Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

April 15, 2026

Preserving American Jewish Life Outside the Big Cities

The number of synagogues in the U.S. has dropped by a fifth since 1990.

Until the 1880s, America’s small Jewish population was spread out across the South and West as well as the Northeast. In recent decades, however, Jews have concentrated increasingly in the major cities, while small-town communities are slowly dying off. Patrick Whittle reports on the Center for Small Town Jewish Life and its efforts to save them:

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