(Jewish Group) How one man's appetite fueled the founding of New Orleans' first Jewish congregation

[Behind the Aegis]

(THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP! RESPECT!!)

The Times-Picayune is marking the tricentennial of New Orleans with its ongoing 300 for 300 project, running through 2018 and highlighting 300 people who have made New Orleans New Orleans. Today: philanthropist Jacob S. Solis.

The icon: Jacob S. Solis.

The legacy: The year was 1828, and Jacob Solis just wanted some matzo. The problem was that after nearly a century of France's Code Noir -- which outlawed any other religion but Catholicism in its colonies -- New Orleans was what has been described as "a Jewish desert." Solis decided to do something about that. With the transfer of the Louisiana Territory to the United States in 1803, and Code Noir thus no longer the law of the land, Solis set about establishing Shaarai Chesed -- or Congregation Gates of Mercy -- on North Rampart Street. It had just 33 founding members, but it was a start. Not only was it the first chartered Jewish congregation in the city but the first outside the original 13 colonies, the sixth-oldest synagogue in the country and, most importantly, a launching pad for what is today a thriving Jewish community in New Orleans.

The quote: "Resolved: that in consequence of the death of our much lamented fellow member, Jacob S. Solis, and in consideration of his many virtues and the effectual service rendered to this institution in its formation, the officers wear crepe on their left arm for the space of thirty days from the date of this meeting." -- a resolution passed by Congregation Gates of Mercy upon the death of Jacob S. Solis in 1829

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