On Wednesday, we had breakfast at the Reading Terminal Market and walked around Philadelphia; we made our way to Congregation Mikveh Israel. Although it may at first seem like an average place of worship, it has a deep and interesting history.
Congregation Mikveh Israel was established in 1740 and is one of the first synagogues ever established in America. Not only is it one of the oldest synagogues, but it also is built around the Sephardic branch of Judaism, not Ashkenazi; the majority of American Jews are Ashkenazi.
The first Mikveh Israel synagogue was built at Third and Cherry in 1782. After that, there were several different locations/buildings; the current location is 44 North Fourth Street and was built in 1976.
There are artifacts in the current synagogue from when the original synagogue was built, such as a worship table and a lantern that is lit 24/7 to symbolize God.
After taking in a creative mix of old and new in the sanctuary (the area where service is held every week), we spotted two large doors in the back of the room. Opening these two doors revealed a collection of 19 torahs, both Sephardic and Ashkenazi, adorned with beautiful silver bells and colorful covers that hold the sacred texts within.
Although our visit was brief, the knowledge we gained and the intricately-made spiritual artifacts we saw were priceless. We learned that every religion might follow different ways of worshiping, but they believe in the same values of love, harmony, peace, community and togetherness; MFS, which is a Quaker school, also strongly believes in these values.
Today we visited The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, a Catholic church that was opened in 1864. The bishop who dedicated the cathedral said he hoped that everybody who came through its doors felt love and spirituality.
Upon entering the space, we noticed the 155-foot dome above our heads that was adorned with beautiful paintings. The church was filled with mosaic paintings, holy statues, and holy crosses that each had their own history. For example, the altar and the consecrated host always face east, the direction where the sun rises. Another detail that contains history tracing back hundreds of years are the stained glass windows, which are over a hundred feet in the air in order to prevent stoning coming from anti-Catholic nativists in the 1840s.
The tour guide taught us the history and significance of the smaller parts of the Basilica, like the statues and altars. There are fourteen unique stations lining the church that tell the story of Jesus’s crucifixion; there are seven side altars dedicated to saints and holy figures, and there are works of art covering the walls. However, because this week is Holy Week, the week when people commemorate Jesus’ crucifixion, the statues were all covered to show the people’s preparation. One of our biggest takeaways from the altars is that they are not for people to worship the individuals depicted, but to honor them.
With the help of our tour guide, we made many meaningful connections during our tour. She made a generous effort to do some background research on Moorestown Friends School and discovered our Quaker values revolving around a peaceful lifestyle. She was able to connect the histories of the Catholic statues, altars, and artworks that she showed us with our own Quaker values. This shows that anyone is able to appreciate what the church has to offer despite their religious beliefs. One example is Mrs. Pande’s connection between the structure of the Basilica altar and the structure of other Hindu temples and how they face towards the East, the direction where the sun rises.
Despite having their own set of beliefs, Catholicism, Quakerism, Hinduism, Judaism, and many religions have connections in their core beliefs that branch off to distinct perspectives with similar messages of peace, love, empathy, and community. The reason this is important is because the main goal for this Sacred Spaces Intensive Learning program was to investigate these Sacred Spaces, recognize their perspectives and make connections between them.
We can take away from this trip that, even with distinct perspectives, all cultures and religions have their own meaningful similarities that allow them to work in harmony and togetherness.