President Roosevelt, religious leaders and Yale University have joined in honoring the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Reform Congregation Mishkan Israel, oldest synagogue in Connecticut and second oldest in New England. The anniversary will be celebrated from Dec. 2 to 9.
“The continuous existence of your synagogue through a full century bears ample evidence of its worth to the community it serves,” President Roosevelt said in a message to Rabbi Edgar E. Siskin, “and the world never had greater need than at the present time to strive to attain the ideal set forth by the grand Old Testament Prophet Micah: ‘To do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.’
“I trust, therefore, that the celebration will be an enjoyable event and one that will inspire all who participate with new zeal to exemplify in modern terms the ancient teachings of Israel.”
Yale will formally open an exhibition in the University’s Sterling Memorial Library tomorrow afternoon in connection with the centennial celebration. This exhibition will include important works on Hebraica and Judaica, particularly as they affect the early Jews of New Haven and New England. Manuscripts and letters from early Jewish residents to Yale officials will be shown, as well as several communications written by Ezra Stiles, Yale president who was greatly interested in the study of Hebrew.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
