Historic Congregation Kesher Israel Upholds Tradition, Ponders Future

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The sanctuary inside Historic Congregation Kesher Israel (Photo by Jarrad Saffren)

In 1998, Historic Congregation Kesher Israel made two huge moves to extend the life of the synagogue. First, it completed a $2.1 million renovation project, made possible by a single donor, to update its 18th-century building at 412 Lombard St. And second, it made membership free.

Both moves helped the synagogue survive for another generation. A shul that had 80 members grew to more than 1,000 who were at least interested, according to Norman Millan, a congregant since 1982. One year, almost 1,000 people sat in the sanctuary for High Holiday services. About 100 more gathered in the banquet hall.

But over time, fewer than 200 of those households were making donations, according to Millan. Free membership ended in the early 2000s, and people started leaving. Fifteen years later, COVID-19 knocked out 25% of Kesher Israel’s remaining membership.


Today, the number is still high enough at 147. But the question of the next generation is back. And just like at many Philadelphia-area synagogues, leaders here do not have a clear answer.

They only know one thing: They want to try.

“We’re here,” Millan said.

When you first walk through the doors of the synagogue, you turn right, open another door and see the sanctuary. It has a high ceiling, bright chandeliers and a bimah in the center of the room. The pews are straight and looking directly at the seven-candle menorah on the bimah.

Historic Congregation Kesher Israel in Philadelphia (Photo by Jarrad Saffren)

Between 40 and 50 members come on Saturdays for Shabbat services and “a tremendous brunch,” Millan said. They enjoy each other’s company until around 2 p.m. At that time, Millan, the executive director, is obligated to throw people out.

“We have to clean up,” he said, laughing.

Kesher Israel’s preschool is also “thriving,” the executive director said. With 63 students, about half of whom are Jewish, it is at capacity. And if a family pays for preschool, it gets a synagogue membership, too. The school teaches Jewish traditions and values, according to Dawn Klemash, the educational director.

“And those are just generally being good people,” she said.

As Klemash spoke, the children were playing in the next room. It was an independent play period. Those are common during the school day. The school takes the Reggio Emilia approach, named for a town in Italy that puts children as its focus, to education.

“We value their rights, their opinions, their ability to do things,” Klemash said. “We try to have a program that allows kids to be independent, and an active participant in their community.

“Like right now they’re just playing. They get to decide what they’re pulling out and what they’re doing,” she added. “I could plan a lot of things. But they usually take it in a far better direction than I could decide.”

Historic Congregation Kesher Israel’s building dates back to the 18th century.
(Photo by Jarrad Saffren)

To get families to take the next step and become active congregants, Millan and his team have added Zoom minyans and shorter services with more English. They have also ended certain Conservative traditions that did not allow women to take part in the same rituals as men.

It has not yet had the same effect that the renovation and free memberships had back in 1998.

“I think the pandemic gave people other options,” Millan said. “After the pandemic, people have found TV and different outlets for the High Holidays.”

But if you walk through the narrow halls of Kesher Israel, you still get a sense of how long the place has been here and of how many people have walked through these same halls.

There’s a plaque naming the preschool after the Schwartz brothers, Charles, Joseph, Herman and Benjamin, who attended the shul in the 1920s and ‘30s. There’s another plaque, from September 2000, naming the chapel after the Mersky family. Downstairs, you can see the wood that still holds up the old building. It’s from the 1790s.

Sally Berenato, the synagogue’s director for the past four years, said there’s “just something warm” about the place. After one of Berenato’s relatives died, congregants brought over food for the shiva. The director also mentioned that the schoolchildren, even the non-Jewish kids, learn about Shabbat and the major Jewish holidays.

“When I take families on tours that are Jewish, I always tell them that they get a free membership here, and they are excited,” she said.

“So, we’re trying to keep the tradition going,” she added.

At the same time, many preschool children are too young for Hebrew school, so their parents are not yet active participants in synagogue life.

“But we’re hoping they will come,” Berenato said.

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