The South Philadelphia Shtiebel () is a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

congregation,

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, and community center, located in the East Passyunk neighborhood of

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, in the United States. The congregation is led by Rabbanit Hadas "Dasi" Fruchter, and offers educational, community, and religious programming. Its prayers follow traditional Ashkenazi Modern Orthodox traditions, but it uniquely uses a "tri-chitzah," a mechitzah (the divider between the men's and women's sections) that has a third section for those who feel more comfortable sitting outside the gender-binary-defined two-section construction.

History

's Jewish community

flourished ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

between the 1880s and World War II. Between Third and Eighth Streets, and from Spruce Street south to Oregon Avenue, the Jewish community numbered 150,000 at its height in the 1940s. South Philadelphia was home to more than 150 "rowhouse Shuls" — small synagogues located in rowhouses where often the

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

lived upstairs, and prayer took place downstairs. Rabbanit Fruchter chose to call the synagogue a "Shtiebel" in homage to this history. The number of South Philadelphia shuls decreased in the late 1960s and early 1970s with changes in neighborhood demography. In 2019 there were approximately ten active synagogues in Society Hill and South Philadelphia, with only two south of

South Street South Street may refer to: Streets by that name * South Street (Durham), England * South Street, Mayfair, England *South Street (Manhattan), United States *South Street (Perth, Western Australia) * South Street (Perth, Scotland) *South Street (Ph ...

. In recent years, South Philadelphia neighborhoods have attracted new residents including a growing number of

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tr ...

Hadas "Dasi" Fruchter was ordained by the

Open Orthodox Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979 * ''Open'' (Got ...

-affiliated

Yeshivat Maharat Yeshivat Maharat is a Jewish educational institution in The Bronx, New York, which is the first Orthodox-affiliated yeshiva in North America to ordain women. The word ''Maharat'' () is a Hebrew acronym for phrase ''manhiga hilkhatit rukhanit Tora ...

in June 2016 upon completion of the Maharat Semikha Program. She served three years as assistant spiritual leader at

Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah (abbreviated as BSCTT) is a Modern Orthodox synagogue on Seven Locks Road in Potomac, Maryland, in the United States. The largest Orthodox synagogue in the Washington metropolitan area, it is led by Rab ...

Potomac, Maryland Potomac () is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 47,018. It is named a ...

. With initial funding and support from

Hillel International Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, alternatively Hillel International or simply Hillel, is the largest Jewish student organization in the world. Hillel brands itself as a safe space for Jewish students and events aimed at facilitati ...

's Office of Innovation, private donors, and Start-Up Shul, an Open Orthodox-affiliated organization that builds institutions, Fruchter announced her plans in July 2018 to move to Philadelphia and open her own synagogue that "will look like a typical

modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

congregation". Seeing the growing Jewish community in South Philadelphia and interest in additional local Jewish programming, Fruchter founded the South Philadelphia Shtiebel in 2019. The synagogue moved into a space at 1733 East Passyunk Avenue in March 2019, previously Philadelphia Scooters. The synagogue held its first prayer services on Friday night, July 19, 2019 with 80 in attendance. The synagogue was unable to hold indoor gatherings in its storefront following Purim in March 2020 and through the

COVID-19 pandemic in Philadelphia The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 10, 2020. According to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, there have been 189,971 confirmed infections and 4,103 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in the c ...

. Programming was offered online and limited services held in open outdoor spaces. In closing its Passyunk Avenue location, the synagogue announced its plans to move into a larger physical location when indoor activities proved safe to resume. The synagogue relocated in 2021 to a building on South Juniper Street in the same neighborhood and continued its community activities including hosting an annual public

Hanukkah Hanukkah (, ; ''Ḥănukkā'' ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd ce ...

lighting.

References

External links

*
Facebook/southphiladelphiashtiebel
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Philadelphia Shtiebel 2019 establishments in Pennsylvania 21st-century synagogues in the United States Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Philadelphia Ashkenazi synagogues in the United States Jewish organizations established in 2019 Jews and Judaism in Philadelphia Modern Orthodox Judaism in Pennsylvania Open Orthodox Judaism South Philadelphia Synagogues in Philadelphia Unaffiliated synagogues in Pennsylvania Modern Orthodox Zionism Zionism in the United States

History

See also

References

External links