Adath Yeshurun Synagogue


Aiken, South Carolina

JOIN US

Welcome to the Congregation of Adath Yeshurun!

Our 100+ year-old Adath Yeshurun synagogue stands in Aiken at 154 Greenville Street NW, nestled amidst cedar, oak, and holly on the corner of Greenville St and Barnwell Avenue. Among small town synagogues, ours is considered the longest observing small town Jewish congregation in South Carolina. We have a membership of about 60 households. Given our small size, we do not have a permanent Rabbi, but we stay active with the support of lay leadership, a student Rabbi during the High Holidays and the generous support of visiting Rabbis. 


In our charming temple, our wonderfully diverse Reform Jewish congregation keeps the Jewish flame alive in this Southern community, reknown for its polo, golf, gardens, nature trails, and arts. Join us, and you'll be delighted with stories of our past and heartened by our engagement in the life of this beautiful, delightful, sophisticated town. 


ABOUT US

Worship

We generally hold Shabbat Services once per month although some months we hold a second Shabbat service.  These services are typically held on the first Friday evening of the month except in the Winter when we hold Shabbot services on Saturday mornings.  We also hold a full schedule of services during the High Holidays as well as services & events on other major Jewish holidays (e.g., Sukkot, Passover, Purim, etc.).  Go to the calendar to see the full schedule of our services and Jewish holiday celebrations.


In 2023, we were blessed to have an outstanding Rabbi - Matthew Berman - who worked with our lay leadership to create a beautiful mix of melody and prayer.  The resulting services encouraged self reflection while creating an inclusive environment where everyone could participate.  Below you can sample a few of these melodies (one traditional and one you may not have heard):

Worship Service at Adath Yeshurun Synagogue

This Week's Torah Portion

CALENDAR

Adath Yeshurun offers a broad variety of religious, educational, social and community service activities. We respond to the many different interests and needs of our congregation and community. Most of these events are free and open to the public. Check back often for updates!

Community

We are committed to build an inclusive Jewish community in Aiken that meets the needs of our congregants – while at the same time engaging with and contributing to the broader Aiken community to assure our town maintains the character of tolerance and inclusiveness that makes it an attractive place to live for all of us.  Use the link below to learn more about our community programs.

Sign celebrating the history of Aiken's Jewish Merchants

News

Our congregation is the center of Jewish life in Aiken while also being an important part of the broader civic life here. Our programming reflects our commitment to meet the needs of our Aiken Jewish community while also strengthening civic engagement and religious understanding. These initiatives are reflected in some of the recent events below.

Interior of Adath Yeshurun Synagogue

ANTISEMITISM PROGRAMMING

By Website Editor • 12 Mar, 2019
We helped develop and lead a two part series of programming on Anti-Semitism on May 10th and May 24th, 2023. This programming was facilitated by representatives of the ADL and the Charleston Jewish Federation and created in conjunction with the Jewish Community Legacy Project (JCLP). The program was delivered via Zoom to a cohort of 22 small congregations across the Carolinas that was established by the JCLP. You can view the programs by clicking the links below. Also check back here for future programming planned by JCLP's Carolina region of Small Congregations. Antisemitism: The Landscape of Anti Semitism : presented by Eric Ross, Director Community Outreach, ADL Southern Division (May 10, 2023) Individual & Communal Responses to Antisemitism : presented by Natanya Miller, Director of Educational Initiatives, Charleston Jewish Federation (May 24, 2023)
Interfaith Meeting

Interfaith Open House

By Website Editor • 12 Mar, 2019
Our congregation is a member of Aiken Interfaith Partners, a coalition of faith groups committed to increasing religious understanding and tolerance in our community. January is Interfaith Harmony month in South Carolina and during this month we participate in an Interfaith Open House that allows community members to come to the Synagogue to see the sanctuary and learn about Jewish religious practices as well as about the history and contributions of our local Jewish community. This event also enables our congregants to visit other faith institutions to learn about their religious practices and meet members of these congregations. The most recent Interfaith Open House was on Saturday January 21, 2023 and the next one will be on January 13, 2024. Check back here for more information on this and other Interfaith events
Congregation who participated in the Centennial Celebration in Aiken SC

Centennial Celebrations

By Steve Silver • 12 Mar, 2019
2021 was the 100th anniversary of our congregation and this milestone was celebrated with an exhibit at the Aiken County Historical Museum sharing the history and contributions of Aiken’s Jewish Community as well as with the unveiling of a new historic marker on Laurens St that celebrated with contributions of Aiken’s Jewish Merchants. The opening of the exhibit and the unveiling of the historic marker was attended by a cross section of Aiken civic leaders as well as by over 100 descendants of early Aiken Jewish families that came to town as part of a Centennial Celebration Weekend. These events were held in March 2022 after being delayed a year due to the COVID pandemic. You can read more about these celebrations as well as watch replays of some of these events by clicking on the links below: VIRTUAL EVENT: EARLY AIKEN JEWISH COMMUNITY (1850-1950) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyyMy3mMiN0 VIRTUAL EVENT: LATER AIKEN JEWISH COMMUNITY (1950 – TODAY) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tvXPNO-RTA https://www.asourceoflight.org/media-coverage

Want to get involved?

Send us a Message

Share by: