Photo of Manuel Josephson (1729-1796)

National Jewish Community

In the early years of the United States, Jewish communal leaders showed their loyalty to the new country by writing letters of support to the new government. One such synagogue community leader was Manuel Josephson of Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia. He was a German immigrant who worked as a peddler, but he also brought with him from Europe a strong Jewish education. As the leader of Mikveh Israel, he tried to create a national Jewish community, uniting synagogues across the new country by encouraging them to send a joint letter of congratulations to President Washington, but these efforts failed. He did send a letter on behalf of four congregations, his own in Philadelphia as well as New York, Richmond, and Charleston, and on December 13, 1790 met personally with President Washington to present this memorial address.