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74-618: Representatives of twenty-two Jewish congregations in North America met at the Jewish Theological Seminary on 23 February 1913. The representatives formed the United Synagogue of America to develop and perpetuate Conservative Judaism. The group elected Rabbi Solomon Schechter the first president . At its executive council's April 1913 meeting, the organization's purpose was defined as loyalty to

148-535: A best-selling author and Nina Beth Cardin , who became an author and environmental activist. Erica Lippitz and Marla Rosenfeld Barugel were the first women ordained as cantors by JTS (and the first female Conservative Jewish cantors in the world.) They were both ordained in 1987. Ismar Schorsch became Chancellor of JTS in 1986. Among his accomplishments was creating the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education, which

222-655: A building at 117 North 7th Street designed by architect John McArthur Jr. who would later design Philadelphia City Hall . Sabato Morais served as minister at Mikveh Israel for forty-six years from 1851 to 1897. He was an opponent of slavery prior to the Civil War and encouraged the creation of the Ladies' Hebrew Association for the Relief of Sick and Wounded Union Soldiers in May 1863. Morais admired Abraham Lincoln and authored

296-544: A family cemetery. This property was at the corner of 9th and Walnut Streets, the present site of the Walnut Street Theatre . Congregation Mikveh Israel traces its history to September 25, 1740 when the Province of Pennsylvania and Thomas Penn authorized the burial ground at the north-west corner of Spruce Street and South Darien Street (between 8th and 9th Streets) meant to be a permanent burial ground for

370-532: A little time for a Homiletics class, very little time was spent on practical training for serving in a rabbinical position. As of 1904 there were 37 students in the theological department, and 120 students took a set of courses designed for teachers. This set of course later evolved into the Teachers Institute. Mordechai Kaplan joined the faculty during this period, becoming professor of homiletics following Joseph Mayor Asher's death. Kaplan became

444-615: A manner that was accessible to persons of any faith. The show continued to run until 1985. During the 1940s, the Jewish Theological Seminary established Camp Ramah as a tool for furthering Jewish education . The founders envisioned an informal camp setting where Jewish youth would reconnect with the synagogue and Jewish tradition, and a new cadre of American-born Jewish leadership could be cultivated. The first camp opened in Conover, Wisconsin in 1947. The program

518-463: A rented building on Cherry Street and held their first Sabbath services on July 25, 1771. The group chartered itself as an organization in 1773. It is estimated that in 1775, the city of Philadelphia had a population of approximately 35,000 of whom 300 were Jewish. Mikveh Israel counted among its members revolutionary patriots including Jonas Phillips , the Gratz family, and Haym Solomon who financed

592-580: A sermon and prayer on the death of Lincoln's son Willie Lincoln in 1862; delivered a public sermon four days after Lincoln's death in April 1865; and delivered another public sermon on June 1, 1865, the national day of mourning. Later in June 1865, Morais sent a donation of $ 300 collected from Mikveh Israel members for the construction of the Lincoln Memorial. Morais' son Henry Samuel Morais taught in

666-535: A week they made surgical garments and collected supplies. Dr. Abraham A. Neuman (1890–1970) was rabbi from 1927 to 1943. Dr. Neuman was succeeded by David Jessurun Cardozo (1896-1972). Reverend Alan D. Corre (1931-2017) came to Philadelphia from Manchester, England at age 24 in 1955 and served as rabbi until 1963. Noam Chomsky (born 1928) grew up in Philadelphia at Mikveh Israel on North Broad Street where his father, Dr. William Chomsky (1896-1977), ran

740-455: A writer. After years of discussion, the JTS faculty voted to ordain women as rabbis and as cantors in 1983. The first female rabbi to graduate from the school (and the first female Conservative Jewish rabbi in the world) was Amy Eilberg , who graduated and was ordained as a rabbi in 1985. The first class of female rabbis that was admitted to JTS in 1984 included Rabbi Naomi Levy , who later became

814-662: Is a Sephardic Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 44 North Fourth Street in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , in the United States. The congregation traces its history from 1740. Mikveh Israel is a Spanish and Portuguese congregation that follows the rite of the Amsterdam esnoga . It is the oldest synagogue in Philadelphia, and the longest running in the United States. The congregation moved to its current building at 44 North Fourth Street in 1976. The synagogue

