Temple B'nai Brith

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: 6:00pm 1st and 3rd Fridays of every month
Shabbat Morning Services: 9:30am every Saturday
Tot Shabbat Services: 10am Saturdays monthly, September through June

Potluck Friday October 18
Join us for a vegetarian potluck dinner one Friday monthly, 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.

Potluck Dates 2019-2020:
Sept 20, Oct 18 (in the Sukkah, inside if it's raining), Nov 15, Dec 20, Jan 17, Feb 21, March 20, April 17, May 15, June 19

929: Learning TaNaKh Together
Free of charge
Next session 8:45-9:45am October 19
Doors open for coffee and schmoozing at 8:30am

Always wanted to read the entire Bible? Wondering what happens after the people of Israel leave Egypt and arrive in the Promised Land? Now is your chance! TBB is joining Project 929 – Reading the Hebrew Bible Together! We will read five chapters each week, and meet every other week to discuss. Feel free to drop in when you are able. We also have an email group and Facebook group where discussion questions keep the conversation going as we read at home.

Torah at Panera
8-9am Tuesday mornings resuming October 29
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.

World Religions
taught by Phil Weiss
Sundays, 9 – 10:30am
Nov. 3, 10, 17, 24; Dec. 8, 15

This will be a course of five lectures and one discussion, introducing the main concepts and practices of five religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. After each lecture, there will be time for questions and discussion. The final session will be reserved for reflection on all five religions in their similarities and differences. Huston Smith's The World's Religions is recommended as a companion text.

Judaism's Ten Best Ideas
taught by Rabbi Eliana Jacobowitz
Sundays, 10:45am – Noon
Nov. 3, 10, 17, 24; Dec. 8, 15

Does Judaism have something unique to offer a contemporary seeker, free to choose a way of life and a system of values? In his short book, Judaism's 10 Best Ideas, Rabbi Arthur Green, a leading Jewish Theologian, responds with a resounding yes. Join us as we explore these ten special gifts of our tradition, figure out what are the best elements of Judaism in our opinion, and how do we make them significant in our lives?

Understanding Anti-Semitism

taught by Rabbi Eliana Tuesdays, 7 – 8:30pm
Nov 5, 12, 19, 26 Dec 3, 10

With the increase in visible anti-Semitism in the United States, many of us are looking to deepen our understanding of this phenomenon. Join us as we delve into the history of anti-Semitism in the United States and explore together what it means to be Jewish at a time like this. In this class, we will examine the roots of anti-semitism in our country and tackle questions about internalized anti-semitism, inter-generational trauma, community resilience, and different generations’ experience with anti-Semitism. We will look at how anti-Semitism mutates and why it is different from other prejudices. We will discuss how to recognize anti-Semitic tropes, how these tropes evolve, and how we might be able to better determine when critique of Israel is anti-Semitic. We hope this class will also provide a safe forum in which to process how to cope with this shifting reality and how we may support each other.

Reading with the Rabbi

Paper is White
by Hilary Zaid
7pm Wednesday, November 20
at Panera Porter Square
When oral historian Ellen Margolis and her girlfriend decide to get married, Ellen realizes that she can't go through with a wedding until she tells her grandmother. There's only one problem: her grandmother is dead. As the two young women beat their own early path toward marriage equality, Ellen's longing to plumb that voluminous silence draws her into a clandestine entanglement with a wily Holocaust survivor--a woman with more to hide than tell--and a secret search for buried history. If there is to be a wedding Ellen must decide: How much do you need to share to be true to the one you love? Set in ebullient, 1990s Dot-com era San Francisco, Paper is White is a novel about the gravitational pull of the past and the words we must find to make ourselves whole.

Signup for minyan

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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To receive our emails or newsletter drop us a note at tbb@templebnaibrith.org

To learn more about membership: membership@templebnaibrith.org
For the 20s and 30s group: tbb20s30s@gmail.com