Yesterday morning, Judah was called to the Torah at SAR Academy, his fantastic school (see photo on right) and tonight is his Bar Mitzvah!
Which explains why, at 5:30, I was jolted out of sleep by a sense of urgency. In 12 and a half hours, Judah's Bar Mitzvah Concert will begin! Guests will be filling the sanctuary of Ramath Orah, the waitstaff will be preparing the dinner downstairs, friends and family will be milling about, signing Judah's welcome poster (an oversize picture of young Judah holding a very new Alfie the Pomeranian), greeting each other, grabbing a snack and a much-needed bottle of water.
I have tried to avoid checking the weather forecast but even at this hour, it is clear that the weekend is going to be warm.
Okay, possibly scorching.
At this hour, with only me awake, I take inventory of the Bar Mitzvah paraphernalia, making mental notes about where everything is to be delivered. There are bags and boxes of beautifully wrapped candy to throw at Judah in shul after he finishes his Torah reading, there are personalized kippot, benchers for Friday night and Shabbat, there are special Japanese fans for our guests tonight, there are scores of water bottles for our guests, there are welcome bags and host gifts to deliver, snacks and food, banners and posters, booklets, programs and baskets and placecards that need to be printed.
Yikes! How can anyone sleep when there is so much still to be done!
Heroically, Judah has decided to go to school today so that he can take his Chumash test. I am impressed. How can he be so cool???
I will be signing off shortly, to start writing the D'var Torah I will be delivering tonight, but wanted to write briefly about Judah's Chesed Project, which entails raising money for the Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, which was founded by Judah Touro in 1854 and is the only hospital in the devastated region that cares for patients who have no health insurance.
Our goal is to raise at least $1,000 for the hospital, which will enable us to reach the level of Fellow in the Judah Touro Society. We also hope to inspire our guests to give generously to this remarkable institution that has operated for over 150 years, serving the people of New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina, the Touro Infirmary's work was vital and it remains so today.
Below, you will find Judah's history report for Mrs. Hasson's class on Judah Touro. I encourage you to take a few minutes to read about this remarkable American Jewish character whose philantropy was legendary and who has become our new role model for Tzedaka. Judah Touro gave to Jewish and non-Jewish causes in America AND in then-Palestine. He helped to create Yemin Moshe, the gorgeous community in Jerusalem; his money created New Orleans's first public library and enabled the local Jewish community to thrive. He gave money to nearly every synagogue in America. He funded orphanages and remembered the synagogue in Newport, RI, where his father Isaac had served as hazzan.
The list of the recipients of his tzedaka goes on for pages.
As Judah (Goldman) points out, when Judah Touro died, his will was called The Will of the Century.
By choosing the Touro Infirmary in New Orleans as Judah's Chesed Project, we also hope to bring awareness of the remarkable character of Judah Touro. Visionary, bold, generous and broad-minded, he is truly one of the great Jewish Americans. As Judah writes in his report, though shy and quiet in life, Judah Touro's causes live on well beyond his death.
It is now 6:30 am. Less than 12 hours until the Bar Mitzvah begins!
Soon the family will be awake and the day will begin.
From here, it is a straight path to the Bar Mitzvah. My heart is filled with pride.
Mazel Tov, Judah!!!
Shehechiyanu, ve'kiyimanu, v'higianu lazeman hazeh!!!!
ABOUT JUDAH TOURO
By Judah S. Goldman
May 15, 2008
INTRODUCTION
Before I turn this report over to Mr. Touro, I would just like to say that Judah Touro is the man whom history has seriously forgotten.
Have you ever heard of him? No? Don’t feel bad! Until this history report came along, I hadn’t either!
In fact, when you are researching the Touro family, every single other member – Isaac, Abraham, Moses…even Reyna – will be mentioned way before anything about Judah Touro appears. Or type “Touro” into Google and you will find plenty about the famous synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island – the first one in America – and maybe information about Touro College long before you will hear about any of the important and amazing projects that Judah Touro launched.
And what amazing projects they were! But don’t take my word for it. Read my report and meet the incredible man whom history forgot.
Ladies and Gentlemen… Judah Touro.
Hello. As I’m sure you know my name is Judah Touro. I was born in Newport, Rhode Island in 1775, the son of Isaac Touro, a famous hazzan of the Yeshuat Israel Synagogue and Reyna Hays, whose father was Judah Hays.