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888-477: Is hand-wrought iron and the whole design is symbolic." These gates were presented on September 26, 1934, by Mrs. Frieda and Mr. Felix M. Warburg in memory of her parents, Jacob H. and Therese Schiff. In April 1966 JTS's library caught fire. 70,000 books were destroyed, and many others were damaged. Gerson D. Cohen became Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1972. Prominent faculty during Cohen's chancellorship included David Weiss Halivni of

962-583: Is located within Philadelphia's Old City Historic District and adjacent to Independence Mall . Mikveh Israel is an active community synagogue with services on the Sabbath, holy days, and special occasions. It offers adult education and cultural programming with a focus on the Spanish and Portuguese tradition and history. It is active within the Center City Jewish community and its kitchen is under

1036-523: Is now the Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies , and the graduate division is the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education. In 1915, Schechter was succeeded by Cyrus Adler , the President of Dropsie College . A member of the board with impressive academic qualifications, he was initially seen as an interim replacement for Schechter. Adler went on to serve as President until 1940. During

1110-477: Is the primary educational and religious center of Conservative Judaism. The single largest physical addition to JTS came in the form of seventeen-foot wrought iron gates. The beautifully constructed gates led to the main entrance through a large vaulted passageway to the entire group of buildings. In a 1930s guidebook, it is written about the Seminary, "Be sure to notice the main gate to the seminary as you go in. It

1184-595: The Torah ; to promote observance of Shabbat and Jewish dietary laws ; to preserve Israel's past and promote its restoration ; to maintain traditional Jewish prayer in Hebrew ; to promote traditional Judaism in the home; and to encourage the establishment of Jewish religious schools whose instruction includes the study of the Hebrew language and its literature as a bond that unites Jewish people worldwide. The name of

1258-553: The 1920s, Adler explored the possibility of a merger with Yeshiva University , but the Orthodox leaders of Yeshiva University viewed JTS as insufficiently Orthodox. New faculty appointed during the early part of Adler's tenure included the Biblical scholar Jacob Hoschander . In the 1920s, Boaz Cohen and Louis Finkelstein , both of whom were ordained at JTS and completed their doctoral degrees at Columbia University , joined

1332-454: The 1970s included Susannah Heschel , daughter of JTS faculty member Abraham Joshua Heschel . There was a special commission appointed by the chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America ( Gerson D. Cohen ) to study the issue of ordaining women as rabbis, which met between 1977 and 1978, and consisted of 11 men and three women; the women were Marian Siner Gordon, an attorney, Rivkah Harris, an Assyriologist , and Francine Klagsbrun ,

1406-535: The 2017 annual world conference of the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies. Mikveh Israel and Christ Church have a long-standing relationship dating from the founding of the synagogue to the present day. The present location of Mikveh Israel places the two congregations as close neighbors. Christ Church was supportive of Mikveh Israel's first plan to construct a building in the 18th-century. When Mikveh Israel's synagogue burned in 1872, Christ Church contributed funds to

1480-580: The Christ Church burial ground. Later that year the synagogue had selected the site behind the burial ground, north of Market Street and south of Arch Street. Dr. Bernard J. Alpers, vice-president of the synagogue, persuaded his friend the Philadelphia architect Louis Kahn to plan the new synagogue building. Kahn produced ten designs for the building between 1961 and 1972. The Congregation decided that construction and maintenance costs would be too high and did not build Kahn's designs. The new building

1554-511: The Graduate School of the Jewish Theological Seminary. When Finkelstein took office, prominent faculty members included Louis Ginzberg , Alexander Marx , Mordecai Kaplan , H.L. Ginsberg , Robert Gordis , and Boaz Cohen . In 1940, Finkelstein made his most significant academic appointment, hiring the prominent Talmud scholar Saul Lieberman as Professor of Palestinian Literature and Institutions. In 1948, Lieberman became dean of

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1628-545: The H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music.) This was at roughly the same time that the other established American Jewish seminaries, Hebrew Union College and Yeshiva University , opened cantorial schools. Prior to this time, American cantors were often trained in Europe. In 1950, Finkelstein created the Universal Brotherhood program, which "brought together laymen interested in interpreting

