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52-580: The congregation moved to its current building at 44 North Fourth Street in 1976. The synagogue 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

104-527: A UNESCO World Heritage Site , Old City includes hundreds of important examples of Georgian and Federal public buildings, churches, a historic boutique hotel ( Independence Park Hotel ) and houses; Greek Revival and Italianate banks and exchanges ; and cast iron warehouses and was as the Old City Historic District added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. In 2003,

156-517: 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 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 ,

208-637: 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

260-524: 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 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

312-563: 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

364-469: 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

416-520: Is active within the Center City Jewish community and its kitchen is under 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

468-701: Is home to Independence National Historical Park , a dense section of historic landmarks including Independence Hall , the Liberty Bell , the First Bank of the United States , the Second Bank of the United States , and Carpenters' Hall . It also includes historic streets such as Elfreth's Alley , dating back to 1703. Old City is also home to several hotels, with the Independence Park Hotel on Chestnut Street

520-541: Is home to galleries, boutiques, and other locally owned businesses. There are three independent movie theaters in the neighborhood, two operated by the Philadelphia Film Society and one by Landmark Theatres . During the popular monthly First Friday event, art galleries, studios and shops hold evening-hours open houses featuring art, design, and fashion. Since 2010, tech firms have moved to the area as well. The Federal Bureau of Prisons Northeast Region Office

572-659: Is in the U.S. Custom House, a part of the Independence National Historical Park , in Old City, directly across the street from the historic Independence Park Hotel, a favorite hotel for Government travelers. Many foreign governments have consulates that use the Independence Park Hotel located in Old City, including Panama (124 Chestnut Street), Italy (1026 Public Ledger Building at 150 South Independence Mall West), and Mexico (111 South Independence Mall East). The Dominican Republic closed its consulate in

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624-533: The War of 1812 as well as aid to those suffering from those hostilities. Gershom Mendes Seixas died on July 2, 1816, and was buried in his congregation's first cemetery, then in the Bowery, now Chinatown. A memorial sermon delivered by Emanuel Nunes Carvalho of Congregation Mikveh Israel and printed in Philadelphia became the first Jewish sermon published in the United States. Congregation Shearith Israel prominently displays

676-529: 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

728-570: 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

780-709: The Gratz family, and Haym Solomon who financed 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

832-585: 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

884-767: The Lafayette Building at 437 Chestnut Street on November 7, 2005. Old City children are assigned to schools in the School District of Philadelphia . Residents are zoned to the General George A. McCall School for grades Kindergarten through 8 . All persons assigned to McCall are assigned to Benjamin Franklin High School in North Philadelphia . Previously Old City was assigned to Furness High School . The Mastery Charter Schools system operates

936-589: The Mastery Charter Lenfest Campus (7-12) in Old City. It moved from North Philadelphia to Old City in 2002. St. Mary Interparochial Grade School is the designated grade school of St. Augustine Church , of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia . The Free Library of Philadelphia operates its Independence Branch at 18 South 7th Street. Gershom Mendes Seixas Gershom Mendes Seixas (January 15, 1745 – July 2, 1816)

988-685: The Non-Importation Agreement Act, one of a series of acts of resistance which led to the American Revolutionary War. His eldest brother, Moses Mendes Seixas (1744–1809), a merchant, helped organize the Bank of Rhode Island in 1796, became the president of the historic Touro Synagogue in Newport , Rhode Island , and led the congregation's welcome for President George Washington . His younger brother Abraham Mendes Seixas (1751–1799),

1040-588: The Old City area, defined as the area within Spring Garden Street, 4th Street, the Delaware River, and Walnut Street. The Old City Redevelopment Area is bounded by Vine Street, the Delaware River, Lombard Street and 7th Street. Along with the northern part of Society Hill , Old City is one of Philadelphia's oldest neighborhoods and part of the area where William Penn and the Quakers first settled. It hosted

1092-500: 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

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1144-536: The adoption of a religious test for prospective office holders. He characterized these as "unjust to the members of a persuasion that had always been attached to the American cause and given a support to the country, some in the Continental army, some in the militia, and some by cheerfully paying taxes and sustaining the popular cause." Mendes Seixas returned to New York on March 23, 1784, and resumed his former position at

1196-480: 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 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

1248-666: 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

1300-821: 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

1352-588: 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

1404-480: The development of Independence National Historical Park after 1943 and culminating with the United States Bicentennial in 1976. In the 1980s, the warehouse area north of Chestnut and especially Market Streets became popular for art galleries and artist's studios (the latter mostly displaced by gentrification in the 1990s) as well as bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. In addition to Independence Hall,

