S.8 #4 | Living Jewish Traditions in New Orleans

In this episode, I share my family’s meaningful journey through Jewish life in New Orleans, with lots of discussion about the history of the Jewish people in the city. We attended services at Chabad, visited the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, celebrated Shabbat, and taught our children about tzedakah. Along the way, I felt closer to G-d than ever before, with a deep sense of protection, peace, and guidance that made this trip one of our most beautiful and memorable family getaways.

Transcript

Hello! Glad you could join me on this episode about being Jewish in the South! If you are enjoying this podcast and wish to show your support, the best way to do that is by leaving a comment, a rating and of course sharing it with others. 

Let’s begin! For my kids’ spring break this year, 2026,, we decided to go to New Orleans because my husband was already there for work and so it made sense for us to join him there and explore a city none of us were familiar with. Of course, the first step to making the itinerary was to see if there was a Chabad in the area so we could go to Shabbat services and to see what else there was relating to Jewish history and culture. It turned out that there are quite a few synagogues in New Orleans, so I asked our rabbi for suggestions. His son in-law happened to know the person who runs the Orthodox synagogue called Anshe Sfard in a historic building, which is walking distance from the famous French Quarter. He also suggested that we go there for Saturday morning services as there would likely be kids there to keep my kids company. I reached out to the rabbi of that synagogue, Rabbi Rivkin, and he quickly responded that we were welcome to attend any of the services, and that if we wished to have Shabbat dinner with a host family, he would arrange it for us. For whatever reason my husband and I were somewhat shy about going to a stranger’s house for Friday night dinner, so we decided against that idea, but promised to show up for services in the morning. 

My husband and I did some more research on New Orleans and decided that we would take a tour of the historic Touro Synagogue and also pay a visit to the Museum of Southern Jewish Experience. Feeling happy with our Jewish part of the itinerary, we made sure we had ample time to tour the French Quarter, the Garden District, take a ride on the Steam Boat and much more. 

A few days prior to spring break, our oldest daughter, who is a senior in High school and was to travel with her friends to the Dominican Republic, found out that all her friends had CLEAR - the Identity verification, and that likely they would get through TSA security much faster leaving her behind. To avoid this, we decided to look into CLEAR as well. There was a 3-month free trial for the whole family, so we figured - why not?! We went ahead and registered everyone for this service, and boy were we glad we did because the week of spring break there were many problems at airports nationwide due to the TSA staffing crisis, ICE agents and strikes. You may not think G-d had anything to do with this, but in my book, this was clear guidance - pun intended.

My husband flew into New Orleans several days prior to my and my kids’ departure, and this was going to be my very first time flying alone with my kids. I had flown dozens of times by myself, but for some reason taking the kids with me by myself seemed overwhelming and nerve wrecking to me. I kept telling myself, though, that I would not really be alone, that G-d would be there with me, and that helped me stay calm.

The day of our flight, I had to teach my two classes at the university, after which I would drive home, pick up my kids and take an Uber to the airport. I only had about two hours to do all that and get to the airport and pass security. Cleveland airport is not very big but security lines can be long, and I had never used Uber in my own city and didn’t know how reliable it was, so I left it all up to G-d. Well, let me tell you, the miracles that day were many. I got home right on time, the Uber came a few minutes early, we got to the airport with no issues or traffic, we were the only ones in the security line, no joke! And we made it to the gate with more than half an hour of time left. The flight from Cleveland to our layover in Houston, Texas was on time and wonderful in every aspect (shoutout to United for providing kosher snacks). When we arrived there I thought we’d need to hurry and look for the gate for the next flight, not having much time between flights, but it turned out that our next gate was literally five steps away, the next gate over. The flight to New Orleans was just as great and on time. The kids behaved, and everything was smoother than any travel experience I had ever had in my life. How great is Hashem!! We came out of the airport, I ordered an Uber, and some 15 minutes later my husband greeted us at our hotel. What an amazing first experience flying solo with my kiddos.

