Dr. Pieter Vlaardingerbroek presented an illustrated talk on the architecture and interior of the 1675 Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, the Esnoga, and its direct influence on the architecture of the 1763 Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island. Dr. Vlaardingerbroek is a leading expert on Dutch architecture and material culture. He is an architectural historian for the City of Amsterdam and an Assistant Professor of Architectural History and Conservation at the University of Utrecht. Professor Vlaardingerbroek is the author of many articles and books and served as editor for the definitive volume on the Esnoga, The Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, published by the City of Amsterdam in 2013. (Alamy stock photo, May, 2014, by Michael Wald.)
View program.
2022 Programs & Events
Jews, Slavery & the Meaning of Freedom
December 15, 2022 – Judah Touro Program Series
Dr. Paul Finkelman presented a talk titled Jews, Slavery, and the Meaning of Freedom on Thursday, December 15, 2022. He addressed a central paradox of the founding of America, the intermingling of noble ideals about liberty with the poison of racism. In a terrible irony, the history of Newport, a city founded upon the principles of religious freedom, is also about those who could not live freely. Many Newporters, including Jews, owned slaves and participated in some aspects of the transatlantic plantation system. This method of colonial commerce relied on the slave trade and goods produced through the labor of enslaved Africans. Dr. Finkelman currently holds the Rydell Visiting Chair at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota and is a research affiliate in the Max and Tessie Zelikobitz Centre for Jewish Studies, Carlton University, Ottawa, Canada. He received his B.A. in American Studies from Syracuse University and his Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago.
View program.
Pathways to Understanding
Teaching Religious Freedom & Diversity, Encouraging Dialogue
November 2, 2022 — Jane Pickens Theatre
Touro Synagogue Foundation invited teachers, mentors, community leaders, and other interested adults to a film screening of Pathways to Understanding. The short film developed for middle school students premiered on Wednesday, November 2, 2022 at the Jane Pickens Film & Event Center in Newport, RI. A moderated discussion took place after the film. This video is the first step for students, educators, parents, and civic organizations to better understand the history of religious freedom, diversity, and dialogue in colonial times and today and to set the stage for an upcoming middle school symposium. When on-site, in person, students will have an opportunity to participate in a highly interactive learning experience, engage in personal reflection, and practice critical thinking. Funding for the project was provided by the Rhode Island Foundation.
Watch video of Pathways to Understanding.
The Art of the Jewish Family
June 2, 2022 — Judah Touro Program Series
Professor Laura Arnold Leibman presented a program titled The Art of the Jewish Family: Jewish Women in Early New York and Newport Through Objects of Everyday Life. Professor Leibman’s presentation shed light on the lives of Jewish women in the early American Jewish communities of New York and Newport. Knowing that women are usually absent from the written record of the time, Leibman uses the objects of art and everyday life to tell their stories. Laura Arnold Leibman is a Professor of English and Humanities at Reed College and is the author of the award-winning book: The Art of the Jewish Family: A History of Women in Early New York in Five Objects (2020), winner of three National Jewish Book Awards. View program.
Early American Synagogues
May 19, 2022 — Judah Touro Program Series
Mark W. Gordon presented a program titled Rediscovering Jewish Infrastructure: Showcasing Surviving 18th & 19th Century Synagogues in America. The illustrated lecture is based on Gordon’s 2018 and two prior articles from American Jewish History, the journal of the American Jewish Historical Society. His research and urban exploration revealed that a surprising number of early synagogues survive, many through adaptive reuse. Mr. Gordon’s work also underscores the importance of preserving and interpreting Touro Synagogue, America’s oldest extant synagogue (1763). Mr. Gordon has spearheaded the saving and adaptive reuse of Newark’s Prince Street Synagogue, built in 1884. He holds a BA from Reed College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. View program.
Religious Freedom in Early America
May 5, 2022 — Judah Touro Program Series
Professor Carla Pestana presented a program titled Religious Freedom in Early America: Newport’s Colonial Jewish Community in Context. While Newport’s tradition of religious liberty is well known, many are not aware of what it meant when it became the town’s policy in the 17th century. Professor Pestana provided a more accurate understanding of the origins of religious freedom, who was responsible for making it the town’s policy, its impact on attracting Jews to Newport, and its role in the broader colonial Atlantic world. Professor Carla Gardina Pestana is one of the leading historians of early American and English Atlantic history. She holds the Joyce Appleby Endowed Chair of America in the World at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she is also a Distinguished Professor and the History Department Chair. View program.
