Shalom and welcome to
Beth Israel Congregation!

We are a diverse Jewish community located in Bath, Maine -- the City of Ships on the Kennebec River in Mid-Coast Maine. An unaffiliated, egalitarian and inclusive congregation, we offer a variety of programs and services, including Shabbat, holiday and life cycle services, a religious school, Bar and Bat Mitzvah training, social action activities, and community interfaith programs.

Although Beth Israel Congregation is located in Bath, our synagogue is the only one for thirty-five miles in either direction. Our members come to us from many of the surrounding towns. For over eighty-five years people have come together in Bath to help form this welcoming Jewish community.

We invite you to join us.

Our Web Site

• current members seeking information about upcoming services and events
• parents of of our Hebrew School students wanting to know more about the curriculum of our school
• nonmembers in our area who want to learn about what we have to offer
• people who are considering a move to Bath, Maine as a place that will meet their Jewish lifestyle needs
• visitors to our area who would like to join us for services

For additional information, our mailing address, telephone numbers and email addresses are listed on our contact page.

Upcoming Services & Events

May Calendar

June Calendar

A History of Beth Israel Congregation

The story of Beth Israel Congregation rests on the energy and dedication of a few Maine Jews as well as the welcome given them by the Bath non-Jewish community. Jewish presence in Bath began in 1886 when one of the children of the Mikelsky family, on their way by train from Rockland to Boston, became ill. A Bath druggist gladly helped the sick child. That kindness and the welcoming atmosphere of Bath led the Mikelsky family of eleven to decide to remain in Bath.

During the next several decades more Jewish families moved into the Bath region, until by 1919 the burgeoning Jewish community founded Beth Israel Congregation. The 39 founding members included many whose names have become an integral part of Bath's history: Greenblatt, Gediman, Povich, Brown, and Petlock. For the first few years, services were held in various halls in town while funds were raised for a building. Again, the supportive non-Jewish Bath community assisted in the fund-raising effort, contributing $2400.

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