A synagogue, also called a shul or temple, is a Jewish house of worship. The term "synagogue" is also occasionally used to describe a Samaritan house of worship. Synagogues have a place for prayer and may also have rooms for study, a social hall, offices, and classrooms.
The Touro Synagogue or Congregation Jeshuat Israel is a synagogue built in 1763 in Newport, Rhode Island. It is the oldest synagogue building still standing in the United States, the only surviving synagogue building in the U.S. dating to the colonial era, and the oldest surviving Jewish synagogue building in North America. In 1946, it was declared a National Historic Site.
The history of the Jews in Ireland extends back several centuries. Although the Jewish community in Ireland has always been small in numbers, it is well established and has generally been well-accepted into Irish life. Jews in Ireland have historically enjoyed a relative tolerance that was largely absent elsewhere in Europe.
Bevis Marks Synagogue, officially Qahal Kadosh Sha'ar ha-Shamayim, is the oldest synagogue in the United Kingdom in continuous use. It is located off Bevis Marks, Aldgate, in the City of London.
The West London Synagogue of British Jews, abbreviated WLS, is a synagogue and congregation, affiliated to Reform Judaism, near Marble Arch in central London. It was established on 15 April 1840. The current synagogue building in Upper Berkeley Street, dedicated in 1870, is Grade II listed. It is one of the oldest synagogues in the United Kingdom and is the oldest house of prayer affiliated with the Movement for Reform Judaism.
Sir Otto Moses Jaffe, JP, also spelt Jaffé, was a German-born British businessman, who was twice elected Lord Mayor of Belfast and was a leader of the Jewish community in the city.
The Congregation Shearith Israel – often called The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue – is the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. It was established in 1654 in New Amsterdam by Jews who arrived from Dutch Brazil. Until 1825, when Jewish immigrants from Germany established a congregation, it was the only Jewish congregation in New York City.
The Jewish presence in north east England is focused on a number of important towns.
The Ramban Synagogue, is the second oldest active synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was founded by the scholar and rabbi Nachmanides in 1267, to serve the local Jewish community, which expanded because of the synagogue's presence.
The Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU is located in two restored historic buildings that were formerly synagogues, at 301 & 311 Washington Ave., in Miami Beach, Florida. The main museum building, at 301 Washington Ave., was built in 1936, is on the National Register of Historic Places, has Art Deco features, a copper dome, a marble bimah and 80 stained glass windows. The adjacent building located at 311 Washington, which served as Miami Beach's first synagogue, was purchased by the museum in 2005 and restored in 2007 as a museum expansion.
The Belfast Jewish Community is the Jewish community in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Its Rabbi is the Rev David Kale. The community follows the Ashkenazi Orthodox ritual. Membership has fluctuated from 78 in 1900, approximately 1500 during World War II, about 375 after World War II, to 350 in 1945, 380 in 1949 and 200 in 1999. The congregation was fewer than 80 people as of January 2015.
Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim is a Reform Synagogue located in Charleston, South Carolina. Having founded the congregation in 1749, it was later claimed to be the first Reform synagogue located in the United States, the current 1841 synagogue was built by enslaved African descendants owned by David Lopez Jr, a prominent slaveowner and proponent of the Confederate States of America. it is one of the oldest Jewish congregations in the United States. The congregation is nationally significant as the place where ideas resembling Reform Judaism were first evinced. It meets in an architecturally significant 1840 Greek Revival synagogue located at 90 Hasell Street in Charleston, South Carolina. It was designed by Cyrus L. Warner.
Historic synagogues include synagogues that date back to ancient times and synagogues that represent the earliest Jewish presence in cities around the world. Some synagogues were destroyed and rebuilt several times on the same site. Others were converted into churches and mosques or used for other purposes.
Congregation Tifereth Israel is an Orthodox synagogue located in the Corona section of Queens, New York. It was founded by Ashkenazi Jews who had moved to Queens from Manhattan's Lower East Side. Estée Lauder and her parents were early members.
Synagogues may be considered "oldest" based on different criteria, and can be oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, or oldest in the sense of oldest congregation. Some old synagogue buildings have been in continuous use as synagogues, while others have been converted to other purposes, and others, such as the Touro Synagogue, were shuttered for many decades. Some early established congregations have been in continuous existence, while other early congregations have ceased to exist.
The former Merthyr Synagogue is located on Bryntirion Road in the Thomastown section of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. It is a Grade II listed building and is the oldest purpose-built synagogue still standing in Wales.
Temple Emanuel is a Reform synagogue located on the east side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. Organized in 1861, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in Iowa. It is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism (UAHC).
The city of Cumberland, Maryland is home to a small and declining but historically significant Jewish community. The city is home to a single synagogue, B'er Chayim Temple, one of the oldest synagogues in the United States. Cumberland has had a Jewish presence since the early 1800s. The community was largest prior to the 1960s, but has declined in number over the decades. Historically, the Jewish community in Cumberland maintained several synagogues, a Jewish cemetery, and a Hebrew school. By 2019, Cumberland's Jewish community had its lowest population point since the early 1900s.
