Congregation Mikveh Israel (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Torah mantles
Jews
Bible. Pentateuch
Liturgical objects
Judaism
Letter to Benjamin Nones, parnas (president) of Mikveh Israel, from Abigail De Lyon, dated October 2, 1795. This letter accompanied the gift of "a mantle, cover & pharsha for the Seapher," presented by Mr. David M Phillips. A pharsha/parsha/parashah is a division of the Torah, and the Seapher/Sefer Torah is a handwritten copy of the Pentateuch, used in ritual readings.
Pews and pew rights
Synagogues
Church discipline
Written complaint made by Abraham E. Israel, shamas (warden or sexton) of Mikveh Israel, to Zalegman Phillips, parnass (president), and against Joseph I. Andrews, dated April 13, 1825. During the last day of Pesah, Mr. Israel told Mr. Andrews' sisters, who had been sitting in the front seats of the synagogue, that they had to move. Mr. Andrews took offense to this.
Synagogues--Finance
Account books
Synagogue records and registers
Synagogue fund raising
The majority of this book serves as a record of sundry accounts as drafted by the gabay (a position similar to a warden or a sexton) of Mikveh Israel, from 1824 to 1857. Accounts covered include seat rents/sales, ground and building rents, offerings and collections, salaries for synagogue employees, cleaning and repair of the synagogue, taxes, the Pennsylvania state lottery, bills for gas and coal, and donations to charity. The inside front cover of the book includes a printed copy of the 1828 act to enable Mikveh Israel to lease a lot in Philadelphia, and the first several pages cover yearly incomes versus expenditures from 1827 to 1856 as well as seat rents from 1824 to 1830. Page numbering then starts over with the gabay's entries.
Charity
Record of checks paid by Congregation Mikveh Israel from 1862 to 1910. Each check stub includes a check number, date, payee name, amount, and goods or services purchased. Examples of payments include mortgage interest, charitable donations, and building maintenance and repair.
Account book, donations for building a new synagogue, 1782-1784
Religious facilities
Account ledger recording donations toward the construction of the new Mikveh Israel Synagogue. Pages are numbered chronologically: records start in 1782, from what appears to be the back of the book as scanned, proceed backward through the book until page 28, then continue from what appears to be the front of the book. Entries contain name of donor and amount and date donated.
Record of offerings given or promised to Congregation Mikveh Israel from 1786 to 1788. The book includes an alphabetical index of congregant names in the first two pages, followed by a listing of general offerings by quarter. More detailed records of individuals' offerings span two pages, verso and recto, and the book concludes with outstanding debts and balances.
Record of offerings to Congregation Mikveh Israel from 1857 to 1866. Entries are organized by name and include dates and amounts donated or loaned. There is an alphabetical index of names at the beginning of the book.
Account book, statement of receipts, 1856-1874
Record of funds received by Congregation Mikveh Israel from 1856 to 1874. Entries are organized by date, then names. Payments include seat rents, building rents, offerings and collections, initiation fees, and funeral costs. Note: page numbering starts over twice within the manuscript itself, at images 223 and 383.
Record of seat rentals for Congregation Mikveh Israel from 1827 to 1844. Entries are listed by seat number, and include the name of the purchaser or renter, and yearly rent paid.
Record of seat rentals for Congregation Mikveh Israel from 1845 to 1862. Seats are grouped by location and class; entries are listed by seat number and include the name of the purchaser or renter and yearly rent paid.
Detailed account of money spent and received by Congregation Mikveh Israel; the first 20 pages are of a slightly smaller size, which have been inserted into the bound manuscript and contain balances from 1858 to 1876. A few notes and receipts from that timeframe have been inserted into the following pages. The second half of the book contains a detailed accounting of expenses and receipts from 1900 to 1908, which pages are numbered according to the page numbers in the record itself.
Registers of births, etc.
A bound volume of birth certificates for members of Congregation Mikveh Israel, dating from 1841 to 1862. Each certificate includes the date of birth in both the Gregorian and Jewish calendars, the name of the newborn, parents' names, and the name of the shamas (the synagogue's sexton) recording the birth.
A bound volume of birth certificates for members of Congregation Mikveh Israel, dating from 1843 to 1886. Each certificate includes the date of birth in both the Gregorian and Jewish calendars, the name of the newborn, parents' names, and the name of the shamas (the synagogue's sexton) recording the birth.
Board and congregational minutes, 1782-1783
Corporate minutes
Synagogue officers
Minutes of the parnas (president of the congregation) and junta (board of managers) and general meetings of Congregation Mikveh Israel from 1782 to 1783. The majority of the minutes are concerned with funding and building a new synagogue. Other topics include the election of leaders, the need for a new constitution/code of laws, and the appointment, payment and duties of a shamas (warden or sexton).
