Talk:Judah Touro

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[edit] Sources

Just for the record: I wrote the first version of this article based on the two sources it cites. I was careful not to use the language of the Jewish Encyclopedia, since that may be under copyright; but lifted some of the language from Grace King's book, since that 1895 work is in the public domain. Bill 20:13, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Portuguese origin clarified

The article calls Judah's father, Isaac, a "rabbi of Portuguese origin." The Touro Synagogue article and that synagogue's own web site both assert that Isaac came to Rhode Island by way of the Netherlands. A Jewish Encyclopedia article says he came by way of Jamaica. The name "Isaac de Touro" suggests that he was born either in Touro, Spain or in the freguesia of Touro, a parish within the municipality of Vila Nova de Paiva, Portugal. Apparently, tradition favors the latter. --Larry Tesler 15:58, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

The "Spanish-Portuguese" Jewish community is composed of Jews who fled from Portugal to Amsterdam in the 17th Century, after the Netherlands became independent. Members of this community then settled in the UK, and later spread through the Dutch and British possessions in the Americas. Isaac Touro was a "Portuguese Jew", but had never actually seen Portugal. If I understand correctly (and I may be mistaken), he was born in Jamaica, went to the Netherlands to be educated, and then came to Newport. Zsero 01:55, 27 February 2007 (UTC)