Reconstructionist/renewal Judaism at its very finest. This lovely community repurposed an already…read moregorgeous women's club as a sanctuary, and seems to be growing mindfully to fill a need for worship and social justice in North Bay. Don't believe me, just log onto a (mixed presence or fully online) Friday night Shabbat service sometime!

If you are seeking a place to actually be yourself and explore your relationship to Judaism in a…read moresupportive, caring community, this is the shul you've been looking for. A warm, very very welcoming, diverse and interesting congregation calls this spot home. It's constructionist, progressive LGBTQI welcoming and one of the few places of any denomination that truly seems like a place where people are attempting to make a community based on love, spirituality and compassion. Come as you are -- everyone and his or her own relationship to Judaism, religion and Jewish services is invited. Whatever your reason for coming, there is someone else there with that reason too. Also, the music is absolutely lovely and gets better every year. And, get this -- services with a sense of humor! All here in the North Bay. Who would have guessed??! Check it out!

During the first shabbat I attended, the Rabbi noticed my new face immediately and I felt welcome…read more The shabbat service framed the next 24 hours so much that I truly rested and felt grateful for being Jewish. The synagogue offers a variety of activities, each night or event I've attended has been so different from any other. Friendly, warm and welcoming people.

This is my home for Jewish life. Welcoming, haimish and diverse. My Jewish spiritual, educational,…read moresocial and charitable home.

Shir Shalom is a welcoming community, welcoming everyone. Programs for all ages and all interests…read more Great support network lead by Rabbi Steve Finley.

I don't feel like I belong two years later political differences with the rabbi losing my…read moremembership unfairly has led me to choose another congregation. I do not feel I am included here anymore. I am sorry I set my expectations so high two years ago

Rabbi Steve was the perfect choice to officiate our wedding. We cannot recommend him enough…read more  He took the time to meet with us regularly, getting to know us and our relationship, guiding us with different options for our ceremony, and helping to craft our ceremony in a way that is personalized to us and the Jewish traditions that mean the most to us. We're so grateful he invited us up to his congregation for Shabbat. We were able to see him in his element, leading the service, and got more connected to our Jewish heritage.  All the rabbis we interviewed said we would fill out a questionnaire they would use to draft their script for the ceremony, but Rabbi Steve meticulously reviewed and incorporated our responses. After the ceremony ended, my husband and I both expressed how we felt Rabbi Steve talked about important traits that we didn't have time to cover in our vows. We filled in the gaps and helped to tell our story in such a beautiful way. His guidance for the ceremony was paramount. We were able to take the Jewish traditions and tailor them in a way that felt the most connected to us -- whether that was taking them as is, finding a modern interpretation, or finding a combination. I am not exaggerating when I tell you we heard from multiple people that our ceremony was the best, most authentic, meaningful wedding ceremonies they've ever had the pleasure of witnessing.  He went above and beyond in providing kippahs for the wedding ceremony, even allowing my husband to select a beautiful woven one from Israel for him to keep as a keepsake from the wedding. Rabbi Steve was a true professional on the day, bringing in the wisdom and Jewish traditions, supporting our union, while letting us and our love truly shine. Any couple working with him is incredibly lucky. Bonus tip, ask for his script after the wedding so you can revisit his beautiful words and keep them as part of your wedding day memories.

Rabbi Steve was an incredible blessing for us both. He guided us through the wedding process, was…read morecommunicative and offered strong support for us. Completely professional with the added value of his kindness and care that we needed as an interfaith couple, as an Israeli bride and an Indian groom. The jewish ceremony was right after the Hindu ceremony and he did a beautiful job in welcoming and highlighting both cultures and people during the ceremony. Definitely recommend to work with him!

I thought Congregation Rodef Sholom was unbelievable. Frankly, I was blown away by the warmth, the…read moresincerity, and the meaningfulness of the bar mitzvah/bat mitzvah I attended there. I thought Rabbi Stacy and Cantor David were warm, lovely people, so inclusive. If you are looking for someplace to join, boy, this seems to be the place. Everyone I know (okay, three families at this point) feels the same way about the place. I don't want to say anything bad about any place else in comparison, because that's not what I am saying. I am just saying that the congregation here is very lucky. They just went on a working post-Katrina trip to New Orleans with high school students, and they have many other community programs. Caring is the word I would use to describe Congregation Rodef Sholom. It was wonderful.

Very well organized programming, rich array of services, social activities etc but never felt very…read morewelcome so did not renew my membership after 1 year. As a newcomer I experienced a lot of clickishness, and a lack of feeling welcome at, for instance the oneg shabbats, which is where such bonding as a newcomer would take place. Interestingly I did witness, on a couple occasions, an AA person, who also appeared to be new or in process of considering whether to join, being shown great attention with a well organized welcomong committee response laying out the red carpet. I was also surprised to find one of the rabbis not to be very warm and friendly as was described in the other reviews. Whenever I saw her at an event and happened to make eye contact, her response was never warm and inviting. With such a large congregation I did not expect anything more than a smile or a hello but this did not happen-- not surprising however since this appears to be the cultural norm for Sinai's congregation as a whole. Now if I was a different demographic.... that might have made a difference!

I am still in disbelief that we found such a perfect temple for us! Take away the Judaism part, and…read morethis is still one of the most inclusive communities I have ever been a part of--the community here has totally brought new life into me after a few major life events. Sometimes it feels reminiscent of a really great cruise: all sorts of activities and events on the itinerary and there's always food around! ;-) My husband and I shopped around and went to a lot of different temples to get a feel of their communities, and we just kept wanting to come back here. I love how diverse this temple is, too--all faiths, all cultures, all skin colors, all beliefs--it's just simply the type of community I want my children to grow up in.

I grew up in a Catholic and Jewish background. This was my first Shabbat service since my family…read morepassed away. Everyone was very welcoming. The service was quite long ( 3 hours) and there was a lunch. The majority of the service was sung in Hebrew. My brain shut off at about an hour and a half but very nice service.

I was a Kol Shofar member from age 5 to age 23 (the last year I could go to high holiday services…read morefor free under my parents membership). My family has seen Kol Shofar change over the years from the leadership of Rabbi White to our current Rabbi, Rabbi Derby and now, Rabbi Levy as Co-Rabbi. High Holidays at Kol Shofar hold many cherished memories for me. Todd Silverstein's soulful interpretation of the holiday melodies is a delight to witness. Rabbi Derby's sermon's are always powerful yet accessible. And even though there are many people in attendance, the atmosphere is still warm and familiiar (probably because my mom *always* insists on sitting in the front row, even when we show up late!) There are truly some remarkable teachers here. Fred Cherniss, Rabbi Derby and Yetta Robinson to name a few. I'm not super fond of the Co-Rabbi, Rabbi Levy, but Rabbi Derby is an amazing spiritual leader who more than makes up for Rabbi Levy's shortcomings. If you are synagogue shopping in Southern Marin, I'd definitely recommend you take a look at Kol Shofar. Be advised that Rabbi Derby is on sabbatical for the next 9 mos.

Rabbi Rice is very kind and greatly helped my wife move to a better spiritual place. ​read more

My daughter and I have made Chabad of Mill Valley our Purim tradition the last couple years. I met…read moreChana (Rabbi Scop's wife) at a store I use to work at and she inviting me to come celebrate Purim with the Chabad. A lot of love, care and tradition goes into every event they have. Unfortunately it's too far of a commute for us to spend every event and holiday there. But, of you are looking for a warm and inviting Jewish community, look no further!