{"id":93267,"date":"2026-07-17T03:28:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T08:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/?p=93267"},"modified":"2026-07-17T14:20:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T19:20:31","slug":"how-a-198-year-old-new-orleans-synagogue-became-one-of-americas-fastest-growing-jewish-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/how-a-198-year-old-new-orleans-synagogue-became-one-of-americas-fastest-growing-jewish-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"How a 198-year-old New Orleans synagogue became one of America\u2019s fastest-growing Jewish communities"},"content":{"rendered":"

By BENYAMIN COHEN<\/a> (Original publication date July 6, 2026)<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

This story was originally published in the Forward<\/a>. Click here<\/a> to get the Forward’s free email newsletters delivered to your inbox.<\/p>\n

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This article is based on extensive interviews and on-site reporting for the latest installment in our <\/i>Holy Ground series<\/i><\/a> featuring stories of Jewish resilience and reinvention across America.<\/i><\/p>\n

NEW ORLEANS \u2014 By the time a trumpet player rose from the pews, candy was already flying through the sanctuary.Children scrambled across the bimah beneath Touro Synagogue\u2019s green-and-gold dome while the crowd clapped to the music and a 13-year-old boy in orange Nike sneakers stood beside his mom before two open Torah scrolls \u2014 one for the bar mitzvah boy, the other for his mother, who was 47, a recent convert celebrating her adult bat mitzvah.<\/p>\n

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