The hotel my husband was staying in for work was super luxurious - The Roosevelt - and just minutes from the famous Bourbon Street. We got in late on a Wednesday, so the sightseeing started the following day with a morning tour of the Touro Synagogue. I had reached out to them through their website prior to our trip to book a tour, and a volunteer texted me promptly to set up a time. I made the suggested donation of $18 online and the whole process was really easy, no checking of documents or anything like that. We took an uber to Uptown where we were greeted by our lovely guide, a bubbly, smiley woman in her 60s at the front entrance of the synagogue. Before we even entered the building, the guide surprised us by telling us that Touro synagogue partakes in the annual mardi gras parade! I hope my face showed more of a surprise reaction rather than any sort of judgement…but it’s just that in mind I had always pictured Mardi Gras as a holiday of drunks doing mischiefs and women taking off their shirts for beads, so to have a synagogue participate in the celebration seemed completely contradictory and absurd at that moment. But after the guide explained exactly how the synagogue participated, it no longer seemed that wild. So first, as a historic congregation, the synagogue has operated on the parade route since the early 20th century, merging Jewish tradition with New Orleans culture. They host the Shabbati Gras - Special Shabbat services held during the Mardi Gras season to celebrate in local fashion. Then there is the Krewe of VIPs, which is an inclusive, accessible parade-watching experience on St. Charles Avenue for children with special needs and their families, often providing food, blankets, and activities. And finally, the initiative is supported by local volunteers and partners, often involving nearby hospital parking and community donations of king cakes, which are sweet, braided Danish dough round cakes served from January 6th through Mardi Gras- this of course being a Chrisitian tradition. 

After the astonishing introduction, the guide took us to the sanctuary first because in just an hour or so there was supposed to be a jazz rehearsal for a jazz festival featuring a celebrated musician. Oh, and did I mention this is a reform synagogue? Not being used to reform Judaism, there were quite a few curiosities we took note of.

The first curiosity was the guide’s excitement about the upcoming Jazzfest Shabbat. Since New Orleans is known for jazz music, this religious establishment proudly merged religion with local culture and traditions. In fact, this year they held the 25th jazz fest shabbat. Why is this strange to someone like me coming from an orthodox shul? Well, Orthodox Jews do not play musical instruments or listen to recorded music on Shabbat to adhere to restrictions against creating music and turning on electronic devices. Remember that on shabbat, we resemble G-d when He rested on the 7th day of creation. Since we are partners with G-d in the creation of our life, according to His commandments, we must not work or create anything on shabbat, and music is something that is created by an instrument. We can and should, however, use our voices to sing and elevate the day through spiritual joy. The Reform Jews have taken upon themselves to change the commandments, so they allow instruments on Shabbat, and, in fact, there is a grand piano by the stage and a huge organ on the back wall, the latter not being so surprising because we had seen organs in European and Scandinavian synagogues in our last year’s travels. I have episodes about those synagogues in earlier seasons, so check them out if you haven’t yet. In general, the sanctuary is magnificent due to the 71-foot wide dome and the vast arched window bays highlighted by multi-colored geometric art glass. I have photos from this synagogue on my social media, so take a look on instagram or tiktok!

A couple other curiosities I’d like to mention before moving to the intriguing history of this synagogue, include the Torah ark, which slides open vertically rather than horizontally (which is unique to this synagogue from what I gathered) - it was designed to emulate the appearance of a Greek temple, a stylistic choice reflecting its early 19th-century origins and the aesthetic preferences of its benefactor, Judah Touro.  The other curious fact was their congregation switching to new prayer books that utilize gender-neutral or inclusive language to describe God, moving away from traditional masculine he/him pronouns. I am not going to comment in depth on this topic, but I will say that for Orthodox Jews, G-d is above gender; sure, Hebrew uses masculine grammar for convention, but the Torah also uses female metaphors for G-d. The masculine-oriented text of my Siddur does not bother me in the least.

 Ok, so now let me tell you about the history of this beautiful reform shul. The story begins in 1828, 25 years after the Louisiana Purchase. It was then that the first synagogue outside the 13 colonies came into existence and is now officially the 6th oldest synagogue in the country. According to the 1724 Code, Jews should have been excluded from the French territory of Louisiana. However, the business acumen of Jewish merchants proved more important to the financial future of New Orleans than upholding the rules of the French government, and the prohibitions against Jews were inconsistently enforced. When president Thomas Jefferson negotiated the 1803 Louisiana Purchase with Napoleon, and Louisiana came under the American Jurisdiction, Jews acquired the right to freely inhabit what would become the 18th state in the Union, thereby realizing the value of religious freedom that would later become part of the American Constitution.

As for the Touro Synagogue’s congregation, it is the result of a re-merger between two original congregations: Congregation Gates of Mercy and Congregation Dispersed of Judah. Gates of Mercy was founded in 1828 and followed the Ashkenazic rituals, leading some Portuguese members who preferred the Sephardic tradition, to separate and form Congregation Dispersed of Judah in 1846. 

