Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
) was a Reform Rabbi and communal leader in New Orleans. He was the last rabbi of '' Congregation Shangarai Chasset'' before it merged with Congregation ''Nefutzot Yehudah'' to become what is now the
Touro Synagogue
The Touro Synagogue or Congregation Jeshuat Israel ( he, קהל קדוש ישועת ישראל) is a synagogue built in 1763 in Newport, Rhode Island. It is the Oldest synagogues in the United States, oldest synagogue building still standing in t ...
.
In 1868, Leucht arrived in New Orleans (from Baltimore) to serve as ''Shangarai Chasset's'' cantor. When James Gutheim, who was the rabbi at that time, left the synagogue to assume a position in New York, Leucht took over as the rabbi as well. He held those positions through 1872, when he left to become the cantor at Temple Sinai. After a
yellow fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...
outbreak killed Shangarai Chasset's rabbi and cantor in 1879, Leucht returned to ''Shangarai Chasset''. Two years later, ''Shangarai Chasset'' merged with ''Nefutzot Yehudah''. Shortly thereafter, the synagogue was renamed in honor of their earlier shared benefactor Judah Touro.
Under Leucht's leadership the synagogue further adopted the innovations of
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...
that Gutheim introduced. According to the Touro synagogue website, in 1881, the second-day observance of the holidays was dropped; in 1889
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
morning worship was abbreviated to "last not longer than one hour including the sermon"; in 1891 the congregation decided to allow worship with or without covered heads, depending on how long one had been a member. It was also in that year that the synagogue joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
Leucht was active in the New Orleans community serving on the board of Jewish institutions such as the Association for the Relief of Jewish Widows and Orphans, as well being a member of the State's first
Board of Education
A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution.
The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...
in 1888. The Jewish Community of New Orleans credits Leucht for his ecumenical ties to the non-Jewish community, also listing his service as president of the Louisiana
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
, and Commission of Prisons and Asylums as examples. Along those lines, he contributed an article entitled "The Mysteries of the Book of Esther" to '' The Southern Presbyterian Review''. Regarding Leucht's Jewish communal work, his great grandson, Bill Rosen, in a nostalgic letter detailing his own departure from New Orleans after
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
, wrote that during his great-grandfather's years in New Orleans, Leucht "started or helped develop every major Jewish institution of his time - he built
Touro Synagogue
The Touro Synagogue or Congregation Jeshuat Israel ( he, קהל קדוש ישועת ישראל) is a synagogue built in 1763 in Newport, Rhode Island. It is the Oldest synagogues in the United States, oldest synagogue building still standing in t ...
, laid the corner stone of Touro Infirmary and worked ten years to develop the
Isidore Newman School
Isidore Newman School is a private, nondenominational, co-educational college preparatory school located on an campus in the uptown section of New Orleans, Louisiana.
Jeré Longman of ''The New York Times'' described Isidore Newman as "one of ...
," institutions that continue to service New Orleans.
Leucht's brother Joseph also found employment as a rabbi and cantor, first in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
's Hebrew Congregation, where his father-in-law, Rabbi
Abraham Rice
Abraham Joseph Rice (born Abraham Reiss) (c. 18001862) was the first ordained rabbi to serve in a rabbinical position in the United States.
Rice was born in 1800 or 1802 at Gochsheim, near Schweinfurt, Lower Franconia. An injury in infancy left ...
was rabbi, then later as rabbi of Temple Bnai Jeshurun in