Congregation Melrose B'nai Israel Emanu-El in Cheltenham has two signs out front. One says the 51-year-old building is up for sale. The other reads: "We're moving." The leadership wants to send the message: "We're not closing." At its annual meeting in May, the congregation that calls it-self "The Little Shul With a Big Heart" approved renting space at Reform Congregation...
When William Jaird Levitt first established Levittown, Pa., in the 1950s, he set aside land to house schools, churches and synagogues. More than five decades later, the only remaining Jewish house of worship in the planned community is poised to close its doors. Temple Shalom recently signed an agreement of sale with Easter Seals of Southeastern Pennsylvania, a nonprofit organization...
The visitor center at Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park is looking for a few volunteers with the right stuff. The Beth Sholom Preservation Foundation needs docents to lead groups on tours of the only synagogue designed by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In 2007, the structure, meant to evoke Mount Sinai, was named a National Historic Landmark. In 2009,...
After nearly two years of merger talks, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote and the Jenkintown-based Jewish Reconstructionist Federation have officially agreed to combine and form one organization. The final step in the process came at a Philadelphia meeting on Sunday. Delegates from the 105 congregations affiliated with the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation voted overwhelmingly in favor of the move. The...
Two Philadelphia-area Orthodox congregations are hoping to entice young, observant families to relocate from the New York metropolitan region and help grow their respective communities. Congregation Beth Hamedrosh in Wynnewood and Congregation Sons of Israel in Cherry Hill, N.J., each sent a delegation to the March 27 "Emerging Jewish Communities Home and Job Relocation Fair" at the Grand Hyatt hotel...
Sivan 13, 5773
