What was the first Jewish congregation in Philadelphia?
It is believed that in the 1740s a small group of Jews began holding services in a house on Sterling Alley. Mikveh Israel was the first synagogue, and construction began in 1782. It was originally supposed to have been built on Sterling Alley, but protests from the Protestant community lead the Jewish leaders to build the synagogue on Cherry Alley (North of High Street) between Third and Fourth Streets. Today it is located between Arch and Market at Fourth Street. Source: Jewish Life in Philadelphia 1830-1940, 1983, p.291-292, Murray Friedman, 974.811 J556L, and The Mikveh Israel website.
