"...to be in love with eternity..."   (A.J.Heschel)

The Beth Israel Congregation of Peterborough, Ontario welcomes you to its virtual home! We hope this virtual exploration will give you good reason to visit our real home of mortar and brick and to enjoy the spirituality and friendly hospitality that exists there.

Our Congregation is an egalitarian one motivated by a spectrum of community interests and spiritual aspirations. We pride ourselves on realizing meaningful Jewish experiences, contributing fully to the community-at-large while drawing traditional and modern spiritual forces together under one roof.

The Beth Israel Congregation has been in existence in Peterborough since the early 1900s. Recently our community has been turning the pages of time much more quickly though! The synagogue was seriously flooded during a heavy rainfall in 2004. Due to the tremendous support from the Peterborough community-at-large and elsewhere restoration is now complete. In fact, with help from the Ontario Trillium Foundation the building is now wheel chair accessible and available to community groups for special and regular events. The Beth Israel Congregation has also recently developed a close affiliation and sharing arrangement with the Unitarian Fellowship of Peterborough.

Within our spiritual domain, progressive efforts continue to expand the participation of all members of the Congregation. A Hebrew school for the kids, adult education and gatherings such as Hadassah events and Passover cooking workshops are examples. Anyone wishing to join us for services or activities – from people new to the community, including Trent University and Fleming College students to long-time area residents – are welcome! Call us at: (705)745-8398.

Incredible, isn't it? Building on the foundation of the past, we continue to develop as a thriving, learned and compassionate Jewish community.

Enjoy what you see and read here. Click on the Activities Calendar link to get a quick glance at Beth Israel's events.

Wish to own a piece of the Shul?...Click Historic Dishes.

By the way, speaking of "historic", here is a tremendous site to explore and maybe even relive some history of our Peterborough community but other small Ontario Jewish communities as well: Ontario Jewish Archives.

Return soon again!

Shalom!