1456-548: The district was also added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places . Old City is one of Philadelphia's popular nightlife destinations, with the historic Independence Park Hotel, a 41 room European style boutique hotel at 235 Chestnut Street. Old City is also home to many lounges, dive bars , and quality restaurants, mostly along the three blocks from 3rd and Market streets to Front and Chestnut streets. The 3rd Street Corridor, between Market Street and Vine Street,

1508-596: The first Jewish Commodore in the United States Navy, grew up in Philadelphia and celebrated his bar mitzvah at Mikveh Israel in 1807. A statue of Levy was commissioned by two Jewish U.S. Navy captains and dedicated at the 44 N Fourth Street site in 2011. Old City, Philadelphia Old City is a neighborhood in Center City, Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, United States, near the Delaware River waterfront. It

1560-610: The first leaders of the Jewish community who had been born and educated in the United States. As the British fleet approached New York Bay in August, 1776, Seixas preached an emotional sermon in English, warning that that day's services might be the last held in the historic edifice. His Patriot loyalties provoked Shearith Israel to seal its entrance as the British approached, and Mendes Seixas left New York rather than remain under British rule. He rescued

1612-456: The governments of Pennsylvania and the United States of America for most of the period from 1776–1800, and was North America's most important financial center through the 1830s. As Philadelphia's central business district gradually moved west, it became a warehouse and light industrial district. Many historical sites were restored or reconstructed in the twentieth century, especially during

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1664-637: The governor of Pennsylvania, and Seixas invoked "the blessings of Almighty God on the Members of these States in Congress assembled and on his Excellency George Washington, Commander-General of these Colonies". While living in Philadelphia, Mendes Seixas zealously defended religious liberty. He and several members of his congregation addressed the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Council of Censors in December 1783, opposing

1716-628: The inauguration of President George Washington and helping found Columbia College (previously King's College), the oldest part of New York City's Columbia University . Gershom's father, Isaac Mendes Seixas (1709-1780), was a merchant born in Lisbon, Portugal , who first emigrated to Barbados before coming to the British colonies, living in New York City around 1730 and moving to Newport, Rhode Island, around 1765. He married Rachel Levy, who bore seven children, including Gershom. Isaac Mendes Seixas signed

1768-555: 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

1820-475: The only hotel listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Old City borders Northern Liberties to the north, Penn's Landing to the east, Society Hill to the south, and Chinatown and Market East to the west. The Old City special services district stretches from Front to Sixth Streets between Walnut and Vine. The Philadelphia Almanac and Citizens' Manual gives a larger set of boundaries to

1872-529: The reopened Shearith Israel. He was one of the first ministers to preach a regular Thanksgiving Day sermon. He was also among the fourteen clergymen honored to be chosen to participate in George Washington's 1789 inauguration ceremony as president of the United States. In 1787 Seixas became the first member of his faith to be elected a trustee of Columbia College , the oldest part of today's Columbia University in New York City and remained such until 1815. He

1924-476: The scrolls of the Law and other ceremonial items as he fled for Stratford, Connecticut , where several members of the congregation joined him. In 1780, patriots who had fled to Philadelphia wanted to establish the city's first permanent congregation and selected Mendes Seixas to officiate. He thus helped establish historic Congregation Mikveh Israel . Many important politicians attended the synagogue's dedication, including

1976-576: 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

2028-450: 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

2080-590: 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

2132-610: Was also one of the College's incorporators. In 1802, he helped found "Hebra Hased Ve Amet", charitable organization. He served on the Board of Regents of what became New York University and as a trustee of the Humane Society of New York. Mendes Seixas enjoyed the friendship of many religious leaders (although before the Revolutionary War, many held Tory sympathies) and frequently was asked to speak to Christian congregations. He later supported

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2184-399: Was among the first to discover efficient ways of burning anthracite coal . In 1766, Gershom Mendes Seixas became the leader of Shearith Israel, New York City's first and oldest Spanish and Portuguese Sephardi congregation, and remained its minister for about a half century. Although not ordained as a rabbi , Seixas served as hazzan and religious leader to the congregation and was among

2236-776: Was an officer in the Continental Army . Another brother, Benjamin Mendes Seixas (1748–1817), was one of the founders of the New York Stock Exchange . Seixas married Elchalah Cohen (1749–85) in 1775. After her death, he married Hannah Manuel in 1789. In all, he had fifteen children, of whom the most famous would be David Seixas , who established the Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb in Philadelphia , and

2288-578: 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

2340-653: 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

2392-765: 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

2444-500: 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

2496-426: 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

2548-470: 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

2600-474: 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

2652-405: Was the first native-born Jewish religious leader in the United States . He served as the hazzan of Congregation Shearith Israel , New York City 's first Spanish and Portuguese synagogue , for about five decades. The first American Jewish clergyman to deliver sermons in English , Mendes Seixas became known for his civic activities as well as his defense of religious liberty, participating in

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2704-409: 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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