While the Jewish Museum & Cultural Center in Portsmouth is an epicenter of programming, it is also a relic of Eastern European orthodoxy.
Its Ner Tamid, a lamp above the Ark holding the Torah, is dark; the building hasn’t been a functional synagogue for 40 years. Yet, stepping inside the brick building at 607 Effingham St. in Olde Town feels like a religious experience.
“Would you like to see the Torah?” asked Jennifer Priest, interim executive director, who gives tours by appointment. She removed the scrolls, dressed in heavy velvet, from the cabinet and carried them to the Bimah, a platform between the rows of pine pews.
“The Torah is meant to be read in the center amid the people,” she said, unwinding the wooden rollers that reveal small Hebrew words on parchment.
Most visitors to the building, which dates back to 1922, come for an event. Films are shown weekly in January, and musical guests are reserved for the summer.
The Arthur Z. Steinberg Lecture series, held on select Sundays through April, continues on Sunday.
“Flags Do Not Wave in a Vacuum: National Victories and Individual Dilemmas – An Exploration of Modern Jewish Identities” addresses questions about unity, diversity and identity. The speaker is Vered Sakal, the Bertram and Gladys Aaron professor of Jewish Studies at Christopher Newport University.
Visits now offer the opportunity to see the daffodils in bloom in the memorial garden, planted for The Daffodil Project. The center planted 7,000 bulbs as part of the worldwide memorial for children who perished during the Holocaust and for children today suffering in humanitarian crises. The goal is to plant 1.5 million bulbs around the world.
Plans call for a paver project in the garden’s center with 100 engraved stones memorializing ancestors or lost friends. The Portsmouth Museum & Fine Arts Commission recently selected the wall facing the garden for a public mural, a tree mosaic.
“That’s a case of pleasant serendipity,” Priest said, noting that the tree of life represents the connection between God and Israel in Judaism.
While programs draw a diverse crowd, the curious occasionally drop in, especially when a spike in antisemitism becomes newsworthy. Priest is grateful the center hasn’t experienced any threats and has the support of the city’s elected officials. Sometimes, she said, relatives of former members of Chevra T’helim come seeking a familial connection.
Eastern European immigrants began building the synagogue in 1918. Most were merchants who favored the port city. Per tradition, women and men did not sit together; the focus was prayer. Women sat on any of the three sides of the balcony while men remained on the first floor.
The pews were numbered since members bought their seats.
“Back in the day, you didn’t pay your dues, you didn’t come in for High Holidays,” Priest said. “You physically got a ticket if you were paid in.”
Chevra T'helim thrived for decades, with as many as 200 families at its height. However, the building started deteriorating, and by the mid-1980s, only three older men remained. Traditional Judaism requires a minyan, a quorum of 10 men ages 13 and older, to hold a service.
“They say if you’re one short, you can count the Torah,” said Priest. She said families migrating to Norfolk and Virginia Beach contributed to the fading congregation.
The family of Zelma Rivin, the 57th First Citizen of Portsmouth, owned the iconic department store The Famous and Rivin led the preservation efforts, which took more than five years. The building was rededicated in 2008. Her sister Helen Gifford also financially supported the restoration process. Priest knew the women well.
The building “is such a testament to the iron will of two women who were fiercely dedicated to the community.”
While the museum is not a collecting institution, some artifacts are on view. Among them are an 18th-century Torah rescued from a synagogue in Czechoslovakia and a High Holiday cantor’s robe and head covering.
Everyone is welcome to celebrate and learn about Jewish faith, history and culture.
“We want all different types of people to come to our building and enjoy it,” Priest said. “If they’re not Jewish, we tell them a little bit about the symbolism. If they are, we get into the weeds a little bit about the families and other particulars."
The museum is recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and designated a historic site by the commonwealth of Virginia.
Visit jewishmuseumportsmouth.org for tickets and information about the Arthur Z. Steinberg Lecture series, which continues on March 16, 23 and April 6. All lectures begin at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20; student tickets can be purchased at the door for $10 with an ID.
