Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel (Philadelphia)

rdf:langString Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel (Philadelphia)

rdf:langString Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel

rdf:langString Keneseth Israel

rdf:langString Elkins Park, Pennsylvania

rdf:langString Pennsylvania

rdf:langString Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel is the sixth oldest Reform Jewish synagogue in the United States. It began in Philadelphia in 1847, and was at a number of locations in the city before building a massive structure on North Broad Street in 1891. In 1900 KI, as the Congregation is known, was one of the largest Reform Congregations in the United States. It remained at the North Broad Street address until 1956 when the Congregation moved north of the city to suburban Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. KI stands out historically for a variety of reasons. It has had very few Senior Rabbis – only eight since the first one was hired in 1861 – and most have been prominent both in the Reform Jewish movement and in other areas of American culture. Its first ordained rabbi, David Einhorn (1809-1879), was the most prominent Jewish opponent of slavery when the Civil War began, and from that point on KI was known as the "Abolitionist Temple." Its third rabbi, Joseph Krauskopf (1858-1923), was the founder of what is today Delaware Valley University and was a friend of President Theodore Roosevelt. The fifth rabbi, Bertram Korn (1918-1979), was the author of the leading book on Jewish participation in the American Civil War, served as chaplain in the Naval Reserves, and was the first Jewish Chaplain to achieve the rank of a Flag officer in any of the armed forces, when he became a Rear Admiral in 1975. The sixth rabbi, Simeon Maslin (b. 1931), served as president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis from 1995 to 1997. The current rabbi, Dr. Lance Sussman (b. 1954), is a Ph.D. historian and the author of numerous books on American Jewish history. In addition to its prominent rabbis, KI has had numerous members who achieved great distinction in their careers and had a significant impact on U.S. history. Judge Arlin Adams (1921-2015), who was a president of the Congregation (1955–57), served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1969–87). Adams's fellow congregant, Edward R. Becker (1933-2006), was a U.S. District Judge (1970–81) before being elevated to the Third Circuit. (1981-2003). Jan E. DuBois (B. 1931), who served as president of KI (1985–87), was also a U.S. District Judge (1988-2002) for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and is currently on senior status. Horace Stern (1878-1969), who was also an officer of KI, was the first Jew to serve on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (1936-1956) and at the end of his judicial career, served as Chief Justice of Pennsylvania (1952–56). Other prominent members included Adam Gimbel who founded the Gimbels Department Stores, which was at one time the largest department store chain in the nation; Lessing Rosenwald (1891-1979), the president and chairman of the board of Sears and Roebuck who was also a leading philanthropist and a collector of art and rare books; William S. Paley (1901-1990), the founder of CBS; Simon Guggenheim (1867-1941), the industrialist and philanthropist; and Walter Hubert Annenberg (1908-2002), the publishing magnate, ambassador, and philanthropist. In 1934 Albert Einstein (1879-1955), the Nobel Prize winning physicist, accepted an honorary membership in Keneseth Israel.