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: 9:15 am every Saturday except Shabbat Together weeks. Shabbat morning services will begin at 9:30am instead as of April 6.
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: 9:15 am every Saturday except Shabbat Together weeks. Shabbat morning services will begin at 9:30am instead as of April 6.
Shabbat Together: a different Shabbat service, one Saturday monthly at 10am
Tot Shabbat Services: 10am one Saturday monthly
The Spiritual World of Yiddish Women’s Prayers
a class with Noam Lerman, Rabbinical Student 7-8:30pm Tuesdays 3/26, 4/2, 4/9, 4/16, Passover break, 4/30, 5/7 $120 per person We need 8 registrants for the class to open, so please register soon! Email rabbieliana@gmail.com with questions. In this 6 class series, we will explore original Yiddish Tekhines, which are supplications that were designated for women to pray in groups or alone at home. We will learn about the history of tekhines, who wrote them, how they were once used, and will study original texts in order to learn more about the people who prayed them. We will have a chance to write our own original spontaneous tekhines, using common formulas found in many, along with our own personal prayers. We will also learn new melodies that are now being paired with old Yiddish tekhines, and will be part of bringing this beautiful liturgy back into our prayer lives.
Shabbat + Bayit = Shabbayit!
March 29, March 30 and May 17 Bayit is the Hebrew word for home, and with the Shabbayit initiative you're invited to spend time getting to know other folks from Temple B’nai Brith over home-hosted Shabbat meals. RSVP for a dinner or get more info about being a host here! 
Song of the Heart
7:30pm Tuesday, April 9 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. 
April 12 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. 
All Other Nights
by Dara Form April date TBD at Panera Porter Square How is tonight different from all other nights? For Jacob Rappaport, a Jewish soldier in the Union army during the Civil War, it is a question his commanders have already answered for him — on Passover, 1862, he is ordered to murder his own uncle in New Orleans, who is plotting to assassinate President Lincoln. After this harrowing mission, Jacob is recruited to pursue another enemy agent, the daughter of a Virginia family friend. But this time, his assignment isn’t to murder the spy, but to marry her. Their marriage, with its riveting and horrifying consequences, reveals the deep divisions that still haunt American life today. Based on real personalities like Judah Benjamin, the Confederacy’s Jewish Secretary of State and spymaster, and on historical facts and events ranging from an African-American spy network to the dramatic self-destruction of the city of Richmond, All Other Nights is a gripping and suspenseful story of men and women driven to the extreme limits of loyalty and betrayal. It is also a brilliant parable of the rift in America that lingers a century and a half later: between those who value family and tradition first, and those dedicated, at any cost, to social and racial justice for all. In this eagerly-awaited third novel, award-winning author Dara Horn brings us page-turning storytelling at its best. Layered with meaning, All Other Nights presents the most American of subjects with originality and insight — and the possibility of reconciliation that might yet await us. 
Tot Shabbat
10-11am Saturday, April 6 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. 
The Ladies Auxiliary
by Tova Mirvis 7pm Wednesday, May 15 at Panera Porter Square When free-spirited Batsheva moves into the close-knit Orthodox community of Memphis, Tennessee, the already precarious relationship between the Ladies Auxiliary and their teenage daughters is shaken to the core. In this extraordinary novel, Tova Mirvis takes us into the fascinating and insular world of the Memphis Orthodox Jews, one ripe with tradition and contradiction. Warm and wise, enchanting and funny, The Ladies Auxiliary brilliantly illuminates the timeless struggle between mothers and daughters, family and self, religious freedom and personal revelation, honoring the past and facing the future. An unforgettable story of uncommon atmosphere, profound insight, and winning humor, The Ladies Auxiliary is a triumphant work of fiction. 
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! 
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
To learn more about membership: membership@templebnaibrith.org
For the 20s and 30s group: tbb20s30s@gmail.com
For the 20s and 30s group: tbb20s30s@gmail.com