Cemeteries
Church management
Church finance
Meeting minutes of the Board of Managers, or "adjunta" of Congregation Mikveh Israel, from 1824 to 1870. Each entry includes the date and usually the location of the meeting, names of members present, and business discussed. Business discussed includes (but is not limited to): regular elections of officers (parnas and adjunta, gabay, and secretary); assessment and collection of seat rents; the dedication of a new synagogue and ongoing repairs/improvements to the building; financial record keeping, including auditing accounts, debt collection, and payment of bills, rents and taxes; employment of officials such as the shamas (sexton), hazan (minister), and superintendent of the burial grounds; improvements to the burial grounds; and permissions for burials. This volume has been partially digitized, up to 1870. Names of officers for each Hebrew calendar year covered are listed at the back of volume, and those pages are also included.
Burials in Spruce Street Cemetery, 1843-1868 and Federal Street Cemetery, 1849-1863
Burial records
Record of persons buried in both the Spruce Street Cemetery and Federal Street Cemetery of Congregation Mikveh Israel in the mid-19th century. Burials in the Spruce Street Cemetery are listed chronologically from the front of the book and span the years 1843 to 1868. Listings include the date of burial, name of deceased, age at time of death, date of death, location of grave, and sometimes family relations. Burials in the Federal Street Cemetery are listed chronologically from the back of the book and span the years 1849 to 1863. Listings include both the English and Hebrew dates of burial, name of deceased and location of grave.
Charter of the Congregation Beth El Emeth, 1857
Charters
Congregation Beth El Emeth (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Leeser, Isaac
The official charter and constitution of the Congregation Beth El Emeth, singed by the original leaders of the congregation and incorporated by the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia in 1857. Beth El Emeth emerged from Mikveh Israel, under the leadership of Mikveh Israel's retired Rev. Isaac Leeser. After Leeser's death, Beth El Emeth dissolved, and its records returned to Mikveh Israel.
Circumcision book of Dr. A. J. Weirtheim, 1810-1829
Circumcision
Medical records
Alexander Wertheim was a Dutch Jew who lived in New York and Baltimore before settling in Philadelphia, where he became clerk to the Board of Health. He died in 1830 at the age of 55. This book is a record of the circumcisions Dr. Wertheim performed from 1810 to 1829. Each entry records the date, place, father's name, and son's name.
Wertheim, Alexander
Congregational minutes of Mikveh Israel, spanning 1810 to 1883. Topics covered include: elections to leadership and caretaking positions; admittance of new members; financial matters such as rents, fundraising, insurance and investments; renovation and expansion of the synagogue; and management of the burial ground. The Articles of Constitution approved in 1823 are reproduced on pages 48 to 62.
Constitution of Mikveh Israel, as signed by members admitted since the Charter of Incorporation, 1826-1883
Constitutions
Church membership
Articles of incoporation
This manuscript is a handwritten copy of the constitution of Mikveh Israel, signed and dated by members who joined in the years from 1826 to 1883. Mikveh Israel adopted their constitution on August 5, 1823, and the congregation's charter was granted by the governor of Pennsylvania in 1824, as documented on the title page. Note: Some years are cited using the Hebrew calendar.
Constitution of Mikveh Israel, printed 1823
Printed copy of the Constitution of Mikveh Israel, dated June 29, 1823. One sheet with two sides, and each side divided into quarters. The recto side includes the cover page in the bottom right quarter. The text begins on page three, which is located on the bottom right quarter of the verso side. Pages four and five make up the top half of the recto, pages six and seven take up the left half of the verso, and page 8 concludes on the bottom left quarter of the recto. A scan of the official seal of Mikveh Israel is also included.
Copy of David Solis letter to Isaac Leeser, 1863
Jews--Dietary laws
Religious leaders
Letters
Copy of a letter David Solis wrote to Rev. Isaac Leeser, who was the hazan of Congregation Beth El Emeth after retiring from Mikveh Israel. The copy was sent to the president of Beth El Emeth. Solis resigned his membership in the congregation due to what he described as Leeser's violation of Jewish dietary laws.
Solis, David H.
Deeds
Deed for a plot of land located in the Township of Moyamensing in the County of Philadelphia, granted by William G. Alexander and Joel B. Sutherland and their wives Catharine and Mary, to Congregation Mikveh Israel, for the sum of $2650 in 1841.
