Congregation Brith Sholom History   1889-1940 1924 Groundbreaking In 1889, a group of families in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, joined together to build a synagogue and, in 1897, construction of Brith Sholom Talmud Tora was completed. By the 1920s, Bethlehem was home to nearly 200 Jewish families. A small group of visionary leaders then developed and carried out plans to build a new building that would house both the synagogue and a community center. Situated prominently at the corner of Brodhead and Packer Avenues, the Brith Sholom Community Center contained a 600-seat sanctuary, a social hall, a gymnasium, swimming pool, library, dining room, classrooms, chapel and lounges. The synagogue hired an ordained rabbi and a full-time director. The Community Center thrived until 1929, when the Great Depression ended years of prosperity. 1940-1975 The 1940s brought worldwide death and destruction in the form of World War II and the Holocaust. In 1948, when the Jewish people established a new homeland in Israel, the Bethlehem Jewish community demonstrated its solidarity and support for Israel and Diaspora Jews through rallies, United Jewish Appeal campaigns, and Israel Bond drives. In the years following the war, as Americans once again grew strong and prospered, so did the Community Center, under the leadership of Rabbi William Frankel (1953-1964). Major renovations undertaken in the early 1960s enabled the Community Center to serve the needs of its members for another two decades. On December 21, 1970, not long after the renovations were completed, burglars broke into the Center and set fire to the building, gutting the offices and destroying many artifacts and records. The damage was repaired and a gala series of events heralded the fiftieth anniversary of the Brith Sholom Community Center. 1975 - Rabbi Allen Juda came to lead the congregation in 1975, at a time when both the local economy and the growth in the local Jewish population had begun to slow. The need for the Community Center came into question and, in 1983, the congregation sold the Community Center building to Lehigh University. Included in the sale agreement was a 5.6-acre wooded lot on the corner of Jacksonville and Macada Roads, which, in 1986, became the new home of Congregation Brith Sholom. A new century has brought with it new changes, and after more than 30 years of religious and communal leadership by Rabbi Allen Juda, Congregation Brith Sholom continues to grow and thrive. Increasing numbers of congregants attending Shabbat and holiday services, and well-attended social, educational, and cultural programs and events led to a renewed need for the synagogue to expand its physical structure, programming, and activities. The culmination of a successful fundraising campaign in 2001 not only made possible this expansion, with additions to the social hall, kitchen, and parking areas, but also strengthened the synagogue and by providing for continued growth for future generations through a substantial contribution to the synagogue's Endowment Fund. Rabbi William Frankel, of blessed memory, was the rabbi of Brith Sholom from 1953 to 1964. In 1955, Rabbi Frankel wrote the “History of Early Jewish Community of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.” It appeared in the Brith Sholom Community Center Thirtieth Anniversary Year Book. The history begins with the earliest Jewish settlers and concludes with the erection of the first permanent synagogue building in 1897. To read Rabbi Frankel’s history, please click. And, click here to read a "History of the Brith Sholom Community from 1964 to 1976."