Richmond Virginia Jewish Community

Richmond Virginia is not the first place you'd think of moving to when looking for a small Jewish community. Yet this vibrant community, with a small Orthodox Jewish population continues to grow. With low-cost housing and generous school subsidies the community, just south of the nation's capital is worth a look.

Local synagogues include Chabad of Virginia (O), Congregation Beth Ahabah (C), Congregation Beth Israel (C), Congregation Brith Achim (C), Congregation Or Ami (C), Congregation Or Atid (C), Kehillah (U), and Keneseth Beth Israel (O).

Pre-schools can be found at Chabad and at the JCC. There is only one Jewish elementary school, The Rudlin Torah Academy which serves unaffiliated, reform, conservative, and orthodox communities. The high schools in Richmond are both orthodox and have separate boys' and girls' schools. Shaarei Torah of Richmond is a girls-only high school, and the Yeshiva if Virginia, boys-only high school. The community has an eruv and it is located around the neighborhood of the Keneseth Beth Israel.

There are local museums, including the children's museum, and the botanical gardens. There are now two places to get kosher, one is located at the Weinstein JCC Cafe, which serves meat dishes, and serves breakfast and lunch only, and the new kosher pizza Pop's Kitchen. Some local establishments are kosher certified, including a Gelati Celesti, Krispy Kreme, and two breweries. A local market carries some kosher items. There is also Costco, Wegmann's, and Publix nearby.

Richmond International airport is approximately 20 minutes from the orthodox community. Interstate highways serving the Richmond area include I-95, I-295, and I-64. The nearest Jewish communities can be found in Newport News and Norfolk, Virginia, about an hour by car to the South-East. To the North of Richmond is Washington, DC, approximately 90 minutes by car, with the large Jewish community in Silver Spring, and further north Baltimore, MD.