Jacob Barsimson Explained

Jacob Barsimson (Hebrew: יעקב ברסימסון) was one of the earliest Jewish settlers at New Amsterdam (New York City), and the earliest identified Jewish settler within the present limits of the state of New York.^[1] He was an Ashkenazi Jew of Central European background.^{[2] [3] [4]}

Barsimson had been sent out by the Jewish leaders of Amsterdam, Dutch Republic to determine the possibilities of an extensive Jewish immigration to New Amsterdam. With the fall of Dutch Brazil, it was imperative for Jews planning to leave Europe to find other new homes.

He arrived at that port on the ship Peartree (or de Pereboom) on August 22, 1654, having left the Netherlands on July 8. Barsimson used a passport issued to him by the Dutch West India Company.^[5] Another Jew named Jacob Aboaf also left the Netherlands on the ship, but departed at England.^[6] Barsimson was succeeded by a party of 23 Jews, who arrived at New Amsterdam in September from Brazil.^{[7] [8] [9]} They established Congregation Shearith Israel, the first Jewish synagogue in what would become the United States. Most of these Jewish settlers were Sephardim.^[10]

Jewish rights

Governor Peter Stuyvesant initially discriminated against the Jews present in New Amsterdam in a variety of ways. They were barred from serving in the militia or practicing the Jewish religion in a synagogue.^[11] In a letter to the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce, Stuyvesant said that they were committing blasphemy. He also accused them of engaging in "their customary usury" and "deceitful trading". He restricted their ability to purchase land or trade.^[12]

In November 1655, Barsimson and another early Jewish settler, Asser Levy, petitioned the government of New Netherland for permission to stand guard to the colony like other burghers, or else to be relieved from the special monthly tax imposed on Jews in the colony, as a penance for not standing in the guard.^{[13] [14]} Their request was refused with a statement that they may go elsewhere if they liked.^[15] However, Levy began serving in the militia in 1657.

In 1656, they successfully lobbied for approval to construct a Jewish cemetery, after initially being denied this request.

Barsimson and other early American Jews succeeded before long in obtaining instructions to Governor Peter Stuyvesant from his superiors, the Dutch West India Company of Holland, overruling his discrimination against Jews in the colony.

In June 1658, Barsimson was summoned to court as defendant on a Saturday, but the court decided that "Though [defendant] is absent, yet no default is entered against him, as he was summoned on his Sabbath."^{[16] [17] [18]} Therefore he was officially excused twice that month from appearing in court, due to religious reasons.

See also

• History of the Jews in New York
• History of the Jews in Colonial America

Notes and References

1. Sandler. Philip. January 1955. Earliest Jewish Settlers in New York (To The Tercentennary of Jewish Settlement in America). New York History. Fenimore Art Museum. 36. 1. 39–50. 23154364 . 0146-437X. JSTOR.
2. Bloch. Joshua. 1950. Grinstein. Hyman B.. Review: The Jewish Community of New York. The Jewish Quarterly Review. University of Pennsylvania Press. 40. 3. 317–319. 10.2307/1452857. 1452857 . 0021-6682. JSTOR.
3. Book: Sachar, Howard Morley. A History of the Jews in America. 1993. Vintage Books. 978-0-679-74530-3. 13. en. A Foothold in the Early Americas. Howard Sachar.
4. Book: Kagan. Richard L.. Atlantic Diasporas: Jews, Conversos, and Crypto-Jews in the Age of Mercantilism, 1500–1800. Morgan. Philip D.. 2009. Johns Hopkins University Press. 978-0-8018-9035-2. 58. en. Richard Kagan. Philip D. Morgan.
5. Daniels. Doris Groshen. March 1977. Colonial Jewry: Religion, Domestic and Social Relations. American Jewish Historical Quarterly. American Jewish Historical Society. 66. 3. 375–400. 23880374 . 0002-9068. JSTOR.
6. Book: Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society: Number 18. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society. American Jewish Historical Society. 1909. 18. 3.
7. News: Bensadoun. Daniel. August 12, 2010. This week in history. The Jerusalem Post. November 28, 2021.
8. Oppenheim. Samuel. 1925. More About Jacob Barsimson, The First Jewish Settler in New York. Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society. The Johns Hopkins University Press. 29. 39–52. 43059441 . 0146-5511. JSTOR.
9. Book: Kroessler, Jeffrey A.. New York, Year by Year. 2002. New York University Press. 17–32. en. 1650–1699. 10.18574/nyu/9780814763933.003.0007 . 9780814763933 . https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.18574/nyu/9780814763933.003.0007/html .
10. Book: Weisberger, Bernard A.. The American Heritage History of the American People. 2015. New Word City. 978-1-61230-900-2. 252. en. Bernard Weisberger.
11. Book: Dixon, John M.. Colonial Jews in New Amsterdam, New York, and the Atlantic World. 1 Colonial Jews in New Amsterdam, New York, and the Atlantic World . 2021. Academic Studies Press. 978-1-64469-490-9. 8. en. 10.1515/9781644694909-003. 233531689 .
12. Syrett. Harold C.. 1954. Private Enterprise in New Amsterdam. The William and Mary Quarterly. Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. 11. 4. 536–550. 10.2307/1923076. 1923076 . 0043-5597. JSTOR.
13. Rabinove. Samuel. 1990. How – and Why – American Jews Have Contended for Religious Freedom: The Requirements and Limits of Civility. Journal of Law and Religion. en. Cambridge University Press. 8. 1–2. 134. 10.2307/1051261. 1051261 . 155457185 . 0748-0814.
14. Book: Finkelstein, Norman H.. Heeding the Call: Jewish Voices in America's Civil Rights Struggle. 1997. Jewish Publication Society. 978-0-8276-0590-9. 17. en.
15. Book: Feingold, Henry L.. Zion in America: The Jewish Experience from Colonial Times to the Present. 2013. Courier Corporation. 978-0-486-14833-5. en. Jews in the Colonial Economy and in the Revolution.
16. News: Levine. Dr. Yitzchok. August 3, 2005. Glimpses Into American Jewish History (Part 5). The Jewish Press. November 28, 2021. October 18, 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20061018085414/http://www.jewishpress.com/page.do/19155/Glimpses_Into_American_Jewish_History_(Part_5).html. dead.
17. Book: Beneke. Chris. https://books.google.com/books?id=2xCaQ7_H2kAC&pg=PA109. The First Prejudice: Religious Tolerance and Intolerance in Early America. Grenda. Christopher S.. 2011. University of Pennsylvania Press. 978-0-8122-0489-6. 109. en. Toleration in Dutch New Netherland.
18. Book: Gurock, Jeffrey S.. Orthodox Jews in America. 2009. Indiana University Press. 978-0-253-22060-8. 23. en. Jeffrey S. Gurock.