As Rabbi Arielle Krule explained it, “There’s a whole Jewish infrastructure in South Philadelphia.”
It includes the South Philadelphia Shtiebel, launched in 2019, and some older congregations like YPC Shari-Eli and Shivtei Yeshuron Ezras Israel. The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s 2019 population study documented that South Philly’s Jewish population quadrupled from 2009 to 2019.
Now, Krule and her husband, Jackson Krule, are opening another space for Jewish life in the neighborhood.
Base Philly will launch this September, once the Krules move from Brooklyn to the South Philly home where they’ll host “Shabbat dinners, discussions, pastoral care, and meaningful programs,” according to a news release on the launch.
Similar to a Chabad house, it will be run by the couple out of their home. Arielle Krule, who is ordained, will serve as rabbi. Jackson Krule is a photographer, educator and researcher.
The house will be launched and supported by Mem Global, the international organization that builds communities for Jewish adults in their 20s and 30s, according to memglobal.org. Support came from Micah Philanthropies, the Bernard and Etta Weinberg Fund, the Anonymous Foundation and Tribe12, per the release. Mem Global runs 14 other Base houses across North America.
“Our vision is to create the kind of Jewish home that becomes part of the fabric of people’s lives and helps them live lives of greater connection, joy, and purpose,” Krule said in the announcement. “We hope Base Philly becomes a front porch for Jewish life — a place where someone can come for their first Shabbat dinner, meet lifelong friends, discover a love of Torah, celebrate milestones, find support through difficult moments, and then be connected into the broader Jewish community across Philadelphia.”
The Krules themselves are actually reconnecting to that community.
Arielle Krule’s family settled in South Philadelphia in the 1930s, when it was still a large Jewish enclave. They helped build a synagogue and neighborhood supermarket before joining so many other Jewish families in the post-World War II suburban exodus. Rabbi Krule grew up in Cherry Hill.
Jackson Krule’s maternal grandparents met at the University of Pennsylvania during a Jewish dance.
“Returning to Philadelphia feels like our chance to continue that story,” Rabbi Krule said in the release. “We are grateful for the opportunity to help build the next chapter of Jewish life in the same city that shaped generations of our own family.”
The couple has been involved in Base “since the beginning,” said Adam Gindea, the vice president of Base and rabbinic innovation at Mem Global. Gindea started the third such house in Miami in 2017, and it was Jackson who took his headshot for the new chapter.
The Krules were also active participants in Base BKLYN (Brooklyn) during their time in New York. Rabbi Arielle said Jackson went to a parsha class there for 3 1/2 years, while she enjoyed the service experiences.
“It was the day-to-day and the big holidays,” she said of what the house could provide.
They also liked that Base was open to all. Rabbi Arielle could bring any friend she wanted to services.
“It’s a place where you can meet your newer friends or meet your partner or experience Jewish tradition for the first time,” she said.
The experience made the couple want to start their own house in Philadelphia, the place of their roots. Gindea took over his current role in August 2025, and Rabbi Arielle quickly reached out to him about the possibility of launching a Base in Philly.
“She called and said, ‘How do we get one started?’” Gindea recalled.
From there, the Krules and Mem Global had to find a home, plan the move and network with the local community. That last part wasn’t hard.
“We have a core group of people who see themselves as a part of the Base Philly community and invested in the future of South Philadelphia,” Rabbi Krule said. “South Philadelphia does have a lot of people in their 20s and 30s, and we’re really accessible by public transportation.”
Rabbanit Dasi Fruchter started the South Philadelphia Shtiebel in 2019. She welcomed Base Philly to the neighborhood in the news release announcing its launch.
“We are so excited for this moment for Jewish Philadelphia,” Fruchter said. “Rabbi Arielle Krule is such a talented community builder and she will add to the landscape tremendously by creating incredible opportunities for connection, growth and transformation for Jews in their 20s and 30s. Rabbi Krule’s leadership is grounded in collaboration and abundance and I can’t wait for her to be a part of our growing ecosystem.”
Early on, Krule is planning a High Holiday calendar, Shabbat dinners and “some type of learning and looking through Jewish texts.” She also wants to open the house up for Philly sporting events.
“The projector is ready,” she said.
jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com