Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco, California, is one of the two oldest Jewish congregations in California. During the Gold Rush in 1849, a small group of Jews held the first High Holy Days services on the west coast of the United States in San Francisco. This group of traders and merchants founded Congregation Emanu-El sometime in 1850, and its charter was issued in April, 1851. The 16 signatories were mostly German Jews from Bavaria.