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The Esther Scroll: A Legacy of Strength and Leadership

7 min read

Scroll, Courtesy of Congregation Shearith Israel, New York.

7 min read

By Dr. Jesse Abelman, Curator of Judaica and Hebraica

The book of Esther tells a tale of persecution and liberation, of a Jewish hero and heroine who advocated for their people even while living as a minority. It is read from a handwritten scroll every year on the holiday of Purim, which commemorates the events of the book. Set in ancient Persia, it describes a Jewish community under threat. The Jewish queen, Esther, along with her cousin Mordechai, enacts a plan to rescue them by means of an appeal to her husband, the emperor. The result is redemption for the Jews of Persia and a secure place at court advising the emperor for both her and her cousin. It is a story that still resonates deeply, particularly among American Jews, who, in some ways, see themselves as similar to the Persian Jews—as a religious minority living in a large and diverse country.

On March 12, 1832, Naphtali Phillips, a board member of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York, presented to the synagogue board a scroll of the book of Esther that had been bequeathed to the congregation by his mother, Rebecca Machado Phillips, who had died the previous year. This scroll, in many ways, represents the legacy of Rebecca and her husband, Jonas Phillips, to this day.

Board minutes of the congregation recording the scroll's status

Figures 1 & 2: The board minutes of the congregation recording that the scroll “would be deposited in the Hechal [Torah ark] under the care of the Hazan [cantor].” Credit: Congregation Shearith Israel, New York.

Rebecca Machado Phillips

Portrait of Rebecca Macado Phillips. Photo credit: Alamy.

Figure 3: Portrait of Rebecca Machado Phillips. Photo credit: Alamy.

Rebecca Machado was born in 1746 in New York to David Mendes Machado and Zipporah Nunes Rebeiro. Her parents had been crypto-Jews in their native Portugal, where the practice of Judaism had been forbidden since 1497 and Jews had been required to either convert to Christianity or depart. Rebecca’s ancestors stayed and practiced Judaism in secret for centuries, enduring persecution and fear—her grandparents were imprisoned by the Inquisition and her uncle was burned at the stake. Seeking safety and the right to practice their religion freely, Rebecca’s parents and grandparents fled, first to England and then to the New World. Her parents settled in New York, where they had to relearn how to practice Judaism, as many traditions and practices had been lost or transformed in hiding.

Jonas Phillips

Figure 4: Portrait of Jonas Phillips. Photo credit: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution Object number NPG.97.189.

In 1762, Rebecca married Jonas Phillips, a German Jew who had come to the colonies in 1756 as an indentured servant. By 1759 he had bought his freedom and begun his journey to becoming a prosperous merchant. Through the 1760s, the couple built a life together, settling first in Rebecca’s native New York, where they were members of Congregation Shearith Israel. Rebecca gave birth to 21 children in total, including six whose fate we have no record of. We do know, however, that she lost at least four as infants in the first 10 years of marriage.

Jonas was a colonial Patriot, and when the American Revolution began in 1776, he convinced most of the congregation to flee New York for Philadelphia rather than stay under British rule. In 1778, Jonas enlisted in the Continental Army, in which he served for the duration of the war.

By 1787, Jonas Phillips was a prosperous merchant with a thriving business, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, a leader of the Philadelphia Jewish community, and a known Patriot with strong ties to the leadership of the new Republic. National leadership was gathering in Philadelphia to discuss improvements to the governance of the new country, but unknown to those who originally assembled, a new constitution would be born at this Grand Convention. Jonas hoped to participate but found there was a barrier. In order to join the convention, he would have to swear an oath that he believed in the divine origins of both the Old and New Testaments. Historically, in England and elsewhere, such oaths had been administered explicitly as tools to exclude members of religious minorities and dissenters from participating in government. As a Jew, holding only the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) to be sacred Scripture, this was not something he could do.

In response to this injustice, Jonas petitioned the convention. Invoking the Pennsylvania Constitution, which stated “that all men have a natural and unalienable Right To worship almighty God according to the dectates (sic) of their own Conscience and understanding,” he requested the section of the oath that served as a religious test be removed, to allow him and his fellow Jewish citizens, who “have been foremost in aiding and assisting the States with their lifes (sic) and fortunes, [who] have supported the Cause, have bravely faught (sic) and bleed for liberty which they Can not Enjoy,” be permitted the liberty to serve their country in office as well. His request was granted, and eventually a ban on religious tests for office was enshrined in Article 6 of the United States Constitution.

The Phillips prospered in Philadelphia, where they ultimately settled permanently. They were founding members of Congregation Mikve Israel and major contributors to both the synagogue and the Jewish community more broadly, participating actively in its religious and social life. Rebecca managed the household and took part in running the family business, especially after Jonas’s death in 1803. She was also a community activist who worked with both Jewish and Christian neighbors to raise money for the poor.

Like Esther and Mordechai, Rebecca and Jonas Phillips lived as a religious minority, surrounded by people who did not share their faith (though unlike their biblical predecessors, they at least shared some Scripture). Despite adversity and exclusion, their sense of service and belonging to their home never wavered. When it seemed that Jews might be locked out of service and leadership in the United States, Jonas Phillips stepped up as a leader of the Jewish community and as an American patriot to advocate for his people and what he believed was right. Ultimately, their legacy remains in the US Constitution, in their family’s long participation in American civic life, and in the Esther Scroll that was bequeathed to Congregation Shearith Israel, where it is still read from every year on Purim.

Esther Scroll, Courtesy of Congregation Shearith Israel, New York.