The Aiken Jewish Community Today & Tomorrow

Today, the Aiken Jewish community is made up primarily of retirees who have moved here from elsewhere. The size of the congregation continues to be about 60 families (the same as during much of its’ history) but the congregation is aging and there are many many more funerals than weddings & bar mitzvah’s.

Still, the history here is present.

A few descendants of the original Aiken Jewish families continue to live in Aiken and are affiliated with the Synagogue – including Stephen Surasky, Morris Rudnick Jr., his cousin Mary Ann Rudnick Grice as well as Julie Wolf Ellis. There are still members of the congregation that came here as part of the SRS boom like Doris Baumgarten & Tom Evans. And, the congregation membership includes descendants of the original Aiken families that no longer live in Aiken but want to maintain a connection to the Synagogue.

Despite (or maybe because of) its’ small size, the Synagogue continues to maintain its’ unique culture & spirit. The Congregation of Adath Yeshurun is believed to be the oldest Jewish Synagogue anywhere that has never had a professional Rabbi; it continues to operate on the same “lay-led” model that it has used throughout its history.

Judith Evans (who sadly passed away in 2020) called Adath Yeshurun a “Miracle Synagogue” because of its’ ability to sustain this unique model & spirit. In every generation, there have been lay leaders with strong religious educations who have emerged to lead regular services – from BM Surasky & Nathan Persky to Peter Baumgarten, Joe Cohen, Ernie Levinson and most recently the current President Bill Schuster. In addition, the Synagogue has built a partnership with the Hebrew Union College to bring student Rabbis here to lead High Holy Day Services. And, Rabbis occasionally come from nearby Augusta & Columbia to lead services and other programming. 

The challenge going forward is to continue to attract support for the Synagogue from the local Jewish community & beyond. There are many Jewish families in Aiken who are not affiliated with the Synagogue and there are others living here & elsewhere who may feel a connection to this story.

It’s hoped that by sharing this history we can create & strengthen connections with this special Aiken Institution.