1702-546: The Hebrew school, was president of Gratz College , and taught at Dropsie College . Rabbi Ezekiel Musleah (1927-2020) joined Mikveh Israel as minister in 1964 and served in this role until 1979. Dropsie College remained at the Broad and York complex following Mikveh Israel's departure. A 1981 fire damaged part of Dropsie College's building and the school eventually relocated to Temple Adath Israel in Merion in 1984. The complex

1776-458: The Humanities with the Graduate School of the Jewish Theological Seminary, which brought together JTS's non-theological academic training programs. Cohen appointed historian Ismar Schorsch as the first dean of the Graduate School. Beginning in the 1970s, the topic of women's ordination was regularly discussed at JTS. Women who unsuccessfully sought admission to the rabbinical school during

1850-693: The Jewish Philosophy department and became head of JTS's Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies. The number of advanced programs in the Graduate School grew over the course of Schorsch's tenure. The Graduate School came to describe itself as being "the most extensive academic program in advanced Judaica in North America." Gordon Tucker 's tenure as dean of the Rabbinical School ended in 1992. His predecessor, Joel Roth , again became dean, serving in 1992–1993. Roth

1924-532: The Jewish Theological Seminary in 1940. During his chancellorship, JTS made significant efforts to engage the American public. One of its signature programs was a radio and television show called The Eternal Light . The show aired on Sunday afternoons, featuring well-known Jewish personalities like Chaim Potok and Elie Wiesel . Broadcasts did not involve preaching or prayer, but drew on history, literature and social issues to explore Judaism and Jewish holidays in

1998-784: The Rabbinical School. In 1958, he was named rector of the Seminary. In 1945, Finkelstein hired the theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel , who had been teaching for a brief period at Hebrew Union College . During the course of his chancellorship, Finkelstein also gave academic appointments to other prominent scholars including Moshe Davis (1942), Shalom Spiegel (1943), Yochanan Muffs (1954), Max Kadushin (1960), Gerson Cohen , David Weiss Halivni , Judah Goldin , Chaim Dimitrovsky , and Seymour Siegel . Finkelstein appointed Max Arzt to serve as Vice-Chancellor of JTS in 1951, and he appointed Arzt as Israel Goldstein Professor of Practical Theology in 1962. The Jewish Theological Seminary, JTS,

2072-669: The Reform movement published the Pittsburgh Platform in late 1885, Morais recognized the futility of his efforts and began to work with like-minded rabbis to strengthen the Orthodox institutions. One of the tools his group used was the creation of a new rabbinical school in New York City . The "Jewish Theological Seminary Association" was founded with Morais as its President in 1886 as an Orthodox institution to combat

2146-478: The Reform movement was growing at a rapid pace, alarming more traditional ( halakhic ) Jews. Sabato Morais , rabbi of Philadelphia's Mikveh Israel , championed the reaction to American Reform . At one time Morais had been a voice for moderation and bridge-building within the Reformers. He had opposed the more radical changes, but was open to moderate changes that would not break with significant traditional. After

2220-629: The Schocken Institute for Jewish Research and its library in Jerusalem. In 1968, JTS received a charter from the State of New York to create an Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, which conferred bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. The Institute was designed as a non-sectarian academic institute which would train future college and university professors. Its first students enrolled in 1970. The Institute later evolved into

2294-475: The Talmud Department and José Faur . Both of these scholars resigned when the JTS faculty voted to ordain women as rabbis and as cantors in 1983. Yochanan Muffs , who had joined the JTS faculty in 1954, was a prominent professor of Bible . Max Kadushin , who had joined the JTS faculty in 1960, taught ethics and rabbinic thought until his death in 1980. In 1972, Cohen appointed Avraham Holtz as

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2368-634: The Talmud faculty. In the 1930s, Adler appointed H.L. Ginsberg , Robert Gordis , and Alexander Sperber as professors of Bible. He also gave appointments to Israel Efros , Simon Greenberg , Milton Steinberg , and Ismar Elbogen . During his tenure, Adler groomed Louis Finkelstein as his chosen successor. In 1931, he appointed Finkelstein to a full professorship. Finkelstein became the Solomon Schechter Professor of Theology. In 1937 Adler appointed Finkelstein as Provost. In 1930

2442-512: The United States. Cohen served until his death in 1817. Abraham Israel Keys (1780-1828) served as minister from 1824 to 1828. The congregation laid the cornerstone for its second building on September 26, 1822 at the same Cherry Street location. William Strickland designed the Egyptian Revival synagogue, the first of its kind in the United States. A contemporary account reads that "the galleries are semi-circular, extending around

