Our Rabbi
Rabbi Eliezer Hirsch is Mekor Habracha’s spiritual leader and founding rabbi. Since its inception, the congregation has experienced remarkable growth, and has significantly contributed to the flourishing Center City Jewish community. In addition to Shabbat/holiday services, our shul provides a daily morning minyan in the Rittenhouse neighborhood. Under Rabbi Hirsch's leadership at Mekor, Center City has developed an array of Jewish services. He is the Director and local halachic advisor for the expansive Center City Eruv, and he serves as Rabbinic Administrator of IKC Kosher Certification in Center City, which has facilitated the substantial growth of kosher establishments in this area. Rabbi Hirsch and the Mekor congregation have also played an active role in supporting the newly constructed community mikvah. In addition to work in the Philadelphia region, Rabbi Hirsch serves as Dean of Jewish philosophy at Genesis University, a distance learning college based in Suffern, NY. Rabbi Hirsch received rabbinical ordination from Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, Maryland and Yeshiva Ohr Reuven in Monsey, NY. During his almost two decades of study in Yeshiva, he forged close relationships with prominent Rabbinic leaders and received years of training from renowned Halachic authorities. In 2010, Rabbi Hirsch was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease, an incurable, degenerative neurological condition marked by numerous symptoms. You can read some inspirational thoughts he related about grappling with Parkinson’s Disease here. Since sharing news about his condition, Rabbi Hirsch has welcomed inquiries from individuals across the globe seeking Halachic and spiritual guidance to cope with significant personal hardships. Recognizing that many people hunger for practical ways to conceptualize and fulfill their commitment to God and Torah, Rabbi Hirsch has written 3 books about Jewish holidays, in the hope that readers will renew their enthusiasm for these special days and enliven their engagement with Judaism year-round:
|