Founded informally as a minyan of ten worshipers in 1795 by Jews from Germany, Holland, and Poland, Rodeph Shalom adopted its first Articles of Association in 1802, and in 1812 was the first synagogue in Pennsylvania to receive a corporate charter.

[4] Welfare provisions were prominent features of Rodeph Shalom's constitution; rabbis were permitted to extend aid of up to five dollars to any sick or poor person, for example.

[6] Relatively late in its history, then, the congregation finally built its first building in 1866, a Moorish Revival sanctuary on North Broad Street designed by Philadelphia architect Frank Furness.

Jacob Frankel, who had joined the staff in 1849, but later departed in 1862 following his appointment as the first official Jewish chaplain in the US Army, in part through the efforts of the Board of Delegates of American Israelites.

In 1866, Rodeph Shalom called Warsaw's scholarly Rabbi Marcus Jastrow to its pulpit in acknowledgment of his heroic activism against the Russia-dominated Polish government.

With Jastrow's thoughtful and scholarly sermons attracting larger audiences and wider membership, Rodeph Shalom erected its first dedicated building in the Moorish style at Broad and Mount Vernon Streets, six blocks north of Penn Square, in 1869.

Jastrow moved the congregation closer to Reform by instituting a mixed choir, installing an organ, abolishing the women's gallery, and ending the sale of mitzvot, although he maintained separate male and female seating in the sanctuary.

Following the lead of his close friend, Keneseth Israel's Joseph Krauskopf, Berkowitz created a library at Rodeph Shalom and began publishing his sermons in English, making the study of German at the religious school optional and soon abandoned.

In 1925, Louis Wolsey arrived from Cleveland's Euclid Avenue (Fairmount) Temple with a national reputation for pulpit oratory, and a new chapter of the congregation's history began.

[17] In 1928, needing a larger sanctuary and additional meeting and office areas, the congregation, under Wolsey's leadership, built its present magnificent Moorish Revival synagogue.

The interior, including its star-burst skylights, stained glass windows, bronze-and-enamel doors of the Aron Kodesh, walls, ceiling, dome, carpet and ornamentation are by D'Ascenzo Studio.

"[18] Throughout his tenure, Rabbi Kuhn has initiated and overseen Rodeph Shalom's ambitious and wide-ranging efforts to encourage all members of the congregation to volunteer a significant amount of their time in the betterment of their community.

[20] "A native and longtime resident of Nashville, Tennessee, Rabbi Kuhn's great love for Judaism was nurtured at Congregation Ohabai Sholom and within his family, which had founded the synagogue in the 1860s and remains vitally active in it to this day.

He continued the Kuhn family tradition of leadership as a board member and officer of Ohabai Sholom, particularly while chairing the Social Action Committee, when he was instrumental in establishing a homeless shelter at the Temple.

He served on Mayor John Street's Transition Committee as co-chairman of the Volunteer and Faith-Based Organizations Sub-committee and on the Human Relations Commission for the City of Philadelphia.

[23] Rodeph Shalom held events in support of Israel during the Israel-Hamas war, including a 30 November 2023 fundraiser for the Friends of the IDF[24] and a 10 December rally[25] attended by Josh Shapiro and Bob Casey.