Events

*What's that? A Kabbalistic tradition of staying up studying Torah in honor of the holiday of Shavuot, on which we celebrate receiving the Torah at Sinai.

Featuring Maggid/Storyteller Renee Brachfeld and Hazzan Mark Novak's performance:
"Seeing Thunder/Hearing Lightning: Stories and Songs from Sinai and Beyond"

After Shavuot Ma'ariv/Evening services (which start at 7:45pm), we are proud and excited to welcome Storyteller Renee Brachfeld and Hazzan Mark Novak to kick off our Tikkun Leil Shavuot. Starting at approximately 8:30 pm and leading us into our evening of Torah study, Mark and Renee will weave story, song, chant, and even some juggling into a thought-provoking and entertaining program.

Afterwards, stick around for late-night learning and lots of cheesecake & blintzes!

Interactive learning sessions will go until 1:00 am, and will be taught by Rabbi Stone, Adam Levick, and Miriam Steinberg. Join us for topics you just won't find anywhere else:

• Piece (of kosher meat) and Justice
• Against A post-modern critique of religious identity: Or, why Judaism is better than bowling
• Shavuot, and the Jewish origins of the all-nighter

Everyone is invited!  RSVP requested below.

Mark Novak and Renee Brachfeld are a dynamic husband and wife storytelling duo. Their stories are drawn from the rich tradition of Jewish texts, folk tales and contemporary Jewish literature. Their programs have received rave reviews at The Kennedy Center, The Seattle Storytelling Festival, and over 120 Scholar-in-Residence Weekends at synagogues across the U.S.

For more information, please contact Hazzan Grainer at cantorgrainer@bzbi.org or 215-735-5148 ex.101 or Miriam Steinberg at info@jewishgrads.org or 215-898-6451.

Mekor Habracha/Center City Synagogue will be hosting an all night learning program from 11:30-4:30 AM at our new location, 127 South 22nd Street between Walnut and Sansom. Refreshments will be served.

Shavuot evening services begin at 8 PM followed by a dinner buffet at Rabbi Hirsch's apartment, 1824 Chestnut #2F at 9:30 PM. Reservations for dinner are required to rabbiehirsch@aol.com.  The deadline to RSVP is Thursday, June 5.

Sunrise morning services will be held at 4:45 AM.

All are invited - looking forward to seeing you there!

The World Premiere of
House, Divided, a new play by Philadelphia playwright Larry Loebell
presented by InterAct Theatre Company
Running from May 23-June 22

Performances are 7 p.m. Tues. & Wed., 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. and 2 p.m. on Sunday, and student tickets are available for as low as $10! See below for details.

House, Divided tells the story of the Goldstein family of Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, which is torn apart when older brother Louis decides to embrace Jewish orthodoxy and moves to Israel to become an officer in the Israeli army. Feeling betrayed but determined to follow his own heart, Louis' younger brother Douglas builds his life around peace activism, becoming a Senior Director with Amnesty International. After 30 years, however, the silence between them is broken when they are forced to engage one another when Louis' son, Oren, deserts the Israeli army and flees to America. At the same time, Douglas's son, Paul, turns away from his father's pacifist teachings to become a computer programmer who designs violent video games. Divided by deep familial wounds and opposing religious and political beliefs, Douglas and Louis try to bridge their estrangement by grappling with their sons' surprising life choices. House, Divided is a challenging and timely examination of family, faith and politics, and how the desire to distance ourselves from our past may bring it closer to home in the future.

Post-show discussions, which further illuminate the issues raised in House, Divided, follow several performances. Speaker Sundays, a series featuring invited scholars, community leaders and artists, are scheduled to follow matinee performances on Sunday, June 1, 8 and 15. On Sunday, June 1, the guest speaker will be Dr. Salman Akhtar, Professor of Psychiatry at Jefferson University. Visit our website for the current schedule of speakers.

Regularly priced tickets for House, Divided are $15 for previews, $23 Tues.-Thurs., and $27 Fri.-Sun.
Student priced tickets (with valid student ID) are as follows:
Student weekdays $16
Student Weekends $18
Student Rush $10 ( You must show up to box office no more then ten minutes prior to curtain to get rush tickets)

To make reservations or to find out more information, call us at 215-568-8079 or visit us online at www.InterActTheatre.org. We look forward to hearing from you!