Society Hill Synagogue is rooted in history, but its future is bright, too.
The building was designed by the architect of the U.S. Capitol. The shul takes a traditional outlook on worship.
At the same time, it grounds itself in progressive values and seems to have its best days ahead of it. Case in point, it has grown from 275 member families five years ago to 375 families earlier this year to currently above 400.
Rabbi Nathan Kamesar said that this dual identity creates a special appeal for the synagogue.
“I think the kind of reverence for history that this synagogue holds shows up in [our] tradition, but [we’re] always looking at the frontier of what evolution can look like. What can progressivism in this context look like? It’s really been this blend of history and tradition while looking for new ways of including new members of the community,” Kamesar said.
What this means in practice is old-school liturgy with modern, progressive values. While Society Hill Synagogue practices what many would recognize as a form of Judaism similar to that of the Conservative movement, it is not affiliated with it.
The shul is quick to try new ideas, which is one thing that Kamesar says has led to its increase in membership. For example, Society Hill Synagogue shifted its Hebrew school from taking place on Sunday to Shabbat. That has led to a wonderful mix of ages in the synagogue on the weekends.
“We have a kind of intergenerational Torah discussion as part of our Saturday morning services, where the Hebrew school students [age] third grade and up come into the sanctuary to discuss the Torah portion,” Kamesar said. “We take participants from across the age spectrum, and then after services, they all stay for a Kiddush lunch. So, we see a lot of intergenerational communal spirit at the core of our growth.”
Turning Shabbat into such a communal event has also led to a diversity in religiosity. Society Hill congregants may be linked by their camaraderie and commitment to Judaism, but how that commitment manifests isn’t always the same.
“Some people come very much for the religion and the spirituality and finding ways to connect to God — whatever that means to them — and others come not being particularly religious, but with a desire to express their Judaism through community and communal spirit,” Kamesar said.
As rabbi, Kamesar spends, of course, a lot of time at Society Hill Synagogue. Much of that is by his own volition outside of rabbinical duties, though, which speaks to how homey the synagogue is: Kamesar’s oldest child just graduated from the preschool, while his youngest is still a student.
“I’m in the community trying to have it be a source of nourishment and strength and inspiration for people, and that’s in part because I see my own children benefiting from that,” he said.
At Society Hill Synagogue, there is a unique mix of Jewish practices that makes it special.
Like the neighborhood it’s set in, the synagogue’s building is historic, grand and graced by skinny streets and tall trees. The first tenant of 418 Spruce Street was Spruce Street Baptist Church before Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Nusach Ashkenaz took over the facility. It soon changed its name to the Roumanian American Congregation, or Or Chodash-Agudas Achim.
Since Society Hill Synagogue moved in after buying the building in 1967, the congregation has renovated and expanded it to create the facilities it has today.
Kamesar said that the idea of the synagogue as a “third place” is essential to its appeal, with the first two being home and work. To put it simply, you get something different and something special at shul. He called the synagogue a “wellspring.”
“I think we’re at a time where people need institutions more than they realize, where they need community more than they realize,” he said. “It can open up doors and portals to whole different parts of themselves that you don’t necessarily get to express in just your job or your personal life.”
