In its over three hundred years of history, Charleston, South Carolina, has been known for many things. One of the most intriguing aspects of its past—and present—is its dynamic Jewish community. Documented as part of the Lowcountry since the 1690s, Charleston Jews have contributed to the region, the nation and the world. In 1800, the city boasted the largest and wealthiest Jewish population in the country, and Charleston has been continually shaped by this significant group of men and women, both religious and secular, humble and heroic. Here are their stories—both old and new—all intermixed with tales of historic buildings, congregations, religious movements and cemeteries, wonderfully told by preeminent Charleston Jewish historian Solomon Breibart. Collected from a lifetime of work, these explorations offer the reader a wealth of material: essays of historic significance, biographies, lists and chronologies, and telling vignettes that together suggest the rich mosaic of Jewish life that has been part of Charleston and the Lowcountry. It's a tale told nowhere else, and no one could tell it better, or in such a lively way, than Solomon Breibart.
Sol Breibart was born and educated in Charleston, South Carolina, and worked there as a teacher for almost 40 years. Since 1976 he has published and spoken widely on all aspects of Charleston Jewish history. He works tirelessly to not just document history, but to save it as well, planting the seed for the creation of the Jewish Heritage Collection at the College of Charleston, one of the major Jewish archival collections in the South. An embodiment of the "gentleman-scholar", Breibart is recognized nationally as the preeminent historian of Charleston Jewry.