USA > South Carolina > The Jews of South Carolina, from the earliest times to the present day > Part 12
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" MR. SOLOMON MOSES."
The following affidavit was exhibited at the trial :
" STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
" Personally appeared Solomon Moses who being duly Sworn made Oath and Saith that he paid the Sum of Three pound and begged Pardon in
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gregation was orthodox in its ritual and observance. Its members kept the Sabbath and the other sacred days, and attended the services regularly. The discipline of the Syna- goque compelled allegiance in these respects. The Syna- gogue did not encourage the making of proselytes and vis- ited with severe penalties those who might marry out of the faith. The ritual was that of the Spanish and Portu- guese Jews. A portion of the service was conducted in mongrel Spanish, which no one understood. Even Hebrew was not sufficiently understood by the congregation gen- erally to make the service intelligible. The service was long and unattractive, and had to be hurried if the hours of worship were not to be unduly protracted, which they often were. Decorum was bad. There was no discourse or reli- gious instruction of any kind except on special occasions. Such was the state of affairs in the Synagogue in Charles- ton in 1824, when forty-seven members of Beth Elohim pre- sented a petition to the vestry asking for a revision of the ritual. It was the first step that had been made in the direc- tion of reform among the Jews of America. What the memorialists sought is seen from the following extracts from the petition itself :
"Your memorialists seek no other end than the future welfare and respectability of the nation. As members of the great family of Israel, they cannot consent to place before their children examples which are only calculated to darken the mind and withhold from the rising genera- tion the more rational means of worshipping the true God.
" It is to this, therefore, your memorialists would, in the first place, invite the serious attention of your honorable body. By causing the Hazan, or reader, to repeat in English such part of the Hebrew prayers
the Sinogogue for the offence that he was then Charged with and that he is now restored to his full right and privilege of the Hebrew Con- gregation as per his Letters & Receipt.
" Sworn to and Subscribed before me this 12 of May 1802
"JOHN JOHNSON J. P."
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as may be deemed necessary, it is confidently believed that the congre- gation generally would be more forcibly impressed with the necessity of Divine worship, and the moral obligations which they owe to themselves and their Creator; while such a course would lead to more decency and decorum during the time they are engaged in the performance of religious duties. It is not every one who has the means, and many have not the time, to acquire a knowledge of the Hebrew language, and consequently to become enlightened in the principles of Judaism. What then is the course pursued in all religious societies for the purpose of disseminating the peculiar tenets of their faith among the poor and uninformed ?
" The principles of their religion are expounded to them from the pul- pit in language that they understand; for instance, in the Catholic, the German, and the French Protestant churches; by this means the ignorant part of mankind attend their places of worship with some profit to their morals and even improvement to their minds; they return from them with hearts turned to piety, and with feelings elevated by their sacred character. In this consists the beauty of religion-when men are invoked by its divine spirit to the practice of virtue and morality.
" With regard to such parts of the service as it is desired should undergo this change, your memorialists would strenuously recommend that the most solemn portions be retained, and everything superfluous excluded; and that the principal parts, and if possible all that is read in Hebrew, should also be read in English (that being the language of the country), so as to enable every member of the congregation fully to understand each part of this service.
" In submitting this article of our memorial to the consideration of your honorable body, your memorialists are well aware of the difficulties with which they must contend, before they will be enabled to accomplish this desirable end; but while they would respectfully invite the attention of your honorable body to this part of their memorial, they desire to rest the propriety and expediency of such a measure solely upon the reason by which it may be maintained.
" Your memorialists would next call the particular attention of your honorable body to the absolute necessity of abridging the service gener- ally. They have reflected seriously upon its present length, and are con- fident that this is one of the principal causes why so much of it is hastily and improperly hurried over. * *
" According to the present mode of reading the Parasa [Pentateuch] it affords to the hearer neither instruction nor entertainment, unless he be competent to read as well as comprehend the Hebrew language. But if, like all other ministers, our reader would make a chapter or verse
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the subject of an English discourse once a week, at the expiration of the year the people would, at all events, know something of that religion which at present they so little regard." 5
The petition was sensible, moderate, and dignified, but the vestry laid it on the table without discussion and thus deprived the petitioners of the right of appeal, a right that was expressly provided for in the Constitution. [Rule VII.] By so doing it violated in spirit, if not in letter, that Con- stitution which it had sworn to defend. It is absurd to claim that the vestry believed that the proposed changes struck at the fundamental principles of Judaism. No one who reads the petition can imagine any such thing. The vestry was satisfied with things as they were and that was enough. It was the régime of Bevis Marks still. But that petition was signed by men who represented the intellect of the community and they were not willing that their proposals should be thus kept even from discussion by any such mean subterfuge.