Our synagogue is now known as the Touro Synagogue and we are proud that it is the first Jewish house of worship in America. We are also proud to be Sephardim, Jews of Spanish and Portuguese background. Our family whispers that our ancestors were Marranos, secret Jews who were driven from their homeland to Amsterdam, where they could live more freely. My great-grandfather was Jeudah and I am his namesake. My Grandpa Abraham was a Parnas or president of the Jewish community in Amsterdam. My father, Isaac, was also a Parnas.
Isaac Touro was invited by Aaron Lopez to come and be the minister of the Jewish community of Newport, RI. Not wanting to leave his family behind, he decided to start a life in America. He became a hazzan.
Although it might sound like my life was great, I had a very difficult childhood. First, the Revolutionary War broke out, which destroyed the financial security we had and was especially bad for the Jewish community of Newport which had nearly 1200 people at that time. Though most Jews fled the city during the war, my dad stayed to guard the synagogue, especially the Torah Scrolls, because it was being used as a hospital by the British.
Because my dad was a Tory, we moved to New York City with the British before we went to Kingston, Jamaica. That’s when things got really sad. My father died when I was 9 years old. My mom moved from Jamaica to the house of her wealthy brother – Moses Michael Hays – in Boston with me and my siblings.
We had three nice years and then, tragedy struck again. My mom died when I was 12, just before my bar mitzvah.
My uncle Moses was a famous businessman and very well-respected. He was also proud of being Sephardic and kept our customs alive. At a time when Jews were not always appreciated as they are in your day and age, the Hays house was known as a place of cultured, good people who always welcomed strangers, including the poor.
The biggest influence on me was my uncle Moses. I spent most of my teenage years in his house. I had a cousin with my name, Judah Hays, and he was a good role model for me, following his father’s advice on how to be a good person, a good Jew and a good American.
My uncle Moses trained me to be a merchant. On my first voyage, my ship was attacked by a French boat but I landed it safely and my uncle was impressed. He kept sending me on more and more dangerous voyages. I got sick of this life, so in 1801, I moved from Boston to New Orleans, which was a great investment idea. The city grew in business and proportion, bringing lots of good fortune.
New Orleans was indeed a good city for me. Thomas Jefferson predicted that it would be a great American city. But the beginning was rough for me. First of all, I was robbed of all my money; second of all, the ship ride was so rough that I never took another boat ride again.
My first step was to open up a consignment store. It was an instant success. Of course, I worked hard. I was the first to open in the morning and the last to close in the evening. Also, I was good at saving money. Later, I told my friend Rabbi Isaac Lesser that I had “saved a fortune by strict economy while others had spent one by their liberal expenditures.”
I invested in steamships and other boats. I bought and sold real estate and lots of it. I was careful about my investments, though and never panicked as others did during bad economic times.
I had a good life with few close friends. Every now and then I thought about my childhood and felt sad, missing my mother and my father and my uncle Moses and my cousins. I remembered our Shabbat dinners and my mother’s kosher food. Here, in New Orleans, there were Jews but it was nothing like the busy Jewish community of Newport.
New Orleans was the center of business, it seemed. The cotton trade, the sugar trade and the tobacco trade all flourished here. Also, it was a fun city, the Las Vegas of the 18th century. My ships carried “cotton, sugar, corn, potatoes, pork, hides, salt, ice, crackers, Scotch shirtings, and even leopard skins.”
In 1815, I served as a civilian volunteer for the American Army during the Battle of New Orleans. In war, I suffered greatly and if not for the courage of my fearless friend – Rezin Shepherd, a merchant from Virginia, I would have been lost (I rewarded him for this kindness later in life). I had been hit in the thigh with a twelve pound shot and was in pain for months afterwards. My wound was so ghastly that people nearly fainted when they saw it.
Though I survived, my injuries made it impossible for me to have kids. After I recovered, my business continued and was honored as a patriot. I was so proud to be an American that when I heard that the Bunker Hill Monument was neglected and needed to be renovated, I immediately donated $10,000 after Daniel Webster wrote about it. The other $10,000 was donated by Amos Laurence of Boston. The poet Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote a poem about us, which appears at Faneuil Hall. The lines read:
Amos and Judah – venerated names,
Patriarch and prophet press their equal claims,
Like generous coursers running neck to neck,
Each aids the work by giving it a check,
Christian and Jew, they carry out one plan,
For of different faith, each is in heart,
A man.
This poem can be seen by people visiting Boston today.
