In 1800, Sampson Simson, a 21-year-old Jewish graduate of Columbia College, delivered a significant Hebrew commencement oration at St. Paul's Church in Manhattan, highlighting the history and significance of Jews in New York.

In 1800, Sampson Simson, a 21-year-old Jewish graduate of Columbia College, delivered a commencement oration in Hebrew at St. Paul's Church in Manhattan, underlining the history and significance of New York's Jewish community.

The text discusses the author's upbringing in a wealthy, secular California community with little connection to Jewish identity, but a strong attraction to Jewish literature featuring characters grappling with Jewishness.