ABOUT US
Like Somerville, Temple B’nai Brith is in a constant process of reinvention. Our congregation dates back to 1904 and our beautiful Byzantine Revival building dates back to 1919. Every generation of our congregation has looked quite different from the ones before and after it. We are a diverse and welcoming group of about 180 families, with a thriving Sunday school, and interesting, ever-changing programs. We value urban life, inclusive community, and the wisdom and inspiration of our heritage. We invite you to spend some time with us, and perhaps even help us to envision the next generation of Temple B’nai Brith.
Some of us love the traditional liturgy, and others prefer alternative forms of worship. Some of us love studying ancient wisdom literature, and others love science fiction and superheroes. Some come to shul to sing, and others to learn about Jewish history or mysticism or how to make a truly fabulous challah. Our community members range from the yeshiva-trained devout to science-minded atheists, and we all choose this eclectic, renewing form of Judaism.
OUR CLERGY
Rabbi Eliana Jacobowitz
Rabbi Eliana Jacobowitz has been the rabbi of Temple B’nai Brith in Somerville, MA since her ordination from Hebrew College in 2010. Born and raised in Israel, she studied law at Tel Aviv University, holds both a certificate in Fashion Design from Tel Aviv's Miriam College and an MA degree in Medieval History from Boston University.
For the past two decades, Eliana’s teaching has focused on Holocaust education and Jewish mysticism. She has been the facilitator of the Gvanim Leadership program of the AIC in Boston, as well as a guest lecturer on Judaism and Jewish mysticism at Simmons College, Boston College and Boston University. She is coeditor of the Hebrew translation of Arthur Green’s These are the Words, (Yedi’ot Acharonot, 2008).
On a less serious note, Eliana can be described as a pop culture loving nerd with extra appreciation of punk music and fantasy literature. She shares her home with her cat Shunra, and way too many sewing machines.
Read Rabbi Eliana's sermons here:
5782 Rosh Hashanah
5782 Kol Nidrei
5780 Rosh Hashanah
5778 Rosh Hashanah
5778 Kol Nidrei
For the past two decades, Eliana’s teaching has focused on Holocaust education and Jewish mysticism. She has been the facilitator of the Gvanim Leadership program of the AIC in Boston, as well as a guest lecturer on Judaism and Jewish mysticism at Simmons College, Boston College and Boston University. She is coeditor of the Hebrew translation of Arthur Green’s These are the Words, (Yedi’ot Acharonot, 2008).
On a less serious note, Eliana can be described as a pop culture loving nerd with extra appreciation of punk music and fantasy literature. She shares her home with her cat Shunra, and way too many sewing machines.
Read Rabbi Eliana's sermons here:
5782 Rosh Hashanah
5782 Kol Nidrei
5780 Rosh Hashanah
5778 Rosh Hashanah
5778 Kol Nidrei
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Rabbi Eliana told her story to The Somerville Scout in January/February 2012.
To download a copy of the article click below!
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Dr. Phil Weiss, Darshan (seeker, inquirer, explainer) Emeritus
A graduate of Columbia College, Phil earned his M.A. and Ph.D. (in Philosophy) at S.U.N.Y Stony Brook. Phil retired as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Wheelock College in 2019.
At Temple B'nai Brith, Phil participates in leading Shabbat and holiday services, as well as Jewish life cycle occasions. Phil continues to provide individual tutoring to students preparing to celebrate becoming bar/bat miztzvah.
Phil is an inspired teacher as well as a student of Jewish thought, ethics, and world religions. His d'vrei Torah (Torah talks), sprinkled with wit and humor, reflect his study of metaphysics and the philosophy of religion, his affinity for Plato, Emerson, Thoreau, Nietzsche, and Whitehead, and his love of Jewish texts.
Five collections of his sermons for the Yamim Nora’im (Days of Awe) have been published by Temple B'nai Brith: Awesome!, More Awe!, God-Awful!, Awe Shucks!, and Awe-Spicious!
