Rabbis’ Welcome
When we think about Mikveh Israel, two things come to mind: Tradition and Family. Tradition is expressed in the Minhag which we have maintained since our founding over 270 years ago. It calls for excellency in all that we do: the Hebrew pronunciation, the orderliness of the service, the formality, the precision, the decorum; in one word, the Gravidad of our service to God. The Spanish-Portuguese tradition insists that we continue this tradition. It is a tradition that has been refined for so many years and has now reached the optimum level that we currently follow. It does not contain anything superfluous or lack any of the obligations required by Jewish law.
The other aspect of Mikveh Israel is our Family. We are a family. As a family, we share in many events to reach out to all members of the congregation. Also, when an unfortunate event occurs such as sickness or death, many of our members will go out of their way to make a phone call, visit the sick or console the mourners. This same tradition applies to happy occasions such as weddings, Bar or Bat Mitzvah, birth, etc. As a family, many participate in morning services to make sure that if someone has to say the Kaddish, there will be a minyan. These things, by the way, are mutually beneficial. We share together in supporting each other during happy occasions as well as sad ones. KKMI is really unique. We can personally say that we love this uniqueness. This heritage could not exist without the support of our membership. It can only be kept alive with the active participation of every member of the Mikveh Israel family.
We welcome you to come and see the uniqueness of Mikveh Israel in person. Join us for a Shabbat, a daily minyan or just to see our exhibits. We look forward to meeting you!
Rabbi Yosef Zarnighian
Rabbi Emeritus Albert E. Gabbai
About our Synagogue
Congregation Mikveh Israel, "The Hope of Israel," was founded in 1740 and is an unparalleled American Jewish Institution. It has a two-fold tradition that is the synthesis of the Spanish-Portuguese Jewish ritual and the ongoing development of the American Jewish community.
Located in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at Fourth Street between Arch and Market, we are both an active synagogue and proud progeny of a distinguished heritage and tradition. Within these pages, we hope to offer you a picture of us and to encourage you to visit in person. This also provides a convenient medium for distributing information that our members and the community in the Philadelphia area and beyond may find of interest.