This small, stubborn Appalachian synagogue is defying the odds — and so is its new rabbi
In Charleston, West Virginia, a century-old congregation is betting that a 30-something rabbi with two little kids can keep its doors open for decades
Small Town
The Latest
-
Holy Ground -
Holy Ground He grew up Christian. Now he’s sleeping in the synagogue that sparked his conversion.
In a small Ohio town, a shuttered sanctuary sparked one man’s conversion — and a mission to preserve America’s overlooked Jewish past
-
Holy Ground This town lost most of its Jews. But not its Judaism.
A century-old Orthodox synagogue in a Rust Belt town lost most of its congregation, its rabbis, and almost everything else — but not its daily minyan
-
News An Alabama millionaire offered Jews $50,000 to move to his town. 16 years later, what’s left?
Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El synagogue made national headlines with a bold plan to revive Jewish life
-
Holy Ground A Jewish farmer drove 600 miles to rescue a century-old synagogue. Now he’s building a new one in a cornfield.
All four of Nik Jakobs’ grandparents survived the Nazis. Now this Jewish cattleman is honoring them — and a shuttered Rust Belt synagogue — by building a new sanctuary and museum in rural Illinois
-
Culture What do you do with a Jewish cemetery in a town without Jews?
Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, once had a thriving Jewish community. What happened when their dead were left in one woman’s care?
-
FIRST PERSON As a rabbi in a small town, I understand the Jewish class divide — and how to close it
Rural congregations have a fraction of the resources of their big-city cousins, writes the head of the Center for Small Town Jewish Life
-
News Synagogue for sale: What does coronavirus mean for this historic building?
For the last year, one of Dr. Michael Bukstein’s duties as synagogue president for B’nai Sholom Temple, the oldest synagogue in the state of Illinois, has been trying to sell its beautiful and unique building. Located in the small city of Quincy, the building is in a neo-Byzantine style of architecture, with detailed brickwork and…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Sports Forget being caught on camera at a Coldplay concert — he was caught on shabbos at Yankee Stadium
- 2
Fast Forward After Netanyahu and Cindy McCain meet, she calls out ‘desperation’ in Gaza, and he accuses her of ‘misrepresentation’
- 3
Opinion A Reichstag fire is blazing in Trump’s America and we know exactly who is fanning the flames
- 4
Fast Forward Minneapolis school shooting suspect had Tree of Life shooter’s name and antisemitic messages on his guns, videos show
In Case You Missed It
-
Sports Forget being caught on camera at a Coldplay concert — he was caught on shabbos at Yankee Stadium
-
Fast Forward Half of US voters believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, poll finds
-
Fast Forward A Colorado march for hostages was firebombed and is now relocating amid ongoing harassment by anti-Israel protesters
-
Fast Forward Marco Rubio says he’s blocking Palestinians from coming to UN meeting where statehood is on the table
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
