The first Jews to settle in what is now South Dakota established themselves in Deadwood during the Gold Rush more than 150 years ago, finding a niche selling hardware, groceries, dry goods and more. By 1920, the state was home to some 1,300 Jews.
That community has dwindled to an estimated 390 people â?? less than a tenth of 1 percent of South Dakota's population. No state has fewer. It's a small, but tightly knit flock that makes do without a permanent rabbi and worries too few children are coming along to sustain it.
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