The Little Shul

The Little Shul is the last traditional synagogue that remains of one of the largest and oldest Jewish populations in the United States. There were over 150 row-house Shuls like it in the South Philadelphia neighborhoods. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, South Philadelphia became the destination for thousands of Eastern European Jews.

Congregation Shivtei Yeshuron Ezras Israel in South Philadelphia was founded in 1876 and chartered in 1892. The congregation moved into its current building in 1909 where it continues to hold services. The congregation survived by virtue of several mergers. In 1961, Shivtei Yeshuron combined with Mishkan Israel and Raim Ahuvim Anshe Kalker. Our Shul houses the memorial plaques dating back to the 1880’s.