Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley turned 100 in 2023. The synagogue celebrated its century mark with a centennial bash in 2024 and a centennial gala featuring comedian Howie Mandel a year later.

But the Main Line shul with over 700 families is not just celebrating. It’s attempting to secure the future of its community, as well.

Over the past year, Har Zion has raised more than $15 million for its Tekiah 100+ campaign, according to harziontemple.org. The goal is still to raise $20 million.

Money will go toward reimagining and enhancing “our 88,000-square-foot facility,” enriching and expanding “current programming initiatives” and building “a stronger endowment,” according to the site.

Tekiah means “blasting” in Hebrew, and it often refers to the long, straight blast of the shofar during High Holiday services.

Har Zion congregants are answering the call. More than 400 members attended a campaign launch event at the synagogue in April. The event featured “campaign videos, architectural renderings, remarks from synagogue leadership and a visit from the Phillie Phanatic,” according to a news release.

“Tekiah is not a campaign about dollars, but about people,” said Har Zion Senior Rabbi Seth Haaz in the release.

Though its membership has declined from a peak of more than 1,500 families in the 1990s, Har Zion still serves a lot of people. With over 700 families in the congregation, the Conservative synagogue has more than 2,000 individuals in its community, according to harziontemple.org. It also enrolled 170 children and families in its religious school in 2025-26.

In the fall, Har Zion welcomed 2,100 people to in-person and online High Holiday services. Over the past decade, it has hosted more than 300 bar and bat mitzvahs. Each year, the shul also holds more than 700 religious services and over 700 programs and events.

Those numbers are impressive, but it’s the individuals behind the numbers who matter, according to Haaz.

“Life is not about what happens to us, but who happens to us,” he said. “The thriving synagogue of the 21st century understands that holiness is created when we open and nourish relationships between families, friends and community members.”

Haaz started in his role in 2018, and this vision was shaped by the rabbi’s people-first perspective.

“We are asking what it means for a synagogue to be a true center of Jewish life for children, teens, families, adults and the broader community,” Haaz said.

So, what does it mean?

Members have been gathering on Har Zion’s 25-acre Hagys Ford Road property since the 1970s. Earlier in the 2020s, the synagogue added an outdoor pavilion, renovated its playgrounds, began making better use of a pocket park in its front yard and cleared a scenic hiking trail. Under the Tekiah campaign, the next phase of development will expand on these spaces while shifting focus indoors to update the sanctuary, chapel, classrooms and teaching kitchen. The plans also prioritize major security upgrades and comprehensive accessibility improvements.

For Haaz, these physical updates serve a singular purpose: giving people meaningful reasons to gather and connect.

“The question is not just whether people come into the building,” the rabbi added. “The question is whether they form relationships here that shape their lives.”

Within these updated spaces, new initiatives are already taking root. The synagogue recently launched “The Link,” a specialized teen engagement program. Serving as a post-b’nei mitzvah bridge, the program is free to any local Jewish teenager regardless of whether their family holds a temple membership. The initiative provides a space for open-ended conversations surrounding modern issues like antisemitism, community service and identity, and already boasts an enrollment of more than 50 participants for the upcoming year.

“The Link starts with a simple belief: no two Jewish teenagers are the same, so why should their Jewish journeys be?” said Norman Einhorn, the director of the program, in the release. “We’re creating a place where every student can discover, connect, belong and build a Jewish life that’s authentically their own.”

Existing programs will also be strengthened. Jenny Sacks, a parent at the synagogue, appreciated the emphasis on both education and security.

“We want our children to grow up in joyful Jewish spaces, but also in spaces that are safe, welcoming and built for the needs of today’s families,” she said. “Tekiah does both.”

jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com