page_title: Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel (Philadelphia)
section_title: Krauskopf
hierarchical_section_title: Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel (Philadelphia) / American Classical Reform, 1887-1949 / Krauskopf
caption_attribution_description: English: Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf (1858-1923)
context_page_description: Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel is the sixth oldest Reform Jewish synagogue in the United States. It began in Philadelphia in 1847, and was at a number of locations in the city before building a massive structure on North Broad Street in 1891. In 1900 KI, as the Congregation is known, was one of the largest Reform Congregations in the United States. It remained at the North Broad Street address until 1956 when the Congregation moved north of the city to suburban Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. KI stands out historically for a variety of reasons. It has had very few Senior Rabbis – only eight since the first one was hired in 1861 – and most have been prominent both in the Reform Jewish movement and in other areas of American culture. Its first ordained rabbi, David Einhorn, was the most prominent Jewish opponent of slavery when the Civil War began, and from that point on KI was known as the "Abolitionist Temple." Its third rabbi, Joseph Krauskopf, was the founder of what is today Delaware Valley University and was a friend of President Theodore Roosevelt.
context_section_description: Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf (served 1887 - 1923)
  Joseph Krauskopf (1858-1923), like the two previous rabbis at KI, was a German speaking immigrant. Krauskopf had emigrated to the United States in 1872, at age 14, and quickly learned English. In 1875, at the age of 17, Krauskopf went to Cincinnati, where he was a member of the first class at the Reform Movement's recently opened rabbinical school, Hebrew Union College (HUC). While at HUC Krauskopf published the Union Hebrew Reader (1881) which is commonly known as the First Union Hebrew Reader, the Second Union Hebrew Reader (1884), and Bible Ethics: A Manual of Instruction in the History and Principles of Judaism, According to Hebrew Scriptures (1884) (full text). While in Kansas City, Krauskopf was enormously popular within his synagogue and the larger Kansas City community. His public lectures attracted large audiences that extended well beyond the city's small Jewish community. Some of these lectureswere then published as books, such as Evolution and Judaism and The Jews and Moors in Spain. Additionally, he was involved in a wide range of civic activities, such as becoming a life-member of the board of the National Conference of Charities and Corrections. In 1885 he was a key organizer of a convention of reform Rabbis in Pittsburgh, known as the Pittsburgh Conference. Although only two years out of rabbinical school, he was elected vice-president of the Pittsburgh Conference, of which Isaac Mayer Wise was president. This conference wrote the Pittsburgh Platform, which became the defining statement of Reform Judaism at that time. Given Krauskopf's accomplishments, it was hardly surprising that KI recruited him, and it was equally unsurprising that the leadership of B'nai Jehudah attempted to prevent him from leaving. After some embarrassing communications, Krauskopf arrived in Philadelphia in late October 1887.
  Krauskopf revolutionized KI. Under Krauskopf KI shifted from German to English for its board meetings, publications and services. He reintroduced Sunday services (which had waned in the last years under Hirsch), instituted confirmation at age sixteen for boys and girls, and eliminated the traditional bar mitzvah at age thirteen. In 1892 he created a library for KI that acquired more than 20,000 volumes under his leadership. Krauskopf also convinced the Synagogue to hire an assistant rabbi to accommodate the massive growth in members.
  When Krauskopf arrived there were about 250 family and individual members at KI. Within a few years, in part because of Krauskopf's charisma and the popularity of his lectures, the Congregation had more than 400 families. In 1892 KI moved to a brand new building on North Broad Street (built under Krauskopf's leadership), with a sanctuary that provided seating for 1600 people. Among the national leaders at the dedication of this building were Simon Wolf, a Washington, D.C. lawyer, political leader, former diplomat, and the International President of B'nai B'rith and Rabbi Isaac Meyer Wise, who is usually considered to be the founder of the American Reform Movement. By the turn of the century membership had increased to more than a 1,000 families and there were at least 500 students in the religious school. KI was now one of the biggest (perhaps the biggest) synagogues in the nation. Throughout his tenure at KI Krauskopf gave weekly Sunday lectures to overflow crowds on history, science, ethics, politics, economics, theology, and the Bible. During his career at KI Krauskopf published more than a thousand pamphlet versions of these lectures.
  In 1888, shortly after he arrived in Philadelphia, Krauskopf was instrumental in the creation of the Jewish Publication Society, with KI giving early support the endeavor. In March, 1903, Krauskopf was elected director-general of the Isaac Meyer Wise Memorial Fund, and in July of the same year he became president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the main professional organization of reform rabbis.
  Beyond the Synagogue, Krauskopf worked with religious leaders of other faiths, visited Russia 
caption: Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf (1858-1923)
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