2516-480: The academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies. The Jewish Theological Seminary Library is one of the most significant collections of Judaica in the world. Rabbi Zecharias Frankel (1801–1875) was a leading figure in mid-19th-century German Jewry. Known for both his traditionalist views and the esteem he held for scientific study of Judaism, Frankel

2590-671: The cemetery and continues to administer it in the present day. Mikveh Israel was a center of Jewish education in America during this time. The first U.S. Jewish teachers' college, Gratz College , established under the provisions of the will of Hyman Gratz (1776-1857), began in 1897. Mikveh Israel members started Dropsie College , the first post-graduate institution for Jewish learning in the world in 1907, bringing Cyrus Adler to Philadelphia. Leon Haim Elmaleh (1873–1972) came to Mikveh Israel as religious leader in 1898 and served until 1929 when he became Reverend Emeritus until his death. Elmaleh

2664-838: The clergy adjoining it. At the dedication, Seixas invoked heaven's blessing upon "the members of these states in Congress assembled and on His Excellency George Washington, commander general of these Colonies." Manuel Josephson (1729–1796) had also come to Mikveh Israel from New York in 1776. Josephson petitioned the synagogue board to build a mikveh in 1784 and by 1786 it was open under Johnson's organization. Seixas returned to New York in 1784 and Mikveh Israel invited his replacement at Shearith Israel, Jacob Raphael Cohen (1738-1811) to Philadelphia in Seixas' place. Cohen served at Mikveh Israel from 1784 until his death in September 1811. Cohen

2738-597: The construction of the new building. The congregations have a long-standing custom of sharing a fellowship-dinner once a year which alternates between the buildings of the two congregations. Mikveh Israel is the site of the US memorial for Israel's Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu who was killed in the 1976 Operation Entebbe which rescued 102 of 108 hostages. Netanyahu had attended the Philadelphia area Cheltenham High School with brother Benjamin Netanyahu . Mikveh Israel

2812-592: The creation of the United Synagogue of America , as a formal group for member synagogues who subscribed to his philosophy. The group was strongly aligned with JTS from its creation to the present day. Along with Schechter and Bernard Drachman , professors at the seminary at the time included: Louis Ginzberg , professor of Talmud; Alexander Marx , professor of history and rabbinical literature and librarian ; Israel Friedländer , professor of Bible ; Joseph Mayor Asher , professor of homiletics; and Joshua A. Joffe, instructor in Talmud. In 1905, Israel Davidson joined

2886-688: The dean of academic development. Neil Gillman served as Dean of the JTS Rabbinical School for much of the Cohen chancellorship. Morton Leifman served as Dean of the Cantors Institute. Cohen oversaw the appointment of Judith Hauptman as the first female professor of Talmud at JTS. Hauptman began teaching at JTS in 1973. Joel Roth , who had begun teaching at JTS in 1968, was appointed Associate Professor of Talmud upon completing his Ph.D. at JTS in 1973. Roth went on to serve as

2960-472: The dean of the Rabbinical School from 1981 to 1984. He was succeeded by Gordon Tucker , who became dean of the Rabbinical School in 1984. In June 1973, the Seminary's Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities was granted permission to grant Ph.D. degrees in Jewish History , Bible , Talmud , Jewish philosophy , and Hebrew . In 1975, the Seminary replaced the Institute for Advanced Studies in

3034-629: The director of a new rabbinical school, the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau . Rabbi Bernard Drachman , a key Frankel student and one of the founders of the American JTS, was himself Orthodox, and claimed that the Breslau seminary was completely Orthodox. Others disagree, citing the published viewpoint of Frankel. In his magnum opus Darkhei HaMishnah ( Ways of the Mishnah ), Frankel amassed scholarly support which showed that Jewish law

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3108-494: The entire Jewish community of Philadelphia. Levy was buried there upon his death in 1753. This burial ground became the Mikveh Israel Cemetery . Jews in Philadelphia in the 1740s and 1750s organized themselves informally for services. In 1761 they acquired a Torah scroll and met in a private residence on Sterling Alley, then between Cherry and Race Streets and Third and Fourth Streets. The congregation moved to

