Cornerstones

                                                                                                                           ( photo by Warren Lieb )

                      C1                           C2                        C3                          C4

(Click on the Cornerstone Identifier for an enlargement view)

These are four of the eight cornerstones laid in 1792 at the construction of the KKBE synagogue that was dedicated in 1794.  That building was destroyed by fire in 1838 and was replaced on the same site by the present Greek revival style structure in 1840.  The stones which survived were placed in the cornerstone of the new synagogue;  they were discovered when extensive repairs were made to the foundation of the building in 1951.

The inscriptions on the stones read as follows:

C1:    "[This] stone was laid by Isaac Da Costa the younger the 27th Elul 5552 corresponding to the 16th Sept: 1792"

C2:    (in Hebrew): "Mordecai Ottolingi 5552"

C3:    (in Hebrew):   This chief cornerstone was placed ? Zvi Hirsh son of Moses (OBM) 5552 (=1792)

C4:    (in Hebrew):    "This cornerstone was placed by the honorable Leib son of the honorable Moshe...Amsterdam in the year..."  Existing information indicates this was Lyon Moses.