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    Congregation Sha-Aray Shalom

    5.0 (1 review)

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    4 years ago

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    Congregation Beth Jacob

    Congregation Beth Jacob

    4.5(4 reviews)
    19.4 mi

    Located in the center of the historical town of Plymouth, Congregation Beth Jacob has the…read moredistinction of being the oldest continually operating synagogue in Massachusetts. The synagogue building was erected in 1913 and was originally an Orthodox schul with a balcony for the women congregants. CBJ became a Reform synagogue in the 1960's, and Rabbi Lawrence Silverman became its rabbi in 1975. As the congregation grew, there was a need for a larger space to accommodate high attendance at High Holy Days services, community Bingo nights, community Passover seders, and large social gatherings, and CBJ purchased a former Methodist church on Court Street to serve as its community center. This building served for many years until it was eventually sold to the Town of Plymouth and is now operating as The Spire Center for the Performing Arts. CBJ is a small congregation, presently about 80 families located in the Greater Plymouth area. We pride ourselves on our "haimishe," friendly atmosphere, welcoming new residents to the area, as well as tourists who are visiting Plymouth. Our members include families with lifelong affiliations with CBJ, many being descendants of its Founders. While the majority are retirees and empty-nesters, we also have a growing number of young families with children who are enrolled in CBJ's outstanding Beit Sefer (Hebrew School) program. After Rabbi Silverman retired at the end of July, 2021, after 44 years of devoted service to CBJ, Rabbi Estelle Mills became our rabbi. Although the synagogue building was closed to in-person services because of the Covid pandemic in March of 2020, CBJ has continued to conduct weekly Friday evening Shabbat services by Zoom, and Rabbi Mills has proven to be a technical wizard, creating PowerPoint slides for inspiring readings and prayers and sharing them with our minyan-goers. She incorporates beautiful music videos into our services, introducing us to new melodies that keep our services fresh and exciting. Her D'var Torah for the week is always relevant to current events while reinforcing the message and substance of the parashah. Significantly, Rabbi Mills has introduced us to the Reform practice of reading from the Torah at our Friday evening services - something that we had never done before. She includes congregants in the service, inviting selected people to light the Shabbat candles, do readings, share special blessings that we have enjoyed over the past week, and to actively engage and participate in the service. If you would like to learn more about CBJ, please visit our website: cbjplymouth.org.

    This synagogue is conveniently located in downtown Plymouth, MA. We moved to Plymouth because there…read morewas a temple in the town. Great people, great Rabbi, and a great Religious School.

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    Congregation Beth Jacob

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    Congregation Kehillath Israel - The front of our sanctuary.

    Congregation Kehillath Israel

    5.0(3 reviews)
    16.7 mi

    I attended a wedding (I'm not Jewish). I can't speak to the religious subtleties, but I was very…read moreimpressed at the building - it's clearly been well-maintained, and it has a much better airiness and feel than European cathedrals that I've visited. I was also impressed at the education level of the Rabbi, the Cantor's enthusiasm was obvious (even if I didn't understand the words), and everyone clearly had a strong sense of what I would call a joyous sense of community. Something that Christian churches rarely have, unfortunately. People were really happy to be there, and to see and help each other. An inspiration.

    This is a wonderful Jewish synagogue in the heart of Brookline, MA. A beautiful, large building,…read morewith a gorgeous main sanctuary, function hall, large daily minyan, and Hebrew School. They are open to interfaith couples who choose to raise their children Jewishly; they are open to gay and lesbian Jews; Jews of any ethnic background; Jews by birth and Jews-by-choice (halakhic conversions to Judaism); they are open to Jews who range from the very observant to not-so-observant. Their all-night Tikkun for the holiday of Shavuot is something to be experienced; the best that I have ever gone to. Make no mistake about it, this is a Conservative Jewish synagogue, in the broadest and most traditional sense of the term "conservative Judaism". Conservative Judaism, as it was intended by those who developed it, is trans-denominational, or if you prefer, non-denominational Judaism. They do not hew to a strictly rigid and narrow set of beliefs (theology) and practices (halakha), like so much of the Orthodox. Nor do they jettison all beliefs and practices, as did most of the Reform. As Reform Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut admitted, "there is no such thing as a [Reform] Jewish theological principle, policy, or doctrine", robbing people of the very thing people seek when they become part of a community, or religion. Instead, this synagogue follows the classical rabbinic Jewish path of acknowledging there are Jewish principles of faith, but recognizes that no one code of them ever developed canonical status, thus encouraging members to study many Jewish texts on the subject, and approach them intellectually; the same is true for halakhah (Jewish law and custom); Jewish law is considered to be normative (what one is supposed to do, as opposed to a mere suggestion), yet at the same time following the classical rabbinic Jewish path in which more than one interpretation of the law may be considered valid. This worldview is the basis of classical rabbinic Judaism in the Talmud, and of Conservative Judaism itself, whether or not a synagogue is formally a member of the Conservative movement. By the way, this definition also includes most of the Chavurah movement, the Union for Traditional Judaism, and the more liberal Partnership minyans which are nominally Modern Orthodox :-)

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    Congregation Kehillath Israel
    Congregation Kehillath Israel
    Congregation Kehillath Israel

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    Congregation Sha-Aray Shalom - synagogues - Updated May 2026

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