Rebecca 
-Post by Rabbi Jill Maderer of Congregation Rodeph Shalom In early December, a severed pig’s head was thrown onto the door step of the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society, a mosque in Center City. In response to this desecration, the Board of Rabbis, Rodeph Shalom clergy, and many others in the Jewish community immediately sent letters of support. … Read more
Today’s post is from Rabbi Hirshi Sputz from Chabad of Center City. Hakhel, the subject of his post, will also be the topic at our March 9 Learning in Pairs program. B”H A Year of Hakhel – to gather together as one. Picture this scene: Millions of Jews – men and women, infants and their great-grandmothers, … Read more
-Post by Morris Levin, Bella Vista resident and board member and volunteer at Shivtei Yeshuron-Ezras Israel. Congregation Shivtei Yeshuron-Ezras Israel is the Little Shul. It is a rowhouse synagogue, at 2015 S Fourth Street, before Snyder Avenue. The congregation meets for Shabbos services and kiddush at 10:00 AM on the first Saturday of the month. There … Read more
Happy February! Our participating organizations have an inspiring array of events coming up this month. Check out this incredible list, and hopefully you’ll find something new to spark your interest! Thursdays 2/4 and 2/18: Mekom Torah Lunchtime Torah! 12:00-1:30pm, Nook Coffee Bar, 15 S. 20th Street Topic: Covenant. All are welcome. Led by Rabbi Helen Plotkin. … Read more
–Post by Rhona Gerber, member of Mekor Habracha and the Center City Kehillah Steering Team. Thank you for sharing your personal story! Our family has been residents, or, should I say, community members, of Center City for over 25 years. This week’s Torah portion, Yitro, reveals to us what it means to be a community. The … Read more
-Post by Aileen Heiman, Director of Youth Education and Family Programming at Park Slope Jewish Center, Brooklyn, New York, and former Center City Philadelphia resident As far as the Jewish holidays are concerned, Tu Bishvat is a low hanging fruit in terms of observance. Originally established in the Talmud as the date for counting the age … Read more
Post by Sarah Horwitz, Food Justice Fellow with Repair the World: Philadelphia Thanks to everyone who joined us at our Repair the World, Makom Community, Challah for Hunger, Center City Kehillah collaboration event for Martin Luther King Jr. Day! We all joined forces to provide an incredible event for families and teens to create a … Read more
As our Kehillah blog develops, we are going to be posting a variety of perspectives from across the Center City Jewish community. These will include event announcements, personal reflections, holiday guides, and community news, among other things. We are excited to use the blog as one more tool to share the diversity of our community … Read more
Our new learning program is launching on Wednesday, 12/16 with a session co-taught by Rabbi Eli Freedman from Congregation Rodeph Shalom and Rabbi Eliezer Hirsch from Mekor Habracha. We’re so excited by the opportunity to bring together Jews with different perspectives to learn together. Each month, we’ll have a different pair of teachers sharing a … Read more
-Post by Rabbi Jill Maderer, Congregation Rodeph Shalom Join us for the Center City Kehillah Hanukkah Candlelighting in Rittenhouse Square, Tues., Dec 8, 5:15pm! “Since when is Hanukkah so important?” I once heard someone ask a rabbi. “Sukkot is important, Pesach is important, Shabbat is important, but Hanukkah is such a minor holiday! Why … Read more