On February 6, 1881, the congregations reunited and moved into a building on Carondelet Street. The merger strengthened the Jewish community in New Orleans at a time when both congregations were struggling economically and recovering from the loss of many lives to the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1878. The new congregation eventually took the name Touro Synagogue after the benefactor of both communities, merchant-philanthropist Judah Touro, son of Isaac Touro, leader of the Rhode Island synagogue named for him. 

The synagogue is wonderfully upkept and modern inside, featuring a small museum of various Jewish artifacts from Touro’s life and religious rituals. We really enjoyed the tour and I recommend it to anyone visiting the city.

The following day was Shabbat, and since we decided against joining a local host family for dinner, we had a makeshift Shabbat dinner in our hotel room with battery-powered candles I had packed for this trip. On Saturday morning, though, we headed to Anshe Sfard synagogue first thing. In his email to me, Rabbi Rivkin had mentioned that because of the approaching holiday of Passover, there would be no meal at the synagogue, and for some reason I took that as meaning that there would not be a kiddush following the Saturday morning prayers, so our plan was to get there right at the start of services at 9:15 am, after which we would explore the city by foot and find lunch somewhere along the way.

When we arrived at Anshe Sfard, we quickly realized that we were the only ones there besides the rabbi and one other orthodox man, perhaps a family member. The rabbi greeted us and motioned for us to sit down, so my husband went to the men’s section, and I took the kids to the women’s section. Not going to lie, it was a bit awkward. We never go this early in our own synagogue. Typically, people arrive closer to 11am, but for some reason we thought maybe it would be different in this shul. While we sat there in the wooden pews that must have been original from the 1920s, we took note of the beautiful surviving architectural details, but also the wear and tear and the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina back in 2005 and other later storms and floods. In the lobby, we also noticed a campaign flyer to raise funds for remodeling of this building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.   

The kids were getting bored sitting in this lonely service, so we went exploring. One little girl showed up, looking to be the same age as my daughter so we followed her to the basement where we found a little kids' corner with games and puzzles. Soon enough more kids began to show up and the talkative 5 year old girl filled us in on the rabbi’s family. She proudly announced that she was the rabbi’s daughter and that she was the 10th child and the youngest. She and my daughter instantly became besties and went off to play on their own, while my son stayed in the kids’ room to play with the older boys. I’ll never forget how this 5-year old girl, with her hair way below her waist, dressed like an elegant lady in a white dress and a black blazer with pearly buttons, asked my daughter why she was not wearing shabbos clothes. My daughter, who was wearing a simple summer dress and tennis shoes, was at a loss for words to this unexpected question, so she looked at me for reassurance and I had to come up with some silly explanation that we were traveling and we had lots of walking to do that day, and whatever else I could reply in the moment to this tiny person who came across extremely assertive and authoritative. It made me realize, though, how important Shabbat is to the Jewish people, and that I should treat it with more respect too.

With my kids occupied I headed back to the service and to my surprise there were now many more people present. Some were obviously orthodox while others were like us, traditional I assume. Little by little the place was filling up, but we had already been there for so long that I suggested to my husband to leave around 11:30 because I thought he was feeling lonely and awkward in a new place not knowing anyone. He agreed to leave, and we said our goodbyes to the rabbi. We went outside where our kids were playing on a gorgeous spring day and they wanted to stay. The little girl that by then became inseparable with my daughter asked us why we were not staying for kiddush. I told her I didn’t know there was going to be lunch and that we didn’t plan for it. I couldn't believe that I had misunderstood rabbi Rivkin in his email, and I wanted to stay but I felt embarrassed going back into service after already having said goodbye, and so we left. As we were walking away, my husband confessed that he wanted to stay too, and then I felt extra bad for making everyone leave. We should have stayed, I know, but I guess everything happens for a reason because this way we had time to visit the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, which I found to be very interesting and educational. 

This museum explores the many ways that Jews in the American South influenced and were influenced by the distinct cultural heritage of their communities. One gallery traces the major migrations of Jews to the American South beginning in the 1700s, exploring how Jewish immigrants journeyed to American ports and navigated into the interior of the South. From establishing stores to synagogues, it touches on themes including merchant life, social institutions, and religious practice. Another gallery  focuses on the diversity of Jewish beliefs and practices, from holidays and life cycle events to the values that are foundational from Jews from the American South and around the world. The final gallery investigates Southern Jewish experiences during World War II and the Holocaust, the civil rights movement, suburbanization of the rural American South, and Southern Jews in popular culture. We all enjoyed visiting this museum, and if you are ever in the area, I do recommend it.

