Judaism in New Hampshire

Temple Israel Portsmouth, established 1910, built 1827 originally as a Methodist church before being sold to the Jewish community

New Hampshire has a small, but vibrant Jewish community of about 10000, making up 0.7% of the population.[1]

History

William Abrams and Aaron Moses arrived at New Castle or Sanbornton in 1693, coming from Israel, as the first known Jews in New Hampshire.[2] Nearly a century later, in 1789, Abraham and Rachel Isaac arrived at Portsmouth from Prussia. In Manchester, a small Jewish group prayed together on Yom Kippur in 1862. The first record of a synagogue, B’nai Yeshurun, was founded in 1890.[3]

Organizations

• Jewish Libertarians: Promotes libertarianism from a Jewish perspective. Hosts Jewish talks as well as a Kosher Kookout and Shabbat Service at PorcFest. Monthly services and other events are held year round, including new for 5783: self-defense shoots to celebrate Hanukkah and Purim. Website, Facebook.

• Jewish Federation of New Hampshire: Promoting Jewish continuity by enhancing and expanding a connected and vibrant Jewish community in New Hampshire, Israel, and around the world. Many programs online and in person, including an annual Jewish film festival. Library, Israeli Shlichut, and more. Website Facebook

• New Hampshire for Israel: Supporting Israel, Educating New Hampshire. Hosts monthly meetings and annual fundraiser and picnic. Website Facebook

Synagogues and Jewish Centers

Sanctuary for the Chabad Center of New Hampshire at Manchester

Judaism does not have denominations, as in Christianity. Instead, there is a spectrum of observance from Orthodox (conservative) to Conservative (moderate), to Reform/Reconstructionist (liberal).

Despite echoes of past restrictions on Jewish religious practices by governments, most Jewish services shut down in 2020, and did not reopen until 2021, or even 2022. Many maintained the antisemitic view of disease-spreading and required cloth to be worn and medical passes to be shown.

Orthodox

See also Chabad

There is no permanent Orthodox community in New Hampshire to speak of. Several summer congregations rent space in the North Country, notably Bethlehem.

Chabad

There are three Chabad Centers in New Hampshire, located at Durham, Hanover, and Manchester.

Synagogue	Location	Notes	Promotes Tikkun Olam?	Concealed Carry Friendly?
Seacoast Chabad Jewish Center	72-1 Main Street Durham, NH 03823	Newest Chabad Affiliated with UNH	No	Likely
Rohr Chabad Center at Dartmouth	19 Allen St Hanover, NH 03755	Affiliated with Dartmouth	No	Likely
Chabad of New Hampshire	1234 River Road Manchester, NH 03104	Sanctuary faced with gorgeous Jerusalem stone Libertarian friendly	No	Likely

Conservative

There are three Conservative synagogues in New Hampshire, located at Manchester, Nashua, and Portsmouth.

Synagogue	Location	Notes	Promotes Tikkun Olam?	Concealed Carry Friendly?
Temple Israel	66 Salmon Street Manchester, NH 03104	Most libertarian-attended	Yes	Yes
Temple Beth Abraham	4 Raymond Street Nashua, NH 03064	-	Yes LGBT	Unknown
Temple Israel	200 State Street Portsmouth	Female-led services	Yes	Unknown

Reform

There are five Reform centers in New Hampshire, located at Amherst, Concord, Derry, Laconia, and Manchester.

Center	Location	Notes	Promotes Tikkun Olam?	Concealed Carry Friendly?
Congregation Betenu	5 Northern Blvd Unit 1 Amherst	-	Yes	Unlikely
Temple Beth Jacob	67 Broadway Concord	LGBT-led services Female-led services	Yes LGBT	Unlikely
Etz Hayim	1½ Hood Road Derry	-	Yes	Unlikely
B'nai Israel	210 Court Street Laconia	Hosts Jewish Food Festival in June Female-led services	Yes	No!
Temple Adath Yeshurun	152 Prospect Street Manchester	Hostile to libertarians Female-led services	Yes Injection reqd	Unlikely

Reconstructionist

There is one Reconstructionist center in New Hampshire, located at Keene.

Center	Location	Notes	Promotes Tikkun Olam?	Concealed Carry Friendly?
Congregation Ahavas Achim	84 Hastings Avenue Keene	LGBT-led services Female-led services	Yes	Unlikely

Unaffiliated

There are three Unaffiliated centers in New Hampshire, located at Bethlehem, Hanover, and North Conway.

Center	Location	Notes	Promotes Tikkun Olam?	Concealed Carry Friendly?
Benei Horin	Varies	Only libertarian congregation in the world Monthly services	No	Yes
Bethlehem Hebrew Congregation	39 Strawberry Hill Road PO Box 395 Bethlehem	Female-led services	Yes	No
Kol HaEmek Upper Valley Jewish Community	5 Occom Ridge Hanover	-	Yes	Unknown
Kehilat Har Lavan	PO Box 474, Bartlett	Newest congregation in NH	-	Unknown

Defunct

There are at least four defunct synagogues in New Hampshire, located at Berlin, Claremont, Dover, and Manchester.

Synagogue	Location	Notes	Disposition
Beth Israel	13 Exchange St Berlin	-	Dissolved 1987 Now Heritage Baptist Church
Temple Meyer David	25 Putnam Street Claremont	-	Dissolved 2020[4]
Temple Israel	36 Olive Meadow Lane Dover	-	Merged with Temple Israel at Portsmouth
Anshe Sephard	293 Central Street Manchester, NH 03104	Beautiful Sefardic-design wood structure	Split into Temple Israel and Temple Adath Yeshurun, Building now used for apartments

PorcFest

PorcFest, the annual libertarian gathering at Rogers Campground, Lancaster, New Hampshire has had a growing Jewish presence in recent years. Typically, a Shabbat gathering was held Friday night, however, since 2021, a "Kosher Kookout" was started and in 2022, several talks were added.

See also

• Christianity in New Hampshire

External links

• Jewish Libertarians
• Jewish Porcupines (Facebook))