3182-483: The ethical dimensions of Judaism to the wider society." JTS expanded its public outreach in the 1950s with Finkelstein's development of JTS's Institute for Religious Studies and the establishment of its Herbert H. Lehman Institute of Ethics. During the Finkelstein era, the Institute for Religious and Social Studies brought together Protestant, Roman Catholic and Jewish scholars for theological discussions. (In 1986,

3256-506: The faculty, teaching Hebrew and Rabbinics . According to David Ellenson and Lee Bycel, "each of these men was a distinguished scholar, and the academic reputation of the Seminary soared with the addition of these men to the faculty. ... Schechter was determined to carve out the highest academic reputation for the Seminary." The rabbinical school had very high academic standards. The curriculum focused especially on Talmud , legal codes , and classical rabbinic literature , but aside from

3330-400: The first principal of the Teachers Institute (TI), which opened in 1909. A majority of TI students were women, both because teaching was seen as a women's profession and because the Teachers Institute was one of the only institutions where women could obtain an advanced education in Jewish studies. The Teachers Institute offered both undergraduate and graduate degrees. The undergraduate division

3404-476: The hegemony of the Reform movement. The school was hosted by Rabbi Henry Pereira Mendes ' Congregation Shearith Israel , a sister synagogue to Mikveh Israel. Morais and Mendes were soon joined by Alexander Kohut and Bernard Drachman , both of whom had received semicha (rabbinic ordination) at Rabbi Frankel's Breslau seminary. They shaped the curriculum and philosophy of the new school after Rabbi Frankel's seminary. The first graduate to be ordained, in 1894,

3478-543: The kosher supervision of the Community Kashrus of Greater Philadelphia The Keystone K. Rabbi Albert Gabbai has led the congregation since 1988. Rabbi Yosef Zarnighian has served as Assistant Rabbi since September 2021. Nathan Levy was a Jewish merchant in Philadelphia when one of his children died in 1738. Desiring a dedicated place for burial, he applied to John Penn , Pennsylvania's colonial proprietor, for "a small piece of ground" with permission to make it

3552-663: The name of the institute was changed to the Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies in Finkelstein's honor.) In 1957, JTS announced plans to build a satellite campus in Jerusalem for JTS rabbinical students studying in Israel. A building was completed in 1962. (The campus eventually evolved into the home of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies .) In 1962, the seminary also acquired

3626-619: The nascent movement of Conservative Judaism . Many of the Orthodox rabbis associated with JTS vehemently disagreed with him, and left the institution. About 100 days after Schechter's appointment, the Agudath Harabbonim formed, principally in protest, and declared that they would not accept any new ordinations from JTS, though previous recipients were still welcome. The more moderate Orthodox Union (OU), however, maintained some ties to JTS, and some of its rabbis, including Drachman, continued to teach there. In 1913, Schechter directed

3700-564: The north and south of the building, and are supported by the columns which extend to the dome." The new building was dedicated on January 21, 1825. In 1829, Isaac Leeser (1806–1868) became the synagogue's leader and held that position until 1850. Leeser was one of a small number of rabbis who defended orthodox practices against the growth of Reform Judaism in the mid-nineteenth century United States. Mikveh Israel established its second cemetery in 1849 in South Philadelphia in what

3774-539: The organization commissioned a new headquarters for 122nd Street and Broadway in a neo-colonial style, with a tower at the corner. The architects were Gehron, Ross and Alley. In 1931, the Seminary College of Jewish Studies was established for students who wanted college-level courses in Jewish studies but who were not preparing for teaching careers. This branch is now part of the Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies . Louis Finkelstein became chancellor of

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3848-404: The organization was changed to the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism in 1991. United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism has 572 affiliated congregations as of 2017. USCJ sponsors the following programs: Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary ( JTS ) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City , New York . It is one of

3922-595: The perpetuation of the tenets of the Jewish religion , the cultivation of Hebrew literature , the pursuit of Biblical and archeological research, the advancement of Jewish scholarship, the establishment of a library , and the education and training of Jewish rabbis and teachers. It is empowered to grant and confer the degrees of Rabbi , Ḥazan , Master and Doctor of Hebrew Literature, and Doctor of Divinity , and also to award certificates of proficiency to persons qualified to teach in Hebrew schools ." The reorganized seminary

