YIW visits Philadelphia

Forty-five people joined a Young Israel of Woodmere trip to the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia last Sunday.

During the two hour bus ride to the museum, Rabbi Evan Hoffman lectured on the religious history of American Jewry, with a focus on the development of denominations and the fate of Orthodoxy.

The museum is located one block from Independence Hall and across the street from Mikveh Israel (the second oldest American synagogue) in Philadelphia’s historic downtown district. Among the interesting items on display are George Washington’s 1790 letter to the Newport Hebrew Congregation, a first edition volume of Isaac Leeser’s translation of the Bible, and an original menu from the Reform movement’s infamous “Trefa Banquet” of 1883.

The permanent exhibit tells the story of Jewish immigration, social integration and cultural preservation; it features a Hall of Fame of American Jews with a video detailing the achievements of Louis Bandeis, Irving Berlin, Sandy Koufax, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Jonas Salk, Emma Lazarus, and others. On the bus ride home, the group enjoyed the final episode of PBS’s documentary series “The Jewish Americans.”

The trip was organized by Eli Dworetsky and Joey Schiff.