On November 21, 1824,6 a meeting was called and the
" Harby's " Anniversary Address," in Miscellaneous Writings, pp. 61-2. " The actual date of the organization of the Reformed Society of Israel- ites is a matter only of surmise. Goldsmith's Directory for 1831 gives the date Jan. 16, 1825; so does the Constitution of the Society. Writing to Mr. Jefferson on Jan. 14, 1826, Isaac Harby says: "Our Society commenced with about a dozen membezrs; it already (within a year) can enumerate about fifty." (Select Writings, p. 36.) Harby's Discourse, delivered Nov. 21. 1825, was delivered before the Society " on their first Anniversary." (North Am. Rev. for July, 1826, p. 67.) The title-page of the prayer-book of the Society reads: "Founded in Charleston, South Carolina, November 21, 1825." A careful search of all the files of news- papers for 1824-5 has failed to discover any reference to the Society earlier than Nov. 22, 1825-the first anniversary meeting. Inasmuch as these anniversary meetings were held on Nov. 21st of each year or thereabouts, we may take it with reasonable certainty that the prelimi- nary organization of the Society took place in November, 1824, while permanent organization was not effected till Jan, 16, 1825.
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THE JEWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
"Reformed Society of Israelites" organized. The Society started with about a dozen members. In two months its numbers had increased to thirty-eight, and in July, 1826, exceeded fifty. In 1826 Beth Elohim had seventy subscrib- ing members, representing about three hundred souls; and the Society fifty members, making with their families over two hundred souls. "The Jews born in Carolina," writes Isaac Harby in 1826, "are mostly of our way of thinking on the subject of worship, and act from a tender regard for the opinions and feelings of their parents in not joining the Society." ?
Apart from what we know of the almost patriarchal gov- ernment in the family that obtained among the Jews of South Carolina in the early days, the above figures show how utterly at variance with the facts is the statement that this first reform movement was either small or insignificant -consisting of a mere handful, as one writer over-confi- dently puts it. Even the late Nathaniel Levin could only see in the Society a movement in which "a spirit of innovation raised its miscreant front among our people," * * *
"a Society that did not increase in numbers and which, after a few years of sickly existence, became extinct." 8
As a matter of fact, the best and most influential people in the community were in the Society and a large number of those who were not actually affiliated with it were in sympathy with its aims. No writer till now seems to have deemed it worth his while to ascertain the names of the people who constituted the Society and who directed it. Beyond the names of Isaac Harby and David N. Carvalho we do not find, in the scant literature which we possess on the subject, a single name associated with it. Thus has the history of the past come down to us. But such historical
The North American Review, July, 1526, p. 74.
8 The Occident, Vol. 1, pp. 436 and 439.
----
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writing will no longer pass muster. We must be in posses- sion of facts if we would pass judgment.
We have thus endeavored to trace, in its proper setting, the origin of the reform movement in America. It was an indigenous movement, a "spontaneous impulse towards better things," "not produced either by foreign or internal violence or solicitation," as the sympathetic reviewer of Harby's "Discourse" in The North American Review, above quoted, well puts it (page 67). The reviewer estimates the movement far more accurately than do subsequent writers, most of whom are imbued with orthodox bias.º Leeser ludicrously thinks from his commendation of the "Discourse" that he "no doubt intended by his remarks to foment yet farther the spirit of discord which had exhibited itself among the Israelites of that place" (Charleston).10
We now come to the Society itself and reproduce here for its historical value a published statement of its principles. It is to be found in Goldsmith's Directory for 1831, page 146. The publisher was the secretary of the Society in 1825 :
"THE REFORMED SOCIETY OF ISRAELITES.
