Touro Synagogue

Touro Synagogue, in Newport, RI, is the oldest Jewish temple in uninterrupted use in the US. Every year the temple rereads the letter sent by George Washington to the congregation pledging the new government to the protection of the freedom of religion. This present address, delivered in 2010, notes that Newport was a point on the journey of the first generations of Jews in America, not unlike the journey of Abraham, a journey into a strange land, inhabited by strange gods, in search of the God who exceeds all expectations. The journey continues to this day, to the outer horizon, which always lies beyond our reach and to the inner horizon where God waits patiently for us, more intimately aware of our searching than we are of ourselves