Mishkan Library

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About the Library

Mishkan Shalom's Library holds a collection of 4,000+ books and multi-media material, lovingly tended by our Library Committee. The committee's goal is to help meet the Judaic educational and informational needs of our congregation's adult and young adult members. In addition to maintaining, enriching and circulating the collection, the committee plans the annual One Book Mishkan program series. The Library is open to the public and all are welcome to check-out books and other materials, using our self-circulation system. The Library is open whenever the building is open. To confirm building hours, contact the office at (215) 508-0226 or office@mishkan.org. Come and Visit!

We’re so proud of our beautiful library and the depth and vibrancy of our collection. Are you new to our Library? We’re on the third floor across from the Chapel. Everything you need to check-out and return items is just inside the entrance. A guide to our self-circulation system is on the bulletin board and the deposit box for book cards is right below on the circulation table. Returning books? Just put them in the blue plastic return bin under the table and we’ll get them back on the shelves for others to enjoy.

A popular spot for meetings and classes, there are many hours each day when our Library can provide a quiet haven for reading, browsing, working, writing or just contemplating. Come explore…make visiting our Library a regular part of your visits to Mishkan!

Recent Acquisitions, Suggestions & Donations

Ours is a vibrant, living library: We routinely add items to our collection and welcome suggestions for new works.

Click here to see titles, and read brief reviews, for many of our latest additions, and for information regarding donations and new title suggestions.

One Book, One Jewish Community

The Library Committee is so pleased to continue our association with the city-wide OBOJC program. A national model for community building and Jewish literacy, the OBOJC program has touched thousands of individuals throughout the Greater Philadelphia region. Synagogues, agencies and other Jewish communal organizations and institutions explore not only the book itself but also the values and issues raised within.

Prior Year Program Series

Waveland: One Woman's Story of Freedom One Summer, by Simone Zelitch

A Guide for the Perplexed, by Dara Horn

The Golem and Jinni, by Helene Wecher

Previous One Book Mishkan titles:

Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All of its Moods, by Michael Wex
The Plot Against America, by Philip Roth
Betraying Spinoza, by Rebecca Goldstein
Who Wrote the Bible, by Richard Elliott Friedman
The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew and the Heart of the Middle East, by Sandy Tolan
Call It Sleep, by Henry Roth
Sweet and Low: A Family Story, by Rich Cohen
As A Driven Leaf, by Rabbi Milton Steinberg
What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, by Nathan Englander
The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wecker
A Guide for the Perplexed, by Dara Horn
Waveland: One Woman's Story of Freedom Summer, by Simone Zelitch

The Library Committee welcomes all suggestions for the improvement of our Library and programs, including title suggestions for new acquisitions. Donations of new or used books must be pre-approved, as our shelves are bursting at the seams! To confirm we can accept your donation, please contact Eilen Levinson. If you’re a reader, booklover, lover of libraries or want to deepen your knowledge of Jewish subject matter, the Library Committee could be a great fit for you. We'd love to have you join our committee! We also welcome volunteers who can help us maintain the collection. Contact Adam Blistein, Chair.