Prayers
Memorial rites and ceremonies
The "monthly memorials of men," a list of the names of deceased men for whom memorial prayers were to be said every Rosh Hodesh, which is the start of the new month in the Jewish calendar.
Facsimile of Haym Salomon's account of difficulties in financing construction of a new synagogue, circa 1784
Manuscript with cover sheet, which describes the manuscript thus: "Haym Salomon Manuscript, in hand of a professional amanuensis, of Salomon's own account of the purchase of the property and the financing of the construction of Synagogue Mikveh Israel in 1782, including his own pledge of one-fourth the cost, 'Be it what it might.' Salomon describes the difficulties with Jonas Phillips which almost led to the latter's excommunication." Cover page indicates the manuscript is from the collection of Sigmund and Felicia Harrison of Ardmore, Pa.
Salomon, Haym, 1740-1785
Form of service at the dedication of the new synagogue, 1825
Synagogue dedication services
Printed worship service for the dedication of Mikveh Israel's new synagogue. Book is in Hebrew with English translation on the opposite pages.
New York: printed by S. H. Jackson, 91 Mercer Street
Invitation to consecration of new synagogue, 1866
Dedication services
Consecration
Invitation to the consecration of the new synagogue on Seventh St. above Arch, to be held on May 24th, 1866. The invitation was issued from parnas (congregation president) Abraham Hart, and four adjunta (members of the board of managers), and dated April 15 of that year.
Invitation to cornerstone ceremony (1859)
Cornerstone laying
Invitation dated May 3rd, 1859, from Edward Mawson, Chairman of the Committee of Arrangements, to the ceremonial laying of the corner stone of the new synagogue, to be held on Monday May 9th, 1859.
Phillips, Jonas, 1736-1803
Letter from Jonas Phillips objecting to the proposed plan for a new synagogue, because it would not leave enough space behind for other buildings, and would be too close to neighboring houses. He also objected to the proposed location of the door, which he saw as inconvenient. Jonas Phillips was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, a prominent Philadelphia merchant, and one of the founders of Mikveh Israel. In 1782 he was serving as president of the congregation.
Letter regarding examination of schochet (kosher butcher) David Solis, 1835
Letter from Mikveh Israel representatives regarding the delayed examination of shochet David Solis. A shochet is officially licensed by rabbinic authority to slaughter meat in accordance with Jewish dietary laws. Solis' knife was found "not suitable," and he was also recovering from a severe fall, and these are given as reasons that a final determination had been delayed. Solis was to receive two new knives, one large and one small, "made in the best manner," and undergo further examination.
The document is titled "Proceedings of the Board of Managers of K.K. M. Israel [Kahal Kadosh Mikveh Israel]; Under the new Constitution and Charter," but is only one page listing officers (parnas, adjunta, gabay, and secretary) for the congregation for the years 1823 to 1827.
Marriage records
Ketubah
Marriage contract between Mr. Isaac [E?] and Hanna [D?], dated 1842. The paper is aging and the ink is fading, making some text difficult to read. The marriage contract, called a ketubah, is in Aramaic. Ketubot (plural) are fairly standardized and usually read like this: In Good Augury On the... [day] in the week, in the... month, the year... from the creation of the world, according to the count that we are counting here... , ... the son of... said to this... the daughter of..., "Be my wife, according to the law of Moses and Israel. And I will work to honor , feed, and support you, according to the laws of Jewish men, who faithfully work to honor, feed and support their wives. And I will give you... silver zuz... , which is due to you...; and your food, clothing and needs and to live with you in the manner of the whole world." And Miss ... here agreed and became his wife. And this dowry that she brought in to him from the house of... - whether in silver, in gold, in jewelry, in clothing apparel, in houseware or in bedclothes - our groom has assumed upon himself for... pieces of refined silver. And our groom... agreed and added another... pieces of refined silver from his own corresponding to them - all in all... pieces of refined silver. And our groom... said as follows, "I accept responsibility upon myself and upon my inheritors after me for this marriage contract, for this dowry and for this addition (to the dowry), to be paid from all the best of my properties and possessions under all the skies, that I have acquired or that I will acquire in the future. Whether they are properties that are liened or are not liened, they are all liable and guarantee payment of this marriage contract, this dowry and this addition from me - and even from the cloak on my shoulder. [This holds] during my lifetime and after my lifetime, from today and forever." And our groom... has accepted responsibility and the stringencies of this marriage contract, this dowry and this addition, in accordance with the stringencies of all marriage contracts, dowries and additions customary with regards to the daughters of Israel that are made according to the ordinance of our Sages, may their memory be blessed. This is not like a conjectural agreement nor like a contract template. And it has been validated by our groom... the son of... towards... the daughter of... here about everything that is written and specified above with an object fit to make such a validation (kinyan). It is all binding and established.
