A forced marriage
for synagogue

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

Weddings are supposed to be happy occasions.
Accordingly, members of Adath Zion of Burholme very much feel a sense of renewal in their union with Ner Zedek-Ezrath Israel-B’Nai Israel of Rhawnhurst.
Yet, that new beginning is also tinged with sadness and perhaps a bit of regret, too. Aging membership and declining participation forced the merger in which 113-year-old Adath Zion will leave its synagogue and its name behind.
Many of the most active members, those who for years have staffed the old office at 7101 Pennway St., know in their hearts that the decline of Adath Zion is symptomatic of a much broader dynamic affecting the once-mighty Jewish community in the southern part of Northeast Philly.
The men and women who created the neighborhoods and their synagogues in the 1950s and ’60s are dwindling. Their children have grown and resettled elsewhere — many in the Far Northeast, many others beyond. There aren’t nearly enough new Jewish residents in the old neighborhoods to keep the congregations viable.
Yet, for those who have spent most of their lives in and around the local synagogue, leaving can seem like the end of a way of life.
"By all rights, it was probably long overdue in some ways and we were holding on because of those emotional ties," said Neil Schmerling, president of Adath Zion, which held its final Shabbat services on June 28 and will shut down its office by month’s end.
"We were faced with an aging membership. And because of the neighborhood changing, we were not getting any new members to help perpetuate the synagogue."
Members described Adath Zion as the last traditional congregation in the area. Members worshiped as Orthodox but permitted inter-gender seating at services. In that respect, the congregation found itself in a no-man’s land.
"We were classified as a traditional congregation, and the landscape doesn’t support that anymore," Schmerling said. "There’s a polarization going on (among Jews) to egalitarian or Orthodox."
Ner Zedek is egalitarian, following a more liberal set of rules, particularly equal participation among men and women.
Though women could join men for services at Adath Zion, only the males counted toward a "minyan," a quorum of 10 needed to conduct formal services. In the 1950s and ’60s, after the congregation moved to Burholme from Frankford, meeting the minimum participation was never an issue.
The congregation included 400 to 500 families, more than 1,000 people all told. There were daily services in the morning and afternoon. Almost a decade ago, afternoon services stopped because of a lack of participation. Three or four years ago, the morning services faded away too.
With a most recent membership of 140 people, about 25 or 30 attended Shabbat services. Half were women, who could not be counted toward minyan.
Longtime members fondly recall a different experience at Adath Zion.
"We became regarded as very family-oriented," Allan Gellert said.
In Yiddish, the quality is known as "heimish."
"My life really centered around the synagogue and my family. Most members called it their family," said Eleanor Kalish, who was president of the congregation’s sisterhood organization.
Rose Roseblum helped create a thriving social program at the synagogue.
"When I first joined here, we decided to have a Brownie group and then they went into Girl Scouts," said Roseblum, who was one of the neighborhood’s first residents in 1957. "The rabbi said to me, ‘What you’re missing here is your bed, because you’re always here."
Adath Zion was active in social causes, as well, such as advocacy for imprisoned Jews in Russia. The synagogue also hosted controversial Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the Jewish Defense League, two weeks before his 1990 assassination by an Egyptian militant in New York.
"Adath Zion became known as one of the most socially conscious synagogues," said Gellert, a member since 1980.
Through much of its time on Pennway Street, the congregation had a thriving Hebrew school, too. Eventually, interest waned. They began to lease classroom space to charter schools. Global Leadership Academy has a year left on its current lease, Schmerling said. The future of the building beyond that is unknown.
Members should view the closing of the synagogue with a practical eye, Kalish believes.
"I originally grew up in Beth Israel in Strawberry Mansion. They had the same situation. That was in about 1955," she said. "It’s inevitable. It’s life."
Gellert, meanwhile, prefers to regard the merger as strength in numbers.
"It’s better to join forces (with Ner Zedek) and survive for more years," he said.
They have a welcoming partner in Ner Zedek. Some memorial plaques will be moved to the new synagogue, along with some artwork. Schmerling would like to see one particular artifact from Adath Zion, a chamber for keeping Torahs known as the Aron Kodesh, preserved in a museum. It dates to the 19th century and was used at the original location in Frankford.
"Everything is going to belong to Ner Zedek because it’s like a marriage," he said.
"We wanted to stay in the neighborhood and build a stronger unit for as long as we can. They’re really the only (synagogue) in this part of the Northeast." ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com