Strengthen the Center City Eruv
Help ensure this vital community resource remains reliable and halachically sound. Goal: $75,000. Donate through the Mekor Habracha campaign team, or read about the full campaign.
Mekor Bulletin Board
Classes, campaigns, volunteer opportunities, and neighborly offers — posted in one place and kept up to date.
Featured Now
This season's campaigns and classes, happening right now.
Religious Zionism Class with Rabbi Gotlib
Join Rabbi Gotlib Tuesdays at 7:00 PM beginning July 14 for a study of Rav Rabinovitch's Pathways to God: Torah, Society, and State. Sponsorships welcome; sponsors of $180+ receive a complimentary copy of the book.
Community Essentials
The programs, contacts, and resources you'll come back to all year.
Tot Shabbat
Mekor's Tot Shabbat meets about once a month — typically the last Shabbat of the English month around 11 AM — with parsha, songs, and stories for young children and families.
Davening & Weekday Minyan
Find Shabbat and weekday service times, the minyan WhatsApp group, and RSVP notes for evening minyanim on the Davening page. Morning and evening weekday services are often followed by a brief halacha insight.
Mekor Membership
Join Mekor or renew your membership to support daily minyanim, Torah learning, and a welcoming Center City community.
Hebrew Help at Mekor
Parents can sign up children (up to age 18) to learn Hebrew, Torah reading, and/or tefillah skills with Mekor community tutors. We'll match each child with a tutor for a mutually convenient time.
Kosher Wine & Judaica
When you order through Mekor's affiliate links for Kosherwine.com and Judaica.com, Mekor earns 5% back at no extra cost to you.
Support of Israel
Find community initiatives, civil-defense support opportunities, and related announcements on Mekor's Israel page. Torah writing from Rabbi Hirsch and Rabbi Gotlib is linked from their profiles and Substacks.
Volunteer at Mekor
Help with Kiddush setup, hospitality, cholent (Erik Schneiman can teach the Mekor recipe), mashgiach work for IKC establishments, or eruv checking. Training is provided.
Yizkor Books 2026–2027
Mekor publishes a Yizkor Book for Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret, Pesach, and Shavuot. Submission deadline: September 1, 2026 at 12:00 PM. Contributions by check payable to the shul are welcome.
Community Updates
Current opportunities and notices from Mekor.
Become an Eruv Checker
Several of our eruv checkers have left the area, and we need new volunteers. If you have a bicycle or car, and you could help out once every 6 weeks, or even less often, please sign up! Training will be provided; please email Harry Schley at harry@schley.com.
Seeking Volunteer Mashgiachs
It is exciting that our list of Center City kosher restaurants is expanding once again, but we rely on volunteers to help in this process! No experience is necessary; Rabbi Hirsch will provide training. For more info, please email the shul.
Center City Mikvah is Open!
We're excited to announce that the Mei Shalva Center City Community Mikvah, located at 509 Pine Street, is now open! The women's mikvah, men's mikvah, and keilim mikvah are all operational.
We are currently seeking volunteers to help staff the keilim mikvah. For the schedule or to make an appointment, please visit https://philamikvah.org or call/text 267-225-2651. Mazal Tov to the entire Center City Jewish community on this meaningful milestone!
Notary Service to Benefit Mekor
Need something notarized in Philadelphia after work hours? Mekor member Chesky Kopel is a licensed Pennsylvania notary public and will provide notarial services in exchange for a small donation to the shul. For more information, contact Chesky at ckopel@gmail.com.
The Center City Eruv needs your financial support!
The Eruv plays a vital role in our vibrant Center City Jewish Community life, but is often taken for granted. We need ongoing financial support to pay the specialist rabbi who travels in from NJ to perform repairs, and to buy supplies for repair jobs and liability insurance, all of which totals over $10,000 per year.
We rely entirely on donations for these expenses, and we need a financial cushion to ensure that emergency repairs can be made in time for Shabbat the next time they are necessary. If you & your family benefit from our Eruv, we respectfully ask that you make a recurring monthly donation of at least $18. Thank you for your continued support of the Center City Eruv!
Orthodox Union Tehillim
Daily at 1:00 PM; to participate, dial (773) 377-9170.
Please join the Orthodox Union community for the recitation of Tehillim (chapters 20, 27 and 130) and divrei chizuk (words of inspiration) from our rabbanim each afternoon at 1:00 PM EDT.
Weekly Online Parsha Shiur
Live on Thursdays at 1:00 PM EST; available online on demand.
Mekor member Dr. Saundra Sterling Epstein (Sunnie) gives a weekly Parsha shiur on Melrose B'nai Israel Emanu El's (MBIEE) Facebook page. To access, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/mbiee.org. If required, you will be invited in by the administrator.
Jewish Community Events and Announcements
Useful local notices shared with the Mekor community.
East of Broad Home for Sale
We are selling our East of Broad ~2,000 square foot home in the spring (3 bedrooms, 2 baths, on a beautiful, quiet side street right off of Bainbridge; finished basement not included in square footage).
The home is bright and combines turn-of-the-century interior architectural details (e.g., high ceilings and original random width floors) with modern, urban living features (e.g., exposed brick and top-of-line kitchen appliances). We will still be your neighbor, as we are only moving a block away. Please email yoella.epstein@gmail.com if you are interested in finding out more.
Need a contractor? Special Offer for Mekor Community
Akiladelphia Creative Contracting will donate 5% of the cost of your job to Mekor. Senior discount also.
For more info, contact (215) 589-5405 or akiladelphia@gmail.com.
Free Career Guidance at JEVS
JEVS provides assistance (resumes, practice mock interviews, etc.) to those who are seeking a job or looking to change jobs. For congregants referred by Rabbi Hirsch, there will be no charge for the first visit. Other visits are on a sliding fee scale or free depending on income.
To schedule your first visit free of charge, please email the shul, and Rabbi Hirsch will make the referral. Then call Wendy Rosenfeldt at 215-832-0878 to schedule your appointment. For information about free job-search webinars, visit https://www.jevshumanservices.org/careerstrategies/.
Jewish Matchmaking — Shiduch.org
We are a Jewish matchmaking site for marriage-minded singles worldwide. Singles can create a FREE profile on the site, and our matchmakers will search through our database for compatible matches. If you'd like more info, please visit shiduch.org or contact Rachel at member@shiduch.org.
Support Mekor
If you use the following Mekor-specific links when ordering from Kosherwine.com and Judaica.com, Mekor will earn 5% back!