When it was time for lunch, we tried to locate the only kosher deli we found on google maps, but it was too far of a drive at that moment- the kids were super hungry and moody, so we settled for a mediterranean place and ordered a bunch of different hummuses with pita, olives and cheeses.

One curiosity that I want to mention is a synagogue that we noticed while walking from Anshe Sfard to the Jewish museum. It was a colossal building with a menorah over the grand entrance and the ten commandments in Hebrew at the very top of the roof. It was only a ten minute walk from one synagogue to the next, and we thought it was strange that they would be so close to each other and that we had not known about the existence of this synagogue when we researched New Orleans. When we approached it closer to read the pylon sign, we realized that this was not actually a synagogue, but rather a Baptist Church. We were so confused because we thought we had heard our rabbi mention once that a synagogue cannot be repurposed for anything else because once it’s consecrated, declared sacred, there is no turning back so to speak. But I think we misunderstood him, because after doing some research we learned that many synagogues have been repurposed with the approval of the owner and, of course, as long as the synagogue is no longer in active use. The interesting thing about this specific synagogue is its history. It was originally built as Beth Israel Synagogue and was home of an Orthodox Jewish Congregation. It was organized and chartered in 1904 when various groups merged to become Beth Israel. In 1906 they dedicated their first home in the old Shakespeare house, at the same address as the building stands today.  This house used to be a Spanish plantation-type home built by Joseph Shakespeare, a mayor of New Orleans in the late 1800s. By the early 1920s, the congregation grew so much that they needed more space and, therefore, demolished the old house and built, in its place, a bigger synagogue, which provided seating for 1,200 people. The congregation remained at this location until 1970 but made the decision to build a new synagogue at a different location because the neighborhood around it, which had previously been part of the fashionable Garden District, had begun to deteriorate a decade or so prior to their final move. Indeed, today, you can see some shady two-story apartment buildings in rough shape right across from the now-church and other small rundown residences.

My husband really wanted to peak inside this historic building but when we opened the doors, we saw there was an ongoing service and felt bad disturbing it, so unfortunately we didn’t get to see the inside of it, but from the photos I was able to find online, the sanctuary is striking with tall ceilings and balcony seating, stained glass windows and magnificent chandeliers. 

Although New Orleans was not exactly what I expected - I had imagined it to be much more charming and quaint, this trip was memorable and special for various reasons. First, I very much enjoyed exploring Judaism in the southern state of Louisiana. Also, as we walked around the city, especially through Bourbon Street, at first, I kept covering my kids’ ears and eyes every time I heard someone using foul language or some half-naked woman passing by, but then my husband reminded me of something very important. Our job as parents is not to shelter our kids from the reality around them but rather to teach them right from wrong. Just because they hear someone cussing, doesn’t mean they need to do it as well. Or just because people walk around drunk or dressed inappropriately doesn’t mean they must follow the crowd. So I thought those were great teaching moments, thanks to my husband. And finally, due to the abundance of homeless people on the streets, I got to see the genuine generous side of my husband in action. Yes, together we give tzedakah, we donate money online, but it’s not the same as seeing him giving from his own hand to another needy person and teaching our kids to do the same in the process. It was really wonderful and unforgettable to me. Also, for some reason, on this trip I felt the closest to G-d I had ever felt. It was a sort of yearning for Him I had not experienced previously, and it felt amazing to know that G-d was with me every waking moment, from when I traveled for the first time alone with my kids to our worry-free return home, I just knew that I was being taken care of. I had read about this ecstatic feeling, when one misses G-d as if he were missing a loved one. It’s similar to when you first fall in love and you just cannot stop thinking about that person, this is how I felt during our trip. G-d was always on my mind and I felt so connected to him. It was truly amazing and I wish I could always feel this way. I am not sure why I felt this way during that particular trip, but I know my relationship with G-d has evolved since then, has strengthened and has encouraged me to keep going, learning and growing, and for this I am thankful.

And Thank you so much for listening! Until next time!

Anshe Sfard Synagogue - Modern Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 2230 Carondelet Street 

Former Beth Israel Synagogue - Now Baptist Church

Museum of Southern Jewish Experience 

Touro Synagogue - Reform Jewish synagogue located at 4238 St. Charles Avenue