This image is the cover for the book A History of Jewish Plymouth, American Heritage

A History of Jewish Plymouth, American Heritage

Many visitors flock to Plymouth, Massachusetts, each year to view the historic landing spot of the Pilgrims. Three blocks from Plymouth Rock is Congregation Beth Jacob's synagogue. For more than a century, the Jewish community of this coastal New England town has flourished. Even before the establishment of the synagogue, built in 1912-13, Plymouth's history was shaped by the Jewish culture. Many colonial New England laws were derived from the Old Testament. The grave marker of famed Governor William Bradford bears an inscription in Hebrew that reads, "The Lord is the help of my life." Historian Karin J. Goldstein reveals the lasting impact of the Jewish community on Plymouth's history and the ways in which it still informs the town's unique identity today.

Karin J. Goldstein

Karin J. Goldstein fell in love with family history as a child and decided to become a museum curator and moved to Plymouth, Massachusetts, where she has lived since 1992. She began researching with the Plymouth Jewish History Project in 2001, which gave her deeper roots in her adopted community as well as a dissertation topic on a Plymouth neighborhood. Goldstein works as a museum curator at Plimoth Plantation and as an adjunct professor of history at Bridgewater State University.

The History Press