At Temple B'nai Brith, Phil participates in leading Shabbat and holiday services, as well as Jewish life cycle occasions. Phil continues to provide individual tutoring to students preparing to celebrate becoming bar/bat miztzvah.
Phil is an inspired teacher as well as a student of Jewish thought, ethics, and world religions. His d'vrei Torah (Torah talks), sprinkled with wit and humor, reflect his study of metaphysics and the philosophy of religion, his affinity for Plato, Emerson, Thoreau, Nietzsche, and Whitehead, and his love of Jewish texts.
Five collections of his sermons for the Yamim Nora’im (Days of Awe) have been published by Temple B'nai Brith: Awesome!, More Awe!, God-Awful!, Awe Shucks!, and Awe-Spicious!
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2023-2024
Officers
Liz Perlman, President
Jeff Dwoskin, Vice-President
Brian Green, Vice-President, Chair of Ritual Committee
Rick Silberman, Vice-President, Chair of Finance Committee
Joshua Meltzer, Treasurer
Mark Niedergang, Secretary
Directors
Emily Ackman
Ian Boardman
Leigh Flannery-O’Sullivan
Brett Goldberg, Chair of Building Committee
Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi
Rozann Kraus
Sara Lennox, Chair of Cemetery Committee
Larry Miller
Brian Morin-Wilson
Amy Pasternack, Chair of School Committee
Ruby Poltorak
Randi Soltysiak
Ellen Stone, Chair of Social Action Committee
Gabi Toth, Chair of Library Committee
Daniel Wolf
Ex-officio
Rabbi Eliana Jacobowitz
Darshan Emeritus Phil Weiss
Lisa Gregerman, Executive Director
Liz Perlman, President
Jeff Dwoskin, Vice-President
Brian Green, Vice-President, Chair of Ritual Committee
Rick Silberman, Vice-President, Chair of Finance Committee
Joshua Meltzer, Treasurer
Mark Niedergang, Secretary
Directors
Emily Ackman
Ian Boardman
Leigh Flannery-O’Sullivan
Brett Goldberg, Chair of Building Committee
Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi
Rozann Kraus
Sara Lennox, Chair of Cemetery Committee
Larry Miller
Brian Morin-Wilson
Amy Pasternack, Chair of School Committee
Ruby Poltorak
Randi Soltysiak
Ellen Stone, Chair of Social Action Committee
Gabi Toth, Chair of Library Committee
Daniel Wolf
Ex-officio
Rabbi Eliana Jacobowitz
Darshan Emeritus Phil Weiss
Lisa Gregerman, Executive Director
OUR BYLAWS
| bylaws.pdf |
OUR HISTORY
Congregation B’nai Brith was founded in 1904 by immigrants from Eastern Europe. They had originally settled in Boston and Chelsea, and began moving further north and west. The Jewish community of Somerville clustered around Magoun Square and Winter Hill, so when it came time to build a synagogue, our beautiful Byzantine Revival building was constructed at the top of Central Street. The beautiful hand-carved mahogany ark in the Morris and Ada Kleiman Sanctuary is one of the oldest in New England. It came from a temple in Boston's North End that was razed in 1920.
The congregation was affiliated with Conservative movement. In the decades following World War II, many of Somerville’s Jews prospered and moved to the suburbs. The congregation lost a generation. By the late 1970s, only a couple of dozen elderly members remained, joined by the occasional student.
In 1980, a philosophy graduate student named Phil Weiss began attending Shabbat services at TBB. Morris and Ada Kleiman, longtime officers of the congregation who owned a pharmacy on Walnut Street, were the heart and soul of TBB. They were struggling to keep it going in the face of suburban drift and the retirement of Rabbi Leo Shubow. Weiss had grown up in a Conservative congregation, taken courses at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and studied in Jerusalem. The Kleimans asked Weiss to read Torah during Shabbat services, and soon he was leading all the services. Weiss, who teaches philosophy and religion at Wheelock College, has served as the congregation's darshan, or teacher, ever since. A new generation of young Jews found their way to TBB in the 80s and 90s, and reinvented the congregation with an exciting blend of traditional worship and inclusive, egalitarian values.