3996-584: The synagogue's Hebrew school program, was a principal founder of the Jewish Exponent newspaper in 1887, and served as acting minister of the congregation from his father's death in 1897 through 1898. Kahal Kadosh Beth El Emeth had been founded in 1857 as a pulpit for Rev. Leeser following Leeser's departure from Mikveh Israel. Beth-El-Emeth dedicated a cemetery at 55th and Market Streets in 1857. Beth El Emeth dissolved in 1897 and many of its members joined Mikveh Israel. Mikveh Israel took possession of

4070-629: The war. Gershom Mendes Seixas (1745-1816) was minister of Congregation Shearith Israel in Manhattan when the British occupied New York City during the Revolutionary War in 1776. Seixas closed the synagogue and left the city rather than align with the British. He moved first to Connecticut and then to Philadelphia where he led Mikveh Israel. Mikveh Israel built its first synagogue in 1782 at Third and Cherry Streets. Its initial location

4144-450: The years after World War II. The planned redevelopment of the blocks near Independence Hall and the congregation's original locations encouraged Mikveh Israel to return to the city's historic area. Members had pledged $ 250,000 by spring 1961 and Christ Church donated $ 1,000 to the building fund to support and welcome the synagogue's return. Mikveh Israel initially considered locations at 8th and Spruce Streets, 5th and Locust Streets, and near

4218-536: Was Joseph Hertz , who would go on to become the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth . Morais served as the president of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America until his death in 1897. After Morais's death, Mendes led the school, but the financial position of the association became precarious, and Mendes did not have the resources to turn it around. In October 1901, a new organization

4292-619: Was a founder of the Philadelphia Board of Rabbis and the Levantine Jews Society of Philadelphia. Pilcher and Tachau designed the fourth building which Mikveh Israel constructed in 1909 at Broad and York Streets. The block until 1894 had been the site of Forepaugh Park where Adam Forepaugh presented circuses and spectacles, and where the Philadelphia Athletics played in 1890 and 1891. It

4366-546: Was at first considered a moderate figure within the nascent Reform movement . He severely criticized the 1844 first Reform rabbinic conference of Braunschweig , yet eventually agreed to participate in the next, in spite of warnings from conservative friends such as Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport . He withdrew from the assembly, held in Frankfurt am Main in 1845, making a final break with the Reform camp after coming to regard their positions as excessively radical. In 1854 he became

4440-602: Was developed in the late 1890s with residential homes, and Mikveh Israel and Dropsie College built their complex in the late 1900s following the Jewish population up North Broad Street . During WWI, the Mikveh Israel Association applied for a Red Cross Auxiliary in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter in May 1917. Leading women of the congregation established a work room in the adjoining Gratz College building where one day

4514-606: Was drawn up by Moshe Davis and Sylvia Ettenberg of the JTS Teachers' Institute. In 1945, JTS established a new institution, the Leadership Training Fellowship, designed to educate young people within Conservative synagogues and guide them into Jewish public service. In 1952, the Jewish Theological Seminary opened a new school known as the Cantors Institute. (The school was later renamed

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4588-630: Was educated at Yeshiva University in New York and the Shehebar Sephardic Center in Jerusalem. Charles Garson of Gibraltar served as Hazzan from 2010 through 2014, and returns periodically for Jewish festivals and holidays. Mikveh Israel is an active synagogue with 200 families and is a member of the Center City Kehilla and regularly hosts Sephardic heritage cultural and educational events. The synagogue hosted

4662-727: Was established through an endowment by William Davidson of Detroit in 1994. Michael Greenbaum served as Vice Chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary. Prominent faculty in the Talmud and Rabbinics department during Schorsch's chancellorship included Joel Roth , Mayer Rabinowitz , David C. Kraemer and Judith Hauptman . Hauptman was the first woman appointed to teach Talmud at JTS. The Bible department included David Marcus and Stephen A. Geller . The Jewish literature Department included David G. Roskies . The Jewish history department included Jack Wertheimer and Shuly Rubin Schwartz . The Jewish Philosophy department included Neil Gillman and Shaul Magid . In 2004, Alan Mittleman joined

4736-468: Was founded in 1886 through the efforts of two distinguished rabbis, Sabato Morais and Henry Pereira Mendes , along with a group of prominent lay leaders from Sephardic congregations in Philadelphia and New York. Its mission was to preserve the knowledge and practice of historical Judaism. In 1887, JTS held its first class of ten students in the vestry of the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue, New York City's oldest congregation. About this time in North America,

