Mekor Baruch (, lit., "blessed source" or "fountain of blessing") also spelled Makor Baruch, is a neighborhood in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. The neighborhood is bordered by Malkhei Yisrael Street to the north, Sarei Yisrael Street to the west, Jaffa Road to the south, and the Zikhron Moshe neighborhood to the east.

History

Mekor Baruch was founded in 1924 on land purchased from the Schneller Orphanage by the Jerusalem-American Land Company, a consortium of Jerusalem and American investors. The name of the neighborhood was based on the words ''Yehi mekorkha baruch'' ("Let your fountain be blessed") in

Proverbs A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial ...

5:18. Differing sources place the beneficiary of the name as Boris (Baruch) Hershenov, one of the investors, or Baruch Aharanoff, an American philanthropist. The consortium mapped out 207 lots, but due to the economic downturn of 1927–1930, construction did not get underway until the 1930s, by which time the consortium had been liquidated. To the southeast lay an adjacent neighborhood called Ruchama, founded in 1921 and named after

Hosea In the Hebrew Bible, Hosea ( or ; ), also known as Osee (), son of Beeri, was an 8th-century BC prophet in Israel and the nominal primary author of the Book of Hosea. He is the first of the Twelve Minor Prophets, whose collective writing ...

2:3. This neighborhood was absorbed into Mekor Baruch after 1948.

Geography

Mekor Baruch is located above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. The area lies at the head of the Ben-Hinnom Valley, a -long

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

that winds down Jaffa Road to Independence Park and Mamilla Pool until it intersects with the Kidron Valley. The main street of the neighborhood is

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

Street. In the northwest quadrant, a group of streets are named after heroes of the

Hanukkah Hanukkah (, ; ''Ḥănukkā'' ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd ce ...

story, Yehuda Hamaccabee, Shimon Hamaccabee, and Elazar Hamaccabee; these streets intersect HaHashmonaim (The Hasmoneans) Street.

Demographics

Before 1948, Mekor Baruch was considered upscale and was home to Eastern European Labor Party members and

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivors. In a 1938 census, the population was recorded at 2,500. After the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, large numbers of Jewish refugees from Eastern lands moved into the area and the buildings became rundown. In the 1960s,

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

Jews began to move into the neighborhood. Today the neighborhood is Haredi, with a mix of

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

and

Sephardi Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

residents. In a 2010 real estate report, Mekor Baruch logged a 26 percent increase in home prices, the largest increase in the city, with sales of three-room apartments averaging

US $ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

384,000 ( NIS 1.5 million). The increase was said to be influenced by the influx of "social centers" to the neighborhood.

Health care

The neighborhood houses clinics for three out of the four Israeli

health maintenance organization In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded hea ...

s: Clalit, Meuhedet, and Leumit. The Clalit clinic is part of the Mekor Baruch Health Clinic, a three-story medical center that includes an emergency room and operating theaters. The Meuhedet clinic on Haturim Street occupies one of Meuhedet's main offices in Jerusalem.

Industrial zone

Mekor Baruch is the site of an aging yet active industrial zone bordered by Yehuda Hamaccabee Street, Rashi Street, and Gesher Hachaim Street. Built in the 1950s by the Jerusalem Economic Corporation, the multi-story complex is home to about 40 companies engaged in

light industry Light industry are Industry (economics), industries that usually are less Capital intensity, capital-intensive than heavy industry, heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consum ...

, including manufacturers of

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

s, pencils, and Judaica, the MA’AS Rehabilitation Center and Sheltered Workshop, and printing establishments, including the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...

Hamodia ''Hamodia'' ( – "''the Informer''") is a Jewish daily newspaper, published in Hebrew language, Hebrew-language in Jerusalem and English language, English-language in the United States, as well as weekly English-language editions in England and I ...

'' daily newspaper.

Education

Yeshivas

* Hashalom Yeshiva * Hazon Yeshaya Institutions - Yeshiva and

Kollel A kollel (also kolel) (, , , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced Torah study, study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features Shiur (Torah), shiurim (lectures) and ...

*Ohr Shmuel Yeshiva *Rinat HaTorah Yeshiva * Sfas Emes Yeshiva, founded in 1925, with an adjacent '' ohel'' containing the graves of the Imrei Emes and Pnei Menachem * Shaar Hashamayim Yeshiva, a

Kabbalah Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...

yeshiva founded in 1906 and currently headed by Rabbi Gamliel Rabinowitz * Yakirei Yisrael Yeshiva * Ruzhin Yeshiva, combined with the main synagogue of chassidut Boyan. * Ateret Shlomo Yeshiva * Yeshivat haMekubalim and the Beit El Synagogue on Rashi Street

Schools

* Bais Yaakov Seminary *Mesoras Rachel Seminary * Talmud Torah Hamesorah, formerly the

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

Tachkemoni School founded here in 1929

Landmarks

* IDF Jerusalem Recruiting Center *Prima Palace Hotel (formerly Central Hotel) * Hazon Yeshaya Humanitarian Network - food support, dental care, vocational training, now managed by Carmei Ha’Ir.
Miklat l’Omanut art studio and gallery

Notable residents

* Solomon Eliezer Alfandari, former Chief Rabbi of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. The street on which he lived his last years is named after him * Nachum Dov Brayer, the Boyaner

Rebbe A Rebbe () or Admor () is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spirituality (Audio)''. UCTV, 20 Oct 2011. web. ...

Amos Oz Amos Oz (; born Amos Klausner (); 4 May 1939 – 28 December 2018) was an Israeli writer, novelist, journalist, and intellectual. He was also a professor of Hebrew literature at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. From 1967 onwards, Oz was a pro ...

* Yitzhak Navon

Cultural references

Much of the action in

's novel '' My Michael'' takes place in Mekor Baruch.Wirth-Nesher, ''Impartial Maps'', pp. 61–62.

References

External links

Aerial street map of Mekor Baruch"Jerusalem – Secular Jews Tour a Foreign Culture: Hareidi Jews"
'' Vosizneias'', 14 December 2010 {{coord, 31, 47, 19.07, N, 35, 12, 38.32, E, display=title Neighbourhoods of Jerusalem 1924 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Populated places established in 1924