In 2008, the congregation hired Israeli-born rabbinical student Eliana Jacobowitz as its Children's School and Adult Education director. As she neared ordination in 2010, we hired her as our first full-time rabbi since 1978, and we enjoy the leadership of both Phil Weiss and Rabbi Eliana. The reinvention of TBB continues as a new generation of greater-Somerville Jews finds it way to the shul on the hill.
Congregation B’nai Brith was founded in 1904 by immigrants from Eastern Europe. They had originally settled in Boston and Chelsea, and began moving further north and west. The Jewish community of Somerville clustered around Magoun Square and Winter Hill, so when it came time to build a synagogue, our beautiful Byzantine Revival building was constructed at the top of Central Street. The beautiful hand-carved mahogany ark in the Morris and Ada Kleiman Sanctuary is one of the oldest in New England. It came from a temple in Boston's North End that was razed in 1920.
The congregation was affiliated with Conservative movement. In the decades following World War II, many of Somerville’s Jews prospered and moved to the suburbs. The congregation lost a generation. By the late 1970s, only a couple of dozen elderly members remained, joined by the occasional student.
In 1980, a philosophy graduate student named Phil Weiss began attending Shabbat services at TBB. Morris and Ada Kleiman, longtime officers of the congregation who owned a pharmacy on Walnut Street, were the heart and soul of TBB. They were struggling to keep it going in the face of suburban drift and the retirement of Rabbi Leo Shubow. Weiss had grown up in a Conservative congregation, taken courses at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and studied in Jerusalem. The Kleimans asked Weiss to read Torah during Shabbat services, and soon he was leading all the services. Weiss, who teaches philosophy and religion at Wheelock College, has served as the congregation's darshan, or teacher, ever since. A new generation of young Jews found their way to TBB in the 80s and 90s, and reinvented the congregation with an exciting blend of traditional worship and inclusive, egalitarian values.
In 2008, the congregation hired Israeli-born rabbinical student Eliana Jacobowitz as its Children's School and Adult Education director. As she neared ordination in 2010, we hired her as our first full-time rabbi since 1978, and we enjoy the leadership of both Phil Weiss and Rabbi Eliana. The reinvention of TBB continues as a new generation of greater-Somerville Jews finds it way to the shul on the hill.
PARKING
The City of Somerville has resident-only parking restrictions affecting all streets in the city. We ask Somerville residents with a valid parking sticker to use on street parking in order to make our very small parking lot available to non-residents.
Non-residents may park without a permit for two hours on Broadway and Medford Streets between the hours of 8am and 11pm. All other neighborhood streets, including Central Street, will require a resident sticker. There are no resident only parking restrictions on Sundays.
PARKING CONSIDERATION ON SHABBAT & HOLIDAYS
Because the very small U-shaped lot around our building cannot accommodate everyone on busy occasions, the City of Somerville has graciously agreed to suspend resident-only parking restrictions on streets around the synagogue during the following services:
Shabbat (Friday evening and Saturday during services)
Erev Rosh Hashanah and Rosh Hashanah Days 1 and 2
Erev Yom Kippur and Yom Kippur
Sukkot Potluck Friday
Purim
Important: All major parking violations will still be enforced, for example obstructing a posted fire lane, blocking a crosswalk or driveway, parking within 10 ft of a hydrant, or within 20 ft of an intersection (beware of the “No Parking Here to Corner” sign on Central Street, just before Broadway). These tickets cannot be abated. Please try to park on Broadway before parking on side streets.
To have a ticket issued in error excused you must contact the synagogue office within one week of receiving a ticket at tbb@templebnaibrith.org or 617-625-0333. Please do not contact the City directly.
DIRECTIONS to 201 Central Street Somerville, MA 02145
We're located just off Broadway, in the Winter Hill area of Somerville, Massachusetts.