Congregation Mikveh Israel, Mikveh Israel synagogue, officially called Kahal Kadosh Mikveh Israel (Hebrew: קהל קדוש מקוה ישראל, which translates as "Holy Community of the Hope of Israel) is a synagogue located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was founded in the 1740s. It is one of the Oldest synagogues in the United States. Currently home to a Sephardic community originally established by Spanish and Portuguese Jews, the congregation continues to practice according to the Spanish and Portuguese Sephardic rite.
The oldest formal Jewish congregation in Philadelphia, Mikveh Israel counted among its members prominent revolutionary patriots, such as Jonas Phillips, Haym Solomon and the illustrious Gratz family. The gracious Rebecca Gratz, who founded and managed philanthropic and educational institutions devoted to the needs of women and children, Jewish and Gentile, and who is reputed to be the model for Rebecca of York, heroine of Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott, was also a congregant.
Read more about Congregation Mikveh Israel: Early History, Leaders, Buildings, Relationship With Christ Church
Famous quotes containing the words congregation and/or israel:
“re-enact at the vestry-glass
Each pulpit gesture in deft dumb-show
That had moved the congregation so.”
—Thomas Hardy (1840–1928)
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—Bible: Hebrew, Deuteronomy 34:10.