" This Society was formed with a view of making such alterations in the customs and ceremonies of the Jewish religion as would comport with the present enlightened state of the world. It adopted, in its outset, this fundamental principle, that a correct understanding of divine worship
" The following observation of the reviewer is worthy of note:
" How far innovation will eventually go, when once positively begun, we are unable to conjecture. We have heard it vaguely suggested, beside other things, that the new reformers among the Jews, both in this country and in Europe, have it in contemplation to remove their Sabbath for- ward one day, so as to make it coincide with the day of rest of the Chris- tian. But nothing of the kind is hinted at in the documents before us, nor does it come from any authentic source of information with which we are acquainted." -- North American Review for July, 1826, p. 72. Cer- tain it is, that no such move was contemplated.
1º The Occident, Vol. 9, p. 211.
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is not only essential to our own happiness and a duty we owe to the Almighty Disposer of events, but is well calculated at the same time to enlarge the mind and improve the heart. In their creed, which accompa- nies their ritual, they subscribe to nothing of rabbinical interpretation, or rabbinical doctrines. They are their own teachers, drawing their knowl- edge from the Bible, and following only the laws of Moses, and those only as far as they can be adapted to the institutions of the Society in which they live and enjoy the blessings of liberty. They do nothing against the laws of Moses, but omit everything belonging to the former independent condition of their ancestors. They have simplified the wor- ship of God and brought the great objects of public meeting-piety, morals, and sense-so as to be perfectly comprehensible to the under- standing of the humblest capacity." In the appendix to their constitu- tion, they say, they wish not to overthrow, but rebuild-not to destroy, but to reform and revise the evils of which they complain-not to abandon the institutions of Moses, but to understand and to observe them; in fine, they wish to worship God, not as slaves of bigotry and priestcraft, but as the enlightened descendants of that chosen race, whose blessings have been scattered throughout the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
We will not go into details here about the "Creed" of the Society, or their method of worship,11 as the prayer-book of the Society-a very remarkable volume -- will be pub- lished in the near future,12 Suffice it to say, that the revised "Creed" consisted of ten articles, which differed materially from the thirteen articles of Maimonides that were then universally accepted in orthodox communities. The service was short and simple, and the prayer-book was a compila- tion of the most beautiful passages in the old ritual. There were also some original prayers. Parts of the service were recited both in Hebrew and English. An English discourse
11 These have been described, though somewhat inaccurately, in a series of articles by Dr. Mayer, in Einhorn's Sinai (Baltimore, 1856) ; in Leeser's Occident, Vol. 1, pp. 435-9; in The American Hebrew, Jan. 29, 1886 ; and by Dr. Philipson in The Jewish Quarterly Review for October, 1897. Dr. Mayer was Rabbi of Beth Elohim from 1851 to 1856.
" As far as can be ascertained, only two copies of this book are in existence, one of which is in the possession of the author.
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formed part of the morning service. There was instrumen- tal music and the congregation worshipped with uncovered heads. David Nunez Carvalho was the volunteer "Reader," and the Society met in Seyle's Masonic Hall, on Meeting Street. The Society had as part of its programme the edu- cation of a youth or youths "so as to render him or them fully competent to perform divine service, not only with ability, bearing and dignity, but also according to the true spirit of Judaism, for which this institution was formed." 13 This part of the programme seems not to have been real- ized.
At the first anniversary meeting of the Society, held on November 21, 1825, the following officers were elected :
Aaron Phillips, president.
Michael Lazarus, vice-president.
Morris Goldsmith, secretary.
Isaac Mordecai, treasurer.
Abraham Moïse, orator.
