Penina Moïse

Biography

Penina Moïse, born in 1797, became one of the earliest American Jewish women to publish poetry, bringing together her faith and the broader cultural currents of Charleston, South Carolina. Her verses and hymns offered both personal reflection and communal comfort, touching readers with their reverence and lyric grace.

She also shared her gifts as a teacher and editor, compiling hymnals and collections that sustained Jewish worship and bridged communities during a period of rapid change in the South, leaving a literary legacy cherished long after her death in 1880.