Welcome to Temple B'nai Brith in Somerville!
We are an independent egalitarian congregation. Our membership reflects the wide variety of choices people make in living Jewish lives, and we are respectful of those differences. We welcome all who care about enriching Jewish life in Somerville and surrounding towns.
Join us for...
Kabbalat Shabbat Services: 6pm every Friday
Shabbat Morning Services: 9:15am every Saturday except Shabbat Together weeks
Shabbat Together: a different Shabbat service, one Saturday monthly at 10am
Tot Shabbat Services: 10am one Saturday monthly
We are an independent egalitarian congregation. Our membership reflects the wide variety of choices people make in living Jewish lives, and we are respectful of those differences. We welcome all who care about enriching Jewish life in Somerville and surrounding towns.
Join us for...
Kabbalat Shabbat Services: 6pm every Friday
Shabbat Morning Services: 9:15am every Saturday except Shabbat Together weeks
Shabbat Together: a different Shabbat service, one Saturday monthly at 10am
Tot Shabbat Services: 10am one Saturday monthly
We'll follow the arc of the morning service from the morning blessings and songs through the Sh'ma and Amidah, to the Torah service, the D'var Torah, and the concluding prayers.
Shabbat Together is a welcoming, inclusive, fully translated and transliterated service that... - Provides a comfortable space to learn - Has a shorter Torah reading - Gives us time to gather as a community - Includes joyful singing and chanting We welcome your presence! 
Cantillation I: Reading Torah
taught by Darshan Phil Weiss 6 sessions, 9:30 – 11am Sundays February 24, March 3, 10, 24, 31, April 7 Ever wonder about those funny marks in biblical texts that aren’t vowels? In Hebrew they are called טעמים-- t’amim (which means “tastes” or “accents”). It turns out that they serve both as punctuation marks and as musical notations (thus indicating the “taste” of the text). In English they are called “tropes” (since they indicate the “turns of phrase” in the text). In this course, students will learn to interpret those marks in the process of chanting from the Torah. The hope is that this will lead to our congregation having more people who know how to read Torah and who will be able to participate in our services by chanting portions of the Torah. The only prerequisite for the course is the ability to decode Hebrew letters. Phil will be providing trope sheets and an MP3 file. It would be great if students came with either email addresses at which they can receive the file or USB drives onto which they can download the file.
The Sisters of the Winter Wood
by Rena Rossner 7pm Wednesday, February 20 at Panera Porter Square "Intricately crafted, gorgeously rendered...full of heart, history, and enchantment." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) Captivating and boldly imaginative, with a tale of sisterhood at its heart, Rena Rossner's debut fantasy invites you to enter a world filled with magic, folklore, and the dangers of the woods. In a remote village surrounded by vast forests on the border of Moldova and Ukraine, sisters Liba and Laya have been raised on the honeyed scent of their Mami's babka and the low rumble of their Tati's prayers. But when a troupe of mysterious men arrives, Laya falls under their spell - despite their mother's warning to be wary of strangers. And this is not the only danger lurking in the woods. As dark forces close in on their village, Liba and Laya discover a family secret passed down through generations. Faced with a magical heritage they never knew existed, the sisters realize the old fairy tales are true...and could save them all. 
The Calculating Stars
by Mary Robinette Kowal 7pm Wednesday, March 27 at Panera Porter Square In 1952, mathematician and pilot Elma York is on vacation with her rocket scientist husband, Nathaniel, when a meteor strikes Chesapeake Bay, obliterating most of the East Coast. Elma quickly realizes that this is an extinction event, and that the only option for humanity’s survival is off-world colonization. In a compelling parallel to our own history, Elma, who is Jewish, fights to have women of all races and backgrounds included in the burgeoning space program, squaring off against patriarchal attitudes, her own anxiety, and an adversary from her past service as a war pilot. Kowal explores a wide range of issues—including religion, grief, survivor’s guilt, mental health, racism, misogyny, and globalism—without sermonising or subsuming the characters and plot. Elma’s struggles with her own prejudices and relationships, including her relationship with herself, provide a captivating human center to the apocalyptic background. Readers will thrill to the story of this 'lady astronaut' and eagerly anticipate the promised sequels. --Publishers Weekly (starred review) 
Tot Shabbat
10-11am March 2 Is your child too young to sit through a full service? Tot Shabbat is a short, monthly 10-11am Saturday morning service for young children (preschool-kindergarten) and their families. Led by Rabbi Eliana Jacobowitz, we sing and dance our way through a short and simplified service, followed by a Torah procession, a Shabbat story, and a light kiddush snack. This is a fun way to begin making the synagogue feel like home to young children while introducing them to the ABC’s of Jewish tradition. 
March 8 is Potluck Friday
Services at 6pm, immediately followed by a vegetarian potluck dinner. Join us for a vegetarian potluck dinner on Friday, March 8 immediately following Kabbalat Shabbat services. Please bring a vegetarian dish to share (for 6+ people). Dairy is okay, but no fish please. We will have one table reserved for hechshered foods and those prepared in the TBB kitchen, with separate tables for home prepared dishes. RSVPs appreciated but not required, click here. 
Song of the Heart
with Rabbi Eliana 7:30pm Tuesday, March 12 According to the midrash (homiletic interpretation of Jewish text) every part of creation, even the earth and the stones, gives praise to God in the form of a song. This singing is so pleasing to God that it is identified in one midrash as the reason why God created the world in the first place. The human prayer, known also as the song of the heart, is how we join the rest of creation to praise the Creator. Come sing with us. We will meet in Rabbi Eliana’s office to learn a variety of melodies including old and modern melodies, Sefardi and Hassidic melodies, melodies from Jewish text and liturgy. This class is for everyone, regardless of whether you come to services or not, and regardless of whether you think you can sing or not. All texts are transliterated. 
Torah at Panera
8 – 9am Tuesday mornings at the Porter Square Panera Join us for these informal gatherings to discuss the weekly Torah portion. No Hebrew or previous knowledge is necessary, and you don't need to bring your own book. Come early if you wish to buy yourself coffee or breakfast so that we can start on time. Contact rabbieliana@gmail.com for more info. |
Remember to bring your donations of kosher raisins and kosher canned fruit for Family Table!
To receive our emails or newsletter drop us a note at tbb@templebnaibrith.org 
Accessibility
Temple B'nai Brith is proud to be wheelchair accessible. Our accessible entrance is at the rear of the building and equipped with an intercom system. The accessible restroom is located at the front of the building on the ground level. Our elevator provides access to all three levels. 
Inclusion
Our Community welcomes the participation of interfaith couples and families, and people of all abilities, backgrounds, and sexual orientations. 
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Do you like receiving the TBB newsletter in the mail? Should the TBB Shofar go electronic?
We are considering discontinuing the paper newsletter soon, in favor of an email version. We may also continue to send the Shofar by mail to those who wish to receive it that way. Please share your thoughts with us on how we should distribute the Shofar, as well as your personal delivery preference, at templebnaibrith.org/newsletter.
We are considering discontinuing the paper newsletter soon, in favor of an email version. We may also continue to send the Shofar by mail to those who wish to receive it that way. Please share your thoughts with us on how we should distribute the Shofar, as well as your personal delivery preference, at templebnaibrith.org/newsletter.
To receive our emails or newsletter drop us a note at tbb@templebnaibrith.org