... a Conservative Synagogue serving the Community for over 100 years

Bnai Abraham Synagogue

The early history of Bnai Abraham Synagogue is, in large part, also the history of the eastern European immigrants who settled in the Easton area in the late 19th century. Congregation Bnai Abraham has served the Easton Jewish community for over one hundred years.

Initially meeting in the homes of members, the earliest embodiment of Bnai Abraham incorporated the institutions of the mikvah (a ritual purification bath), a Talmud Torah (Hebrew School), a shohet to supervise the observance of kashrut (Jewish dietary laws), social organizations for men and women, and a Hevra Kaddisha (Burial Society). In 1907 the congregation hired its first Rabbi and The Daughters of Rebecca was established to organize charitable, social and educational programs.

We are an egalitarian congregation, so that men and women participate actively in the service and are counted toward the minyan, the quorum of ten Jews over the age of 13 needed for communal prayer. All men, and those women who choose, wear a kippah or yarmulke (head covering) when in the Sanctuary as a sign of respect and humility before G-d. Adult Jewish males, and those women who choose, also wear a tallit (prayer shawl) to fulfill the biblical commandment to make fringes on the corners of their garments.

Today, Rabbi Mark Shrager guides Congregation Bnai Abraham with the teachings of Conservative Judaism. Bnai Abraham is affiliated with the United Synagogue of America. The synagogue serves the community as a house of prayer, a house of study, and as a community.