Vilna Congregation
September 25, 2015
Religion
AffiliationJewish
RiteNusach Sefard
LeadershipMenachem Schmidt
Year consecrated1915
StatusActive
Location
Location509 Pine Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
MunicipalityPhiladelphia
TerritoryGreater Philadelphia
Geographic coordinates39°56′38″N 75°09′03″W / 39.94390°N 75.15074°W / 39.94390; -75.15074
Architecture
StylePhiladelphia Rowhouse
Specifications
Direction of façadeSouth
Capacity75

The Vilna Congregation (בית הכנסת אנשי ווילנה) was a synagogue located in the Society Hill section of Center City, Philadelphia. The synagogue was home to an active congregation with Shabbat and holy day services, was affiliated with Lubavitch of Center City,[1] and is now the location of an orthodox women's mikvah run by the Lubavitch Hasidic community.[2] Menachem Schmidt was the rabbi of the synagogue,[3] and continues to oversee the property and its operations.

History

The Vilna Congregation began in 1904 as a Landsleit shul for Lithuanian Jewish immigrants in Philadelphia.[4] The congregation held services in rented rooms until 1915, when the building on 509 Pine Street was purchased by the Shapiro family. The building was registered as a synagogue on February 1, 1922.[5] Prior to its purchase by the Shapiro family in 1915, the building was the residence of Julius Taussig.[6] The Shapiro family was in the hardware business in the 1920s, at which time the women members organized the Sara Shapiro Sisterhood.[7] The stone above the front doorway reads, "בית הכנסת בני אברהם אבא ב'ר יהודה שאפירא ואנשי ווילנה נוסדה בשנת תרס׳", (translated as The Avraham Aba Bar Shapira and Men of Vilna Synagogue established in the year 5665).

Joseph Hillel Snapir (1884—1971) served as synagogue rabbi in the 1950s and 1960s.[8] The congregation welcomed the memorial plaques from B'nai Reuben Anshe Sfard when the congregation closed in 1956.

The synagogue held its own daily services until 1974 at which time it decided to hold only Shabbat services.[9]

Current Activity

By the late 1980s, the Vilna Congregation's membership continued to contract and they struggled to gather a minyan by the mid-1980s.[10]

Menachem Schmidt became rabbi of the shul in 1989, reviving it as a community shul where he led services, hosted meals, and taught. The synagogue conducted services every Friday night for both the Vilna congregation and Congregation B'nai Abraham until 2018. On Shabbos mornings and holy days, the Vilna shul held a “late morning” minyan with a festive kiddish following services in the building's second floor community space.

The building is the proposed site of a Center City mikvah, Mai Shalva. Community members including congregation rabbi Menachem Schmidt organized a group in 2013 called the Center City Community Mikvah, selected a site, commissioned architectural plans and began to raise funds.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Lubavitch of Center City". chabad.org. Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  2. ↑ "Mai Shalva - Center City Community Mikvah". philamikvah.org. Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  3. ↑ Thompson, Andrew (August 28, 2009). "Too Cool For Shul". City Paper. Philadelphia. Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  4. ↑ Meyers, Allen (1998). The Jewish Community of South Philadelphia. Arcadia Publishing. p. 122. ISBN 073854955X.
  5. ↑ "509 PINE ST ACCOUNT # 771148000". City of Philadelphia.
  6. ↑ Philadelphia Section of the American Chemical Society. Catalyst, Volumes 1-2. 1916. p. 19.
  7. ↑ "Communities". Mai Shalva - Center City Community Mikvah. Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  8. ↑ Boonin, Harry Davidow (1999). The Jewish Quarter of Philadelphia: A History and Guide, 1881-1930. Jewish Walking Tours of Philadelphia. ISBN 096698840X.
  9. ↑ Dubin, Murray (December 8, 1974). "Orthodox Jews Fade Away in Society Hill". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia. pp. 1B, 10B.
  10. ↑ Amparano Lopez, Julie (September 14, 1991). "The interest is booming you don't have to look under a rock to find resurgence in faith". Daily News. Philadelphia. p. 11.
  11. ↑ Schwartzman, Bryan (October 16, 2013). "Effort to Build a Mikvah in Center City Picks Up Steam". Jewish Exponent. Philadelphia. Retrieved 2015-09-20.
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