4810-607: Was instead designed by the architectural firm Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson on a more modest scale, and shared with the nascent National Museum of American Jewish History . The fifth building was dedicated and opened on July 4, 1976 Rabbi Joshua Toledano (1944–2013) came to Mikveh Israel as minister in the early 1980s, and served until 1988 when he left to start the Mekor Baruch Center in Lower Merion. Rabbi Allan Lazaroff began to serve as minister in September 1989. Rabbi Albert E. Gabbai has served as congregation minister since 1988; Rabbi Gabbai grew up in Cairo and

4884-502: Was moved after protest that its proposed site next to a church would offend the Dutch Reform Protestant congregants. Prominent Philadelphians including Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris contributed to its building fund along with local merchant and synagogue member Ephraim Hart who would later organize the Board of Stock-Brokers . In September 1782, the congregation dedicated the new building on Cherry Street near Third Street. The building seated 200 persons and had accommodations for

4958-400: Was not static, but rather had always developed in response to changing conditions. He called his approach towards Judaism "Positive-Historical", which meant that one should accept Jewish law and tradition as normative, yet one must be open to changing and developing the law in the same historical fashion in which Judaism has always historically developed. The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS)

5032-404: Was opened on Sept. 15, 1902, in the old building of the Theological Seminary Association at 736 Lexington Avenue. A search was executed for a new president. Solomon Schechter was recruited from Great Britain. His religious approach seemed compatible with JTS's, and he assumed the presidency, as well as serving as Professor of Jewish theology. In a series of papers he articulated an ideology for

5106-410: Was projected entitled the "Jewish Theological Seminary of America", with which the association was invited to incorporate. This arrangement was carried into effect April 14, 1902. The new organization was endowed with a fund of over $ 500,000, and was presented with a suitable building on University Heights by Jacob H. Schiff. It obtained a charter from the state of New York (approved Feb. 20, 1902), "for

5180-426: Was replaced in 1814 by Emanuel Nunes Carvalho (1771-1817) who had emigrated from Britain to Barbados to Charleston, South Carolina before being called to Mikveh Israel. Carvalho published A Key to the Hebrew Tongue (Philadelphia, 1815) and his A Sermon, preached on Sunday, July 7, 1816, on Occasion of the Death of the Rev. Mr. Gershom Mendes Seixas (Philadelphia, 1816) became the first Jewish sermon printed in

5254-472: Was selected as the site of the United States memorial, constructed of granite and marble. Benjamin Netanyahu attended the 1986 dedication of the memorial as Deputy Ambassador to the United States and visited again in 2016 to mark the fortieth anniversary of his brother's death. The National Museum of American Jewish History moved to its own building on the southeast corner of 5th and Market Streets on November 15, 2010. Uriah P. Levy (1792–1862), who would be

5328-532: Was sold to a church, which did little to rehabilitate the fire-damaged building. The organization Food for Life purchased the complex in November 1992 for $ 275,000 from the church. The 2321 N Broad Street building was sold for $ 825,000 in 2015, and was open to the public as a retail clothing store in 2017. The creation of Independence National Historical Park was authorized in 1948 and established in 1956. The Jewish population along N Broad Street contracted in

5402-595: Was succeeded by William Lebeau , who served as dean from 1993–1999. Lebeau was succeeded by Alan Kensky, and then Lebeau became dean of the Rabbinical School again in June 2002. In 1998, Henry Rosenblum was appointed Dean of the H.L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1998, becoming the first Hazzan to hold that position. Rosenblum remained in this position until 2010. Mikveh Israel (Philadelphia) Congregation Mikveh Israel ( Hebrew : קהל קדוש מקוה ישראל , lit.   'Holy Community Hope of Israel'),

5476-547: Was then outside the city's southern limits. The second Mikveh Israel Cemetery (11th and Federal) is located at 1114 Federal Street and now known as the Federal Street Burial Grounds and Mikveh Israel Cemetery #2. A Pennsylvania Historic marker was added in March 2009. Sabato Morais (1823–1897) succeeded Leeser as Mikveh Israel's minister in 1851. The Cherry Street synagogue was replaced in 1860 by

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