2021 Programs & Events
74th Annual George Washington Letter Reading
August 15, 2021 — Touro Synagogue
This yearly event commemorating the exchange of letters between President George Washington and the Hebrew Congregation in Newport was presented by Touro Synagogue Foundation and Congregation Jeshuat Israel live in Touro Synagogue. This year, for the first time, most of the speakers on the podium were women and included: Seixas Letter Reader, Ms. Eliza de Sola Mendes: Congregation Shearith Israel and Touro Synagogue Foundation Board Member; Washington Letter Reader: Rear Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, President of the Naval War College; Keynote Speaker: Dr. Frances Malino, Professor Emerita of Jewish Studies & History, Wellesley College. View Letter Reading video.
“Treasures of Sephardic Song” by Gerard Edery
July 25, 2021 — Judah Touro Program Series
On July 25th, Touro Synagogue Foundation, in association with Congregation Shearith Israel of New York City, presented a virtual concert of Sephardic music by Gerard Edery. The concert, a part of the 2021 Judah Touro Program Series, was made possible by a generous grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. As noted by Edery, the music he played stems from Spanish and Portuguese Jewish traditions with influences from Moroccan, North African, and Turkish cultures. View concert video.
“Why Old Places Matter”
May 13, 2021 — Judah Touro Program Series
In the second event of the 2021 Judah Touro Program Series, Thompson Mayes of the National Trust for Historic Preservation discussed his book, “Why Old Places Matter: How Historic Places Affect Our Identity And Well-Being.” Panel discussion to follow with leaders from three Rhode Island preservation organizations: Preserve Rhode Island, Newport Restoration Foundation and the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission. View program video.
Faith, Family & Freedom
From Rhode Island to Jerusalem: The World of Judah Touro
May 10, 2021
From Colonial Newport to modern-day Jerusalem, Judah Touro will always be known for his extraordinary philanthropy. This program highlighted the people, places, and events that shaped the life of Judah, son of Isaac Touro, Touro Synagogue’s first spiritual leader. Moderated by Touro Synagogue Foundation Board Chair, Laura Freedman Pedrick, Touro Synagogue Foundation; Keith Stokes, Vice President, 1696 Heritage Group, and a TSF Board member delivered the keynote address. Special Guests included Ambassador Meron Reuben, Consul General of Israel to New England; Rabbi Marc Mandel, Congregation Jeshuat Israel, Touro Synagogue; and Avi Nevel, President and CEO, Rhode Island Israel Collaborative. The program was made possible by a collaboration of the following organizations: Congregation Jeshuat Israel, Touro Synagogue; the Consulate General of Israel to New England (Israel in Boston); the Rhode Island–Israel Collaborative (RIIC); and the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. View program video.
Hidden Newport — Newport String Project
April 25, 2021
“The Newport String Project quartet was truly honored to have the opportunity to make music in this extraordinary space that has been closed to the public since the onset of the Covid pandemic. Our thanks to the congregation and to the Touro Synagogue Foundation for their vision in supporting this collaboration.” The program includes Haydn’s String Quartet op. 20 no. 6 and two Japanese folksongs arranged by Hajime Kōmatsu. Also featured were pieces by two Jewish composers — George Gershwin’s Sweet Lullaby for String Quartet and Erwin Schulhoff’s Tango Alla Milonga. View concert video.
State of Antisemitism Today/AJC’s Global Jewish Advocacy
April 1, 2021 — Judah Touro Program Series
David Harris, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, spoke on “The State of Antisemitism today and AJC’s Global Jewish Advocacy.” Discussed was rising anti-Semitism, coalition building and what the AJC is doing to combat global hate and prejudice. Sponsored by the Touro Synagogue Foundation, the event was the first of the 2021 Judah Touro Program Series. View program video.
Congregation Jeshuat Israel
