Congregation Kesher Israel (Philadelphia) Informations

Congregation Kesher Israel is a synagogue located in the Society Hill section of Center City Philadelphia. The synagogue is home to an active congregation with Shabbat and holy day services, a Hebrew school, adult education, and community programming. It is affiliated with the Conservative movement.

Joseph Priestley is credited with inspiring the creation in 1796 of the first Unitarian Society of Philadelphia. He would come occasionally to preach at the Church. The current building was constructed in 1796 for the first Independent Church of Christ. The original building extended 80 feet along Lombard Street and was 50 feet deep. There were originally five arched openings along Lombard Street. A passageway led from Lombard Street to a graveyard at the rear.

Joseph Smith, during a visit to Philadelphia, preached at the Universalist Church in December 1839.

The church had vacated the building at 412 Lombard Street by 1887.

Bnai Jacob synagogue purchased the church and converted it to a synagogue in 1889. As a condition of the sale, the graves were moved from the cemetery and reinterred at Fernwood Cemetery.

Bnai Jacob, founded in 1883, and Rodephe Tzedek, founded in 1887, merged in 1894 to form congregation Kesher Israel. The synagogue's charter was filed on June 21, 1894 and approved by Judge M. Arnold, July 14, 1894, in Common Pleas No. 4, Philadelphia County. Henry Morias updated his history of the Jews of Philadelphia to include the creation of Kesher Israel that year:

On January 24, 1897, the congregation dedicated its new synagogue building. Capacity was listed as 1,400.

In the fall of 1897, one of the first large Zionist meetings in the United States was held at Kesher Israel after Theodor Herzl convened the First Zionist Congress in Basle Switzerland. Kesher Israel became a central meeting hall for early Zionists in Philadelphia.

Rabbi Ivan Caine led Kesher Israel on a part-time basis in the mid-1970s, splitting his time with Society Hill Synagogue also in the neighborhood. The synagogue during this period held morning as well as afternoon services but struggled to secure a minyan of ten men. One wealthier member paid others between $8 and $15 a week to attend and preserve the services.

The building fell into disrepair in the 1970s and 1980s. The building's roof leaked unchecked for 20 years. The water created a hole in the ceiling was repaired for $80,000. Much of the funds came from historic preservation grants.

In 1995, Kesher Israel had neither rabbi nor janitor, and its membership dues remained $10/year. The congregation had replaced the roof but its ceiling, stained glass, bricks, and masonry all required repair.

In 1998, congregant Michael Yaron donated $2.0 million to the synagogue to renovate the sanctuary and building. The congregation began the renovations in January 1998, and in September 1998 celebrated the completion of the project.

Harry Boonin chronicled the history of the synagogue and published the book The Life and Times of Congregation Kesher Israel in 2007.

Rabbi Seth Frisch became the synagogue's spiritual leader in 2015 and served in the role through 2018. Mitchell Romirowsky has served as the synagogue's interim Rabbi since 2018.

Coordinates: 39°56′33″N 75°08′58″W / 39.942513°N 75.149526°W / 39.942513; -75.149526

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