Newport, R.I.
NPS Website; Local Website
WHAT IS IT?
Dedicated in 1763, the Touro Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in the United States.
BEAUTY (6/10)
The Synagogue's dullish yellow and brown exterior opens into a gorgeously restored one-room interior chamber. Five golden hanging candelabras sparkle as streaming natural light pours through the arched windows trimmed with olive frames and glistens off the eggshell white walls. 12 two-story Ionic and Corinthian pillars shape the square chamber and give the room a startling centrality and symmetry. The chamber's smallness emits a sense of urgency while its design, despite being largely neo-classical, feels almost exotic.
HISTORICAL INTEREST (8/10)
Touro Synagogue represents, in the National Park Service, American religious tolerance and the freedom to worship. As a symbolic entity, this Site could only exist in Rhode Island, the cradle of religious freedom and the first colony to vehemently separate church and state.
It is no coincidence, that in 1658, fifteen Jewish settlers arrived here, in Newport, with the hope of starting a new life, free from religious persecution and without fear. After worshipping in each other's houses for 100 years, that humble congregation found the means, in 1763, to construct the Synagogue that still stands.
When Rhode Island joined the United States, all of its citizens must have worried about their continued freedom of religion. Neither the Constitution, nor the Declaration of Independence had explicitly spoken about religion. In 1790, the warden of Touro's congregation wrote a letter to President George Washington, asking for assurances of the continued right to worship as he and his congregation pleased.
Washington responded with a remarkable letter stating that the Government of the United States “gives to bigotry no sanction (and) to persecution no assistance”. The Bill of Rights was ratified just one year later; its first amendment guaranteeing the freedom of religion. The Touro Synagogue is the quintessence of this liberal abstract. The Synagogue and its congregation seized a primary role in every stage of religious freedom's 150-year journey from radical concept to a pillar American ideal.
CROWDS (7/10)
We appreciated one fellow tourist's knowledge of Hebrew congregational structure and Jewish-American history. He filled in many of the blanks that our tour guide could not answer. At the same time, there were people in our small group that knew less about Hebrew customs than we did so we weren't embarrassed to ask basic questions.
EASE OF USE/ACCESS (2/5)
The Synagogue is located near the center of Newport, R.I., anywhere from 45 to 60 minutes south of Providence via a slew of winding roads. Take the Downtown Newport Exit from Rhode Island Route 138. Turn left on Touro Street and look for the Synagogue on your left. Park on a side street. Also, acquire a map before you get here; all the roads on the Newport peninsula are narrow and tricky.
Daily tours are given from July 1 through Labor Day every half-hour from 10-5. Good luck the rest of the year. Check ahead for times.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (4/5)
What other National Park Site, affiliated or otherwise, can you get a wall clock with Hebrew numbers and a Matisyahu CD? There a lot of interesting book titles for sale and countless items containing portions of George Washington's letter. We enjoyed the bookstore's distinctive personality so much that we bought a Ten Commandments magnet.
COSTS (2/5)
$5 per person. Since this is an affiliate NPS Site, the National Parks Pass is not accepted. The Site's steep entry fee was its primary drawback.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (3/5)
No Rangers. Two teen members of the Synagogue's congregation administered the tours and offered insight that no Ranger could have provided.
TOURS/CLASSES (5/10)
America's separation of church and state is a time-honored and culturally imperative concept. Then again, so is the American freedom of religion. How can the federally-run National Park System (NPS) tell the necessary story of our country's sacred past and its active churches? Through Touro Synagogue, an affiliated National Park Site with no Rangers, no NPS exhibits and no official brochure.
Instead, our teenage Tour Guide read from a personally prepared handwritten speech. She lacked big picture depth but clued us in to many of the Synagogue's design quirks and local legends. She was speaking for the congregation and its self-written history rather than the NPS and its historical mission.
FUN (5/10)
Our visit was much more fun and filled with less gravitas than our review suggests.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (4/10)
The Touro Synagogue is a refreshing historic break from the excess incarnate of Newport's Gilded Age mansions. Don't drive to Newport just to see the Synagogue, but if you are here it is a perfect place to remember the unique freedoms that Americans take for granted.
TOTAL 46/80
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