I decided not to wait to be mega-rich before becoming a philanthropist. In addition to my uncle, my brother Abraham had set a good example for me. When he died in 1822, he left money to many causes, including the synagogue and Jewish community of Newport, the Jewish cemetery, the Spanish and Portuguese synagogue in New York, Massachusetts General Hospital, the Female Asylum, the Humane Society and many other causes….including me.
My brother left me $100,000 when he died but I didn’t touch a penny of it. When my sister Rebecca died, I got another $80,000. This was my tzedakah money. I decided to put the money to the purpose of tikkun olam – making the world a better place.
Although it is considered unusual, I gave to Jewish and non-Jewish charities, local and far away. Here are some of them:
$600,000 to Rezin Shepherd for saving my life
$108,000 to congregations and societies in New Orleans (including Nefutzot Yehudah, a new synagogue built in a church) and to found the Touro Infirmary, which is still around today
$10,000 to keep up the synagogue and cemetery in Newport
$60,000 to poor people in Israel
$143,000 to schools, congregations and other Jewish causes in seventeen cities
$153,000 to the same in New Orleans
I also founded the first public library in New Orleans, gave money to the Society for the Relief of Orphans, St. Armas’s Asylum for Relief of Destitute Females and Children; St. Mary’s Catholic Boys Asylum; The Fireman’s Charitable Association; the Seaman’s Home and on and on.
Apparently, I am the man who gave the most money to the most causes -- Jewish as well as non-Jewish -- in American history. Historians called my will, “the will of the century.”
Throughout my life, I was very shy and quiet. I died in 1854 but my causes still live on.
By Judah S. Goldman
May 15, 2008
INTRODUCTION
Before I turn this report over to Mr. Touro, I would just like to say that Judah Touro is the man whom history has seriously forgotten.
Have you ever heard of him? No? Don’t feel bad! Until this history report came along, I hadn’t either!
In fact, when you are researching the Touro family, every single other member – Isaac, Abraham, Moses…even Reyna – will be mentioned way before anything about Judah Touro appears. Or type “Touro” into Google and you will find plenty about the famous synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island – the first one in America – and maybe information about Touro College long before you will hear about any of the important and amazing projects that Judah Touro launched.
And what amazing projects they were! But don’t take my word for it. Read my report and meet the incredible man whom history forgot.
Ladies and Gentlemen… Judah Touro.
Hello. As I’m sure you know my name is Judah Touro. I was born in Newport, Rhode Island in 1775, the son of Isaac Touro, a famous hazzan of the Yeshuat Israel Synagogue and Reyna Hays, whose father was Judah Hays.
Our synagogue is now known as the Touro Synagogue and we are proud that it is the first Jewish house of worship in America. We are also proud to be Sephardim, Jews of Spanish and Portuguese background. Our family whispers that our ancestors were Marranos, secret Jews who were driven from their homeland to Amsterdam, where they could live more freely. My great-grandfather was Jeudah and I am his namesake. My Grandpa Abraham was a Parnas or president of the Jewish community in Amsterdam. My father, Isaac, was also a Parnas.
Isaac Touro was invited by Aaron Lopez to come and be the minister of the Jewish community of Newport, RI. Not wanting to leave his family behind, he decided to start a life in America. He became a hazzan.
Although it might sound like my life was great, I had a very difficult childhood. First, the Revolutionary War broke out, which destroyed the financial security we had and was especially bad for the Jewish community of Newport which had nearly 1200 people at that time. Though most Jews fled the city during the war, my dad stayed to guard the synagogue, especially the Torah Scrolls, because it was being used as a hospital by the British.
Because my dad was a Tory, we moved to New York City with the British before we went to Kingston, Jamaica. That’s when things got really sad. My father died when I was 9 years old. My mom moved from Jamaica to the house of her wealthy brother – Moses Michael Hays – in Boston with me and my siblings.
We had three nice years and then, tragedy struck again. My mom died when I was 12, just before my bar mitzvah.
My uncle Moses was a famous businessman and very well-respected. He was also proud of being Sephardic and kept our customs alive. At a time when Jews were not always appreciated as they are in your day and age, the Hays house was known as a place of cultured, good people who always welcomed strangers, including the poor.
The biggest influence on me was my uncle Moses. I spent most of my teenage years in his house. I had a cousin with my name, Judah Hays, and he was a good role model for me, following his father’s advice on how to be a good person, a good Jew and a good American.
My uncle Moses trained me to be a merchant. On my first voyage, my ship was attacked by a French boat but I landed it safely and my uncle was impressed. He kept sending me on more and more dangerous voyages. I got sick of this life, so in 1801, I moved from Boston to New Orleans, which was a great investment idea. The city grew in business and proportion, bringing lots of good fortune.
