Beyond the Mayflower: America's Jewish pilgrims

1759 Touro Synagogue, Newport, RI
Photo by dbking 

Although there were no known Jews on the Mayflower, Jews far from missed the boat when it came to profoundly influencing the very roots of American society.

There was a Jew who sailed with Columbus in 1492, Jews who were part of the "Lost Colony" of Virginia in 1597, and Jews who arrived on the boat following the Mayflower in 1607.  Jews were part of the 1620s Jamestown settlement, part of the 1650s New Amsterdam community, and part of the Newport, Rhode Island community in 1658.

Nevertheless, Jews were considered the perpetual "new kids on the block" who had to prove themselves over and over again.  Some Massachusetts Bay Puritans not only shunned them, but also banished Roger Williams because he dared to propose that "a permission of the most Paganish, Jewish, Turkish, or anti-Christian consciences and worship be granted to all men in all nations and countries."

Ironically, these same Puritans helped to found American law, government and tradition upon key principles of the Hebrew Bible.  In fact, their main purpose for coming to this new "promised land" was to do exactly that.

For example, the New Haven Code of 1655 "contained some 79 statutes, half of which included biblical references, virtually all from the Hebrew Bible."  In 1641 the Massachusetts assembly had "adopted the so-called Capital Laws of New England based almost entirely on Mosaic law."

The Hebrew Bible also profoundly influenced the development of American universities such as Harvard, Princeton, Columbia and Yale.  Hebrew names are prominent in some of their official emblems, and the Hebrew language was a required part of their curricula.  Some of America's key founding fathers (Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton) attended such universities and incorporated their Hebrew Bible education into groundbreaking politics.

Thanksgiving itself has been compared to the ancient Hebrew Sukkot harvest holiday.  Many thanks are certainly in order for the essential contributions of the Jewish pilgrims to a land that they too viewed as ripe with promise.

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_the_United_States