Marriage contracts between members of Congregation Mikveh Israel, from 1813 to 1843. The names of bride and groom have been penciled in at the top of the page for most entries. The Jewish marriage contract is called a ketubah, and is traditionally written in Aramaic. Ketubot (plural) are fairly standardized and usually read like this: In Good Augury On the... [day] in the week, in the... month, the year... from the creation of the world, according to the count that we are counting here... , ... the son of... said to this... the daughter of..., "Be my wife, according to the law of Moses and Israel. And I will work to honor , feed, and support you, according to the laws of Jewish men, who faithfully work to honor, feed and support their wives. And I will give you... silver zuz... , which is due to you...; and your food, clothing and needs and to live with you in the manner of the whole world." And Miss ... here agreed and became his wife. And this dowry that she brought in to him from the house of... - whether in silver, in gold, in jewelry, in clothing apparel, in houseware or in bedclothes - our groom has assumed upon himself for... pieces of refined silver. And our groom... agreed and added another... pieces of refined silver from his own corresponding to them - all in all... pieces of refined silver. And our groom... said as follows, "I accept responsibility upon myself and upon my inheritors after me for this marriage contract, for this dowry and for this addition (to the dowry), to be paid from all the best of my properties and possessions under all the skies, that I have acquired or that I will acquire in the future. Whether they are properties that are liened or are not liened, they are all liable and guarantee payment of this marriage contract, this dowry and this addition from me - and even from the cloak on my shoulder. [This holds] during my lifetime and after my lifetime, from today and forever." And our groom... has accepted responsibility and the stringencies of this marriage contract, this dowry and this addition, in accordance with the stringencies of all marriage contracts, dowries and additions customary with regards to the daughters of Israel that are made according to the ordinance of our Sages, may their memory be blessed. This is not like a conjectural agreement nor like a contract template. And it has been validated by our groom... the son of... towards... the daughter of... here about everything that is written and specified above with an object fit to make such a validation (kinyan). It is all binding and established.
Marriage contracts between members of Congregation Mikveh Israel, from 1843 to 1866. The names of bride and groom and the date of their wedding have been penciled in at the top of the page for most entries. The Jewish marriage contract is called a ketubah, and is traditionally written in Aramaic. Ketubot (plural) are fairly standardized and usually read like this: In Good Augury On the... [day] in the week, in the... month, the year... from the creation of the world, according to the count that we are counting here... , ... the son of... said to this... the daughter of..., "Be my wife, according to the law of Moses and Israel. And I will work to honor , feed, and support you, according to the laws of Jewish men, who faithfully work to honor, feed and support their wives. And I will give you... silver zuz... , which is due to you...; and your food, clothing and needs and to live with you in the manner of the whole world." And Miss ... here agreed and became his wife. And this dowry that she brought in to him from the house of... - whether in silver, in gold, in jewelry, in clothing apparel, in houseware or in bedclothes - our groom has assumed upon himself for... pieces of refined silver. And our groom... agreed and added another... pieces of refined silver from his own corresponding to them - all in all... pieces of refined silver. And our groom... said as follows, "I accept responsibility upon myself and upon my inheritors after me for this marriage contract, for this dowry and for this addition (to the dowry), to be paid from all the best of my properties and possessions under all the skies, that I have acquired or that I will acquire in the future. Whether they are properties that are liened or are not liened, they are all liable and guarantee payment of this marriage contract, this dowry and this addition from me - and even from the cloak on my shoulder. [This holds] during my lifetime and after my lifetime, from today and forever." And our groom... has accepted responsibility and the stringencies of this marriage contract, this dowry and this addition, in accordance with the stringencies of all marriage contracts, dowries and additions customary with regards to the daughters of Israel that are made according to the ordinance of our Sages, may their memory be blessed. This is not like a conjectural agreement nor like a contract template. And it has been validated by our groom... the son of... towards... the daughter of... here about everything that is written and specified above with an object fit to make such a validation (kinyan). It is all binding and established.
Marshall family marriages, births and deaths, 1769-1813
One page listing the marriages, births and deaths that took place in the Marshall family between 1769 and 1813.
Minutes, Society for the Visitation of the Sick and Mutual Assistance, 1813-1864
Care of the sick
Death
The Society for the Visitation of the Sick and Mutual Assistance started as "the Hebra," or a sacred society that ensures the bodies of deceased Jews are prepared for burial according to Jewish tradition and protected from desecration before burial. The new name was adopted around 1850 and made official by new Articles in 1853 (see page 250 in the bound manuscript.) Meeting minutes cover topics such as elections, resignations, admissions, expulsions and deaths of members; the drafting and redrafting of rules and regulations; accounting, including debt collection, donations and investments; interactions with other Jewish charitable organizations; and the organization of day and night watches.