New Orleans was indeed a good city for me. Thomas Jefferson predicted that it would be a great American city. But the beginning was rough for me. First of all, I was robbed of all my money; second of all, the ship ride was so rough that I never took another boat ride again.
My first step was to open up a consignment store. It was an instant success. Of course, I worked hard. I was the first to open in the morning and the last to close in the evening. Also, I was good at saving money. Later, I told my friend Rabbi Isaac Lesser that I had “saved a fortune by strict economy while others had spent one by their liberal expenditures.”
I invested in steamships and other boats. I bought and sold real estate and lots of it. I was careful about my investments, though and never panicked as others did during bad economic times.
I had a good life with few close friends. Every now and then I thought about my childhood and felt sad, missing my mother and my father and my uncle Moses and my cousins. I remembered our Shabbat dinners and my mother’s kosher food. Here, in New Orleans, there were Jews but it was nothing like the busy Jewish community of Newport.
New Orleans was the center of business, it seemed. The cotton trade, the sugar trade and the tobacco trade all flourished here. Also, it was a fun city, the Las Vegas of the 18th century. My ships carried “cotton, sugar, corn, potatoes, pork, hides, salt, ice, crackers, Scotch shirtings, and even leopard skins.”
In 1815, I served as a civilian volunteer for the American Army during the Battle of New Orleans. In war, I suffered greatly and if not for the courage of my fearless friend – Rezin Shepherd, a merchant from Virginia, I would have been lost (I rewarded him for this kindness later in life). I had been hit in the thigh with a twelve pound shot and was in pain for months afterwards. My wound was so ghastly that people nearly fainted when they saw it.
Though I survived, my injuries made it impossible for me to have kids. After I recovered, my business continued and was honored as a patriot. I was so proud to be an American that when I heard that the Bunker Hill Monument was neglected and needed to be renovated, I immediately donated $10,000 after Daniel Webster wrote about it. The other $10,000 was donated by Amos Laurence of Boston. The poet Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote a poem about us, which appears at Faneuil Hall. The lines read:
Amos and Judah – venerated names,
Patriarch and prophet press their equal claims,
Like generous coursers running neck to neck,
Each aids the work by giving it a check,
Christian and Jew, they carry out one plan,
For of different faith, each is in heart,
A man.
This poem can be seen by people visiting Boston today.
I decided not to wait to be mega-rich before becoming a philanthropist. In addition to my uncle, my brother Abraham had set a good example for me. When he died in 1822, he left money to many causes, including the synagogue and Jewish community of Newport, the Jewish cemetery, the Spanish and Portuguese synagogue in New York, Massachusetts General Hospital, the Female Asylum, the Humane Society and many other causes….including me.
My brother left me $100,000 when he died but I didn’t touch a penny of it. When my sister Rebecca died, I got another $80,000. This was my tzedakah money. I decided to put the money to the purpose of tikkun olam – making the world a better place.
Although it is considered unusual, I gave to Jewish and non-Jewish charities, local and far away. Here are some of them:
$600,000 to Rezin Shepherd for saving my life
$108,000 to congregations and societies in New Orleans (including Nefutzot Yehudah, a new synagogue built in a church) and to found the Touro Infirmary, which is still around today
$10,000 to keep up the synagogue and cemetery in Newport
$60,000 to poor people in Israel
$143,000 to schools, congregations and other Jewish causes in seventeen cities
$153,000 to the same in New Orleans
I also founded the first public library in New Orleans, gave money to the Society for the Relief of Orphans, St. Armas’s Asylum for Relief of Destitute Females and Children; St. Mary’s Catholic Boys Asylum; The Fireman’s Charitable Association; the Seaman’s Home and on and on.
Apparently, I am the man who gave the most money to the most causes -- Jewish as well as non-Jewish -- in American history. Historians called my will, “the will of the century.”
Throughout my life, I was very shy and quiet. I died in 1854 but my causes still live on.
1 comment:
Hi Judah,
While I'm reading your blog, I remember my experience at the bar Mitzvah in Israel. That was my first time having a Bar Mitzvah experience in Israel and I really enjoy it because I'm with my family and other relatives. The concert is really good. We're glad that we get to travel effortlessly and we're so fortunate to have found an affordable Israel bar Mitzvah tours. My mom's best friend did refer a good Mitvah tours for us.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
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