June 27th
Greenville:  Visiting a Jewish Synagogue


Gentle Reader,


Continuing our exploration of the rich immigration history of the Delta, we journeyed to Greenville to spend some time at a Jewish synagogue.  

 Painting in the Synagogue Museum of a man carrying The Torah

 Beautiful stained glass windows, each of which contains symbolism related to Judaism

This synagogue was established in the 1870's, largely with Jewish immigrants from Germany and Russia.  Many of the people came here to escape pogroms.  As our speaker noted, they "came here to taste freedom, and they did."  Many ended up in the Delta because they came down the Mississippi river looking for a way to make a living.  Some arrived in New York and simply wanted to escape the crowded city and find some place less congested in which to raise their families.  


By the 1930's, this synagogue had a membership of about 200 families, which is the largest congregation in the Delta.  For 30,000, the families had build a beautiful worship space, which included a pipe organ.  


To earn a living, many of the families set up stores in the area.  The business owners participated fully in the community, as mayors, council members, etc..  Many businesses were in existence for over 100 years.  The Jewish population is currently dwindling, as the area is very economically depressed; therefore, the children of the merchants aren't necessarily taking over the businesses.  Instead, they are leaving town and entering a variety of other professions.  


The museum at the synagogue houses a Torah Scroll that was rescued/protected during the Holocaust.  One of the things I learned during this talk was that Hitler apparently had a plan to develop a museum to honor his extinction of the Jews after the war.  When his thugs had desecrated many of the synagogues across Europe, many artifacts were housed in basements, with the idea they would eventually be used in the museum.  The artifacts were eventually returned to many Jewish communities, and the one in this particular synagogue is from Czechoslovakia.  

 View of the Synagogue from the front of the building

 A menorah in the stained glass

 A dove of peace in the stained glass

 An additional work of art, depicting a Bar Mitzvah

 An Eternal Remembrance list of congregation who have passed on...

 A close-up view of the Holocaust Torah from Czechoslovakia...

I'll be adding some personal writings to this blog entry, too.  There has been almost no "down time" in this workshop, starting at 7:30 most days and ending between 9-10 pm.  Only breaks are for eating... and we've discovered some marvelous eateries in the area with delicious down-home southern cooking.


The speaker at the synagogue talked a great deal about the members of the congregation being very much Southerners and Jews, a dual identity.  Their gift shop features several products inscribed with "Shalom, Y'all."  I now have a travel coffee mug inscribed with this slogan from this synagogue...


Namaste,
Marianne