Whether it’s in a preschool, religious school or confirmation classroom, young people and their families are flocking to Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel.
President Andrew Altman said that the Elkins Park synagogue has a record 162 preschool students for the 2025–2026 school year, with a waitlist to boot, as well as more than a dozen new religious school students that will make next year’s b’nai mitzvah class the largest in “quite a while,” he said.
“I use the terms ‘hype’ and ‘buzz’ a lot, because not only are things exciting, but we often find ourselves with what we used to think was a problem, and that is two or more events in the building on the same night,” Altman said. “Now, we understand we should be embracing that as exciting and an opportunity for collaboration among our different cohorts and activities. That’s happening all the time, and it’s a good sign.”
Altman said that this can be credited in part to old-fashioned word-of-mouth marketing, as well as the work of preschool director Kelly Sussman.
“She is just universally beloved by teachers, students, parents and guardians. Most of the people who come in and ask for a tour and are interested in joining say that they heard from a family member or friend,” he said.
Altman joked there’s another dynamic at play, too.
“We’re doing a lot of work in our yard right now, and it’s not necessarily a preplanned strategy, but the kids are just over the moon about all the construction trucks in the yard, moving earth and moving materials. They’re all very happy these days,” he said.
The growth that Keneseth Israel has seen in recent years is all the more impressive considering the effect the COVID-19 pandemic had on the synagogue. While no shul was left unscathed by the events of 2020 and 2021, KI was one of the few preschools that fully shut down during that time.
“We just had such a good reputation that it has been built back up quickly,” Altman said.
As the High Holidays approach, Keneseth Israel is preparing for two different Kol Nidre services, each aimed at a different crowd. There is a traditional service at KI, as well as what members call “Kol Nidre for the soul,” which came about after the synagogue saw success with a similarly folksy Shabbat service.
“It’s a little more laid-back, kind of a jangly, folky guitar sound to the music with a little bit more casual feeling to it,” Altman said.
This comes as Keneseth Israel welcomes a new organist, a live cellist for Kol Nidre and its usual shofar blower and trumpet player for Rosh Hashanah. Music is important at KI. The Reform congregation started as an Orthodox community, but part of the reason it changed was so music could be included in services, Altman said.
“The congregants wanted music, and with [the synagogue] being Orthodox, they couldn’t. So, [we] decided to bring in a new organ and become Reform. That wasn’t the only issue, but music has always been a deep part of our worship and celebration, and so it’s part of the communal experience for our congregants to hear the organ and our amazing professional choir, as well as our volunteer and community choirs,” he said.
This year, the High Holidays are tinged with uncertainty, as they have been since October 2023. Altman said that his wish for the KI community, and Jews in general, is “peace, peace, peace.”
“Peace in Israel and for Gazans and for all of us,” he said. “For the United States and peace for our congregants. It’s such an enormously stressful time for all of our congregants who come to us with very different viewpoints on politics, but they’re all feeling the same kind of stress. There’s such pain and heartbreak over what’s going on in the Middle East and here with antisemitism. And so we work for peace. We pray for peace.”
