Nidhe Israel Synagogue & Museum
SYNAGOGUE OF THE SCATTERED OF ISRAEL - A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE
THE HISTORIC NIDHE ISRAEL MIKVAH
The Mikvah was discovered by an archaeological team from the University of West Indies, who were initially tasked to remove the tarmac (blacktop) of the existing car park and to excavate what was first believed to be the foundation of the Rabbi's house. Instead they uncovered the Mikvah structure, which is now believed to be the oldest one in the Americas. Research dated the construction of the Mikvah to 1650 to 1654, completed pre-synagogue as the cleansing ritual was deemed very important to the new Sephardic group.
During the dig, the original marble staircase was exposed, which led down to a pool of natural fresh spring water, which is fed by an active underground spring. The batch has a granite tile floor with coral stonewalls.
Thousands of artifacts were discovered during the excavation and are now on display in the Nidhe Israel Museum.
VISITORS TO NIDHE ISRAEL HISTORIC SITE CAN VIEW THE MIKVAH AS A PART OF THEIR TOUR.
NIDHE ISRAEL'S CEMETERY
The Jewish cemetery on Nidhe Israel's grounds is believed to be the oldest Jewish graveyard in the Western Hemisphere,
with citations dating back to 1658 'Deborah Burgos and Abraham Elivahu da Fonseca Valle'.
Graves of several famous people are there, including Samuel Hart, son of the American Moses Hart, and Mosseh Haym Nahamyas (Moses Nehemiah), who died on Barbados in 1672 and was the first Jew to live in Virginia.
Grave Ledgers
The cemetery currently has about 400 graves. The older grave ledgers are flat and made of marble or granite, as is customary in Separdic graveyards. There are also Ashkenazi graves from the more modern Jewish community of the 20th and 21st centuries, who still bury their members there.