introduction
The trip to the Americas was long and frightening, but just as persecution and poverty pushed Jews out of Europe, so too did the opportunities of open land and new markets pull us to the colonies. The trip usually took about six weeks, but sometimes it took three times as long as that. There were no bathrooms on board, little light below deck, and the longer people were at sea the more awful the food got. Sometimes the unknown was as frightening as the real dangers people left behind.
Many early American Jews found it easier to take the leap forward to New World if they knew they could settle near people they already knew, particularly if those people had written home about the great money to be made there. Even if they didn’t know a specific person in that town, Jews liked to settle in towns where some Jews already lived. It helped if those Jews came from familiar places who might speak the same language. Jews valued towns that had a synagogue or at least the ten men needed to make a minyan, and where they knew they could get foods that made it easier to keep kosher. A shochet (ritual slaughter) and a teacher for the children were an important bonus.
Now that you know what led some early Jews to come to the Americas, tell me about what drew your family to the New World. If you don’t know the answers to all these questions, ask an older relative like a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent who may know or remember.
- When did your family first come to the Americas?
- Where did they come from and why did they leave?
- Where did they first settle?
- Why did they choose that location?
- What work did they find there?
Ask your teacher what format they would like you to present your answers in (Google doc? Video?). If you used zoom to interview family members from afar, you may want to record a video of their answers using the “record” function.
You may want to watch some videos of how colonial Jews would have answered these questions or click on the links below to learn more about the places colonial Jews settled.