Mikveh
Petitions
Petition for the building of a mikveh, a Jewish ritual bathing facility. Subscribers pledge contributions towards the building of the mikveh, although signatures are not included with the document.
A draft of the measurements of Mikveh Israel's cemetery, situated on the North side of Spruce Street between 8th and 9th streets. According to the one page manuscript, the walled-in burying ground was found when the Poor House was built, and was resurveyed on October 8, 1765.
Record of prayers, circumcisions, marriages and deaths, kept by Reverend Jacob Raphael Cohen and continued by others after his death, 1776-1843
Jacob Raphael Cohen was the second minister of Congregation Mikveh Israel, serving from 1784 until his death in 1811. Prior to coming to Philadelphia, he served as hazzan of Congregation Shearith Israel in Montreal and Congregation Shearith Israel in New York. Cohen began this record book in 1776, writing from the front as well as from the back, and his entries record events in Montreal and New York, as well as a few other locations, in addition to Philadelphia. He wrote in English and Hebrew. After Cohen's death, the record book was continued by several others, including Benjamin Nones, Dr. Alexander Wertheim, Lewis Allen, Zalegman Phillips, and Abraham Hart. Alan Corre, who served as rabbi for Congregation Mikveh Israel from 1955 to 1963 and who was an esteemed scholar of Hebrew Studies, and Malcom Stern, a rabbi and historian who has been described as the dean of American Jewish genealogy, published an article about this record book in The American Jewish Quarterly in 1969 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/23878015). In this article, Corre and Stern provided Hebrew translations for the prayers recorded by Cohen, and with the generous permission of the American Jewish Historical Society, those translations are now included in the transcription for this record. Corre and Stern also organized the data on circumcisions, marriages and deaths into tables, and provided detailed historical context for the records. A prayer for the Eve of Kippur from Cohen's time in Montreal is found on page 1, and repeated with additions on page 93. The misheberach (public blessing) prayer is found on page 4, and escabot/hascabot (memorial) prayers are found on pages 6 to 8, 10, 19a and 19b of the manuscript. A copy of the Order of Service for the Day of Dedication (for Mikveh Israel's new synagogue) is found on pages 20 to 22. Circumcision records are found on pages 14 to 17 and 23 to 25, and include date of birth, name of father, son's name, and date circumcised. Marriage records, called ketubot or ketubah, start on page 92 and run backwards to page 44. The ketubot are written almost entirely in an Aramaic-Hebrew idiom; however they are fairly standardized, and Cohen provides English translations of two Canadian marriage contracts on pages 88 and 92. Please see also https://www.sefaria.org/Ketubah_Text.4 for the traditional ketubah text, which may have been altered slightly in practice. A haliza document, releasing a widow from marriage to her husband's brother, is found on page 72. Records of deaths in Montreal are found on pages 2, 3 and 5; records of deaths and burials in Philadelphia at Mikveh Israel are found on pages 18 to 19 and 27 to 41. The latter records often include information on family relations and location of burial plots.
Church fund raising
Church buildings
Two page manuscript documenting the previously secured Commonwealth approval for a lottery to raise money for repairs to Mikveh Israel's synagogue and burial ground, "and other purposes of relief," as well as laying out a detailed plan for how to structure the lottery.
Record of seat rentals at Mikveh Israel from 1857 to 1866. Entries are listed by name and include dates and amounts paid. There is an alphabetical index of names at the front of the volume.
Jewish religious education
Hebrew Sunday School Society of Philadelphia (Pa.)
Female Hebrew Benevolent Society (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Gratz, Rebecca, 1781-1869
Sunday schools
Four letters regarding the Hebrew Sunday school sponsored by Mikveh Israel: One letter from educator and philanthropist Rebecca Gratz, then secretary of the board of the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society, thanking parnas Lewis Allen for "carrying into effect the business of their anniversary meeting" in 1836; another letter from Rebecca Gratz thanking the parnas and adjunta for permission to use a room in the synagogue for the Sunday school in 1841; a letter presenting curtains for the school on behalf of "the ladies of the congregation" in 1845; and finally a letter from Mary Cohen of the Hebrew Sunday School Society to Henry Cohen, the president of the congregation, thanking him for the donation of a stove and permission to hold class in the synagogue, in 1877.
Cohen, Mary M., 1854-1911