Corresponding Committee - Isaac Harby, Abraham Moïse, Isaac N. Cardozo, D. N. Carvalho, and E. P. Cohen.14
In 1826 the Society issued an appeal for subscriptions "for erecting in the city of Charleston a new place of worship in honor of Almighty God." The following is the circular :
"Nearly two years have now elapsed since a large and respectable meeting of Israelites was held in this city, for the purpose of endeavor- ing to effect some changes, and eradicating many acknowledged errors in the mode of worship at present observed in the Synagogue. For the attainment of these objects a Society was soon after organized called ' The Reformed Society of Israelites,' which has since been incorporated by the Legislature. The ends proposed to be attained were chiefly these :
"First. To introduce such a change in the mode of worship, that a
13 The North American Review, July, 1826, p. 71.
14 See The Charleston Mercury, Nov. 22, 1825. See also The Southern Patriot of the same date.
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considerable portion of the prayers be said in the English language, so that by being understood, they would be attended with that religious instruction in our particular faith, essential to the rising generation, and so generally neglected; and which, by promoting pious and elevated feelings, would also render the service solemn, impressive and dignified- such as should belong to all our addresses to the Divine power.
" Secondly. To discontinue the observance of such ceremonies as par- take strongly of bigotry; as owe their origin only to Rabbinical Institu- tions; as are not embraced in the moral laws of Moses; and in many instances are contrary to their spirit, to their beauty and sublimity and to that elevated piety and virtue which so highly distinguish them.
" Thirdly. To abolish the use of such portions of the Hebrew prayers as are superfluous and consist of mere repetitions, and to select such of them as are sufficient and appropriate to the occasion.
" Fourthly. To follow the portions of the Pentateuch which are to be said in the original Hebrew, with an English Discourse, in which the principles of the Jewish faith, and the force and beauty of the moral law, may be expounded to the rising generation, so that they, and all others may know how to cherish and venerate those sublime truths which emanated from the Almighty Father, and which are acknowledged as the first, and most hallowed principles of all religion.
" Such were, with a few other minor alterations, the principal objects that led to the institution of . The Reformed Society of Israelites' in the city of Charleston. This explanation we deem due to those whose assist- ance may be extended towards erecting this new Temple to the Service of the Almighty. It is an appeal to all who are influenced by tolerant and unprejudiced feelings, and who can properly appreciate the conduct of those who are actuated in their wish for the above changes, by a desire to disencumber their religion of what disfigures instead of orna- menting it, and by the religious instruction which distinguishes the present age. It appeals to no sectarian spirit, as it directs itself solely to the bosoms of those that respond to the pure and uncontaminated feelings of an enlightened piety. Exclusive principles belong, more or less, to all sects, but the virtue of Benevolence may belong to all of every sect. Impressed with these sentiments, we therefore make our application general, and to such as are influenced by the spirit of true Religion, and by a manly and discriminating feeling of what is really good and ennobling in human charity.
" Donations will be thankfully received, and all communications noticed by either of the subscribers.
" Aaron Phillips, President; Michael Lazarus, Vice-President; Isaac
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Mordecai, Treasurer; D. N. Carvalho, Isaac N. Cardozo, E. P. Cohen, Abraham Moïse and Isaac Harby-Committee.15
" CHARLESTON, Sept. 1, 1826."
The files of the Charleston newspapers from 1825 to 1832 furnish the lists of officers of the Society year by year.16 They were as follows :
Presidents : Aaron Phillips (1825), Isaac Harby (1827), Abraham Moïse (1828-1832).
Vice-Presidents : Michael Lazarus (1825), Abraham Moïse (1827), Isaac N. Cardozo (1828-1832).
Secretaries: Morris Goldsmith (1825), Henry M. Hyams (1827), Philip Phillips (1828), Thomas W. Mordecai (1829- 1832).
Treasurers : Isaac Mordecai (1825-1827), Joseph Phil- lips (1828), Thomas W. Mordecai (1829-32).
Orators: Abraham Moïse (1825), D. N. Carvalho (1827).
Most of these officers served likewise on the Correspond- ing Committee, as did also E. P. Cohen (1825), Philip Ben- jamin (1827), Colonel Myer Jacobs (1829), David C. Levy (1832), and Isaac C. Moses (1832). The meetings were held on November 21 of each year, and the last meeting on record at which officers were elected was that of November 21, 1832. On May 2, 1833, a special meeting was held for the purpose, apparently, of winding up the affairs of the Society. Witness the following :
15 This circular was printed in The Mercury every day, from Sept. 2, 1826, till the end of the year. It is worthy of note that in the paper of Oct. 26th, and all subsequent issues the names of Aaron Phillips and E. P. Cohen are omitted. Suggested reasons for the change would be mere guesses.
