Located a few blocks from New Orleans's famous
Garden District and fronting historic
St. Charles Avenue,
Touro Synagogue is the oldest Jewish house of worship in America beyond the original thirteen colonies. Founded in 1828, the present-day Touro is an amalgam of two earlier congregations, one founded by German Jewish settlers, the other a Spanish-Portuguese synagogue whose families were largely of Sephardic background and who arrived from South America and the Caribbean.
The name "Touro" was adopted in 1881, when the two congregations merged and honored the memory of the New Orleans philanthropist and community leader,
Judah Touro. It was Judah's father, Isaac Touro, for whom Touro Synagogue of Newport, Rhode Island, the oldest synagogue in America, was named. A few years later, in 1890, Touro became a reform synagogue.
Touro Synagogue today is a vital and progressive center of Jewish life. It loves its traditions, yet it embraces change. It provides a variety of worship experiences, including its famous
Jazz Fest Shabbat which coincides with the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and features music by the New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars. It is also a house of learning and a "community synagogue" with a commitment to social action. It encourages lifelong Jewish learning and a love for Jewish culture and experience.
Touro, most of all, is a growing and living community of Jewish families.
For a more detailed history of Touro click History navigation bar or go to The History Page
