Savannah's Temple Mickve Israel: 10 '18

On yesterday's trolley tour, our guide pointed out both Savannah's Catholic Cathedral of St John the Baptist, and the Congregation Mickve Israel, and recommended we tour both. Whenever we visit a new town, Bruce and I usually look up both the local Catholic and  Jewish congregations' places of worship.  It gives us a sense of commonality with the local community.  So it was a no-brainer that we would put these two buildings on our must-see list. Knowing how difficult parking spaces are to find, we got up at first light so we could beat the crowds. First stop: Temple Mickve Israel.  Perhaps we were a little too proactive.  The building doesn't open to the public before 10 am.

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But the signage was enough to convince us we wanted to come back as soon the doors opened.  In sum, it told us that the Congregation Mickve Israel in Savannah, Georgia, is one of the oldest in the United States, as it was organized in 1735 by mostly Sephardic Jewish immigrants of Spanish-Portuguese extraction from London who arrived in the new colony in 1733. They consecrated their current synagogue, located on Monterey Square in historic Savannah, in 1878. It is a rare example of a Gothic-style synagogue. The synagogue building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Today, the synagogue is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism.

Come 10 o'clock, we were back. This time to take the full tour. Built in Neo-Gothic style that echoes the elaborate architecture of the Victorian period--it is the only synagogue in the United States like it. While a lot simpler in decor than it's Catholic counterpart, the Congregation of Mickve Israel Temple is every bit as rich in history.

The Mickve Israel Temple tour was one of the highlights of our long weekend in Savannah!  Our guide was extraordinarily knowledgeable welcoming.  The tour included:

The Mitzvah

The Baroque style architecture 
and organ were highly progressive enhancements.

as were the beautiful stained glass windows.

The arc contains multiple Torahs including a Holocaust Torah from Poland.

After visiting the main temple, we toured 

the congregation's museum.

It was filled with the artifacts both religious

Deerskin Torahs 

 and secular items detailing all the people, places and events the Congregations members have impacted.

Letters from George Washington and every US President since are on the wall.