1 See The Courier, Nov. 22, 1525, Nov. 22, 1827, Nov. 26, 1828, Nov. 23. 1829, Nov. 24, 1830, Nov. 23, 1831, Nov. 23, 1832. The file July-Dec., 1826, is missing both in the Charleston Library and in the library of the Chamber of Commerce. The numbers of The Mercury and The Southern Patriot are likewise missing.
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" The following circular was addressed through the P. O., to the many citizens who subscribed about 6 years ago, to raise a fund for building a second synagogue in this city. It is a document which speaks for itself. There is a moral beauty in the act, which makes it a subject for grateful contemplation. How rare, very rare are such instances!
"' CHARLESTON, 7th. May, 1833.
"' The Reformed Society of Israelites at a meeting held on the 2nd. inst. having abandoned their intention of building a new Synagogue in the city of Charleston, Resolved unanimously, " that such sums of money as were subscribed by their fellow-citizens for that purpose, be forth- with returned, with the interest which has acerued thercon." Your name appearing on the lists appended to the sum of five dollars. we herewith inclose the same with interest, and the thanks of the Society for the liberal feeling which prompted the donation.
"' Your obedient servants, "' ABRAHAM MOISE "'I. N. CARDOZO "'ISAAC MORDECAI "' MICHAEL LAZARUS "' THOMAS W. MORDECAI
Committee.
"' Donation $5.00 Interest 1.63 6.68
"' Sept. 6, 1833.' >> 11
Thus ended the first great struggle for reform among the Jews of America. There were several causes that con- tributed to the dissolution of the Society. There was, of course, opposition from without, but this had little or noth- ing to do with it. There was the pressure from those con- nected with the members by family ties. The removal from the city of Isaac Harby in 1828 must have been severely felt, and several others likewise left Charleston at that time. The lack of theological equipment of its leaders had
17 The Courier, Sept. 11, 1833.
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REFORMED SOCIETY OF ISRAELITES 165
nothing to do with it. The Society sought edification in its worship, and among its members were several distinguished orators, who were fully equal to the demands of their day. The main reason was the fact that the movement was ahead of its time, and the masses were afraid to risk the experi- ment. That the movement lasted as long as it did-at least eight years-shows what a firm hold it had taken upon the people. Success is a relative term after all. Let the critic who would judge it fairly compare it, e.g., with two small movements on similar lines that have taken place in London within the last few years,-we refer to the Hamp- stead Sabbath afternoon services and the present Religious Union services .- movements by no means as revolutionary as the one in Charleston in 1824, and he will come to a far truer estimate of the first Reformed Society of Israelites. The Society failed, but its very failure was success, for it had sowed the seeds of progress, which germinated very soon thereafter, this time successfully.
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CHAPTER X-1824-1860
E have thus far traced the rise and development of the Jews of South Carolina to the zenith of their his- tory. During the present period the Jewish community continued to increase by steady immigration. Charleston was a very important business centre in those days, much more so than it is to-day, and its commercial opportunities attracted settlers from everywhere. As before, Jews were to be found in every sphere of commercial and political life, and in public life generally they attained great prominence. Several members of the Charleston community won national recognition. As a whole, it was a magnificent community, noted for its culture as well as for its commercial integrity. The Jewish community, however, was growing too rapidly for the city, and many of its prominent members left for other places during this period. New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Mobile, San Francisco, Au- gusta, Wilmington, and Savannah received additions to their Jewish population from Charleston-indeed, there were few of the older Jewish communities of this country that had not Charleston Jews among their founders. The Jews of Charleston were scattering through the State, too, and significant settlements of Jews were to be found in Sumter, Columbia, Camden, Georgetown, Marion, Beau- fort, and Cheraw.
166
Major Raphael J.
Moses, 1812-1893
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1824-1860 167
Following the plan adopted in a former chapter, we will give here a directory of the Jews of Charleston from 1824 to 1860, which, while far from complete, includes the lead- ing Jews of the period. The Jews of the rest of the State will be noted elsewhere:
DIRECTORY-1824-1860.
Aarons, Moses.
Abrahams, A. H.
, Alexander. , E.
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