Located in the center of the historical town of Plymouth, Congregation Beth Jacob has the…read moredistinction of being the oldest continually operating synagogue in Massachusetts. The synagogue building was erected in 1913 and was originally an Orthodox schul with a balcony for the women congregants. CBJ became a Reform synagogue in the 1960's, and Rabbi Lawrence Silverman became its rabbi in 1975. As the congregation grew, there was a need for a larger space to accommodate high attendance at High Holy Days services, community Bingo nights, community Passover seders, and large social gatherings, and CBJ purchased a former Methodist church on Court Street to serve as its community center. This building served for many years until it was eventually sold to the Town of Plymouth and is now operating as The Spire Center for the Performing Arts. CBJ is a small congregation, presently about 80 families located in the Greater Plymouth area. We pride ourselves on our "haimishe," friendly atmosphere, welcoming new residents to the area, as well as tourists who are visiting Plymouth. Our members include families with lifelong affiliations with CBJ, many being descendants of its Founders. While the majority are retirees and empty-nesters, we also have a growing number of young families with children who are enrolled in CBJ's outstanding Beit Sefer (Hebrew School) program. After Rabbi Silverman retired at the end of July, 2021, after 44 years of devoted service to CBJ, Rabbi Estelle Mills became our rabbi. Although the synagogue building was closed to in-person services because of the Covid pandemic in March of 2020, CBJ has continued to conduct weekly Friday evening Shabbat services by Zoom, and Rabbi Mills has proven to be a technical wizard, creating PowerPoint slides for inspiring readings and prayers and sharing them with our minyan-goers. She incorporates beautiful music videos into our services, introducing us to new melodies that keep our services fresh and exciting. Her D'var Torah for the week is always relevant to current events while reinforcing the message and substance of the parashah. Significantly, Rabbi Mills has introduced us to the Reform practice of reading from the Torah at our Friday evening services - something that we had never done before. She includes congregants in the service, inviting selected people to light the Shabbat candles, do readings, share special blessings that we have enjoyed over the past week, and to actively engage and participate in the service. If you would like to learn more about CBJ, please visit our website: cbjplymouth.org.

This synagogue is conveniently located in downtown Plymouth, MA. We moved to Plymouth because there…read morewas a temple in the town. Great people, great Rabbi, and a great Religious School.

This community is family for me. I have a home for my heart, my mind, my spirit and my music. It is…read moretruly a blessing!

What? No reviews? It's the best unaffiliated synagogue in the metrowest area! What other place has…read morea rabbi that's been with the congregation since its inception? If you just moved to Acton and you're Jewish, send your kids to Hebrew School here. Come on, people...

I started doing this weird thing ever since I moved to Cambridge from Chicago. I go around to…read moredifferent places of worship and harass - I mean, I ask tons of questions of clergy and churchgoers. A couple weeks ago, the place of worship was Temple Beth Shalom. I called before and asked to meet with a member of the congregation - you know, for the customary questions: Is there a dress code? Are women and men seated separately? Is there any special 'bread and wine' protocol? [This is more important than you'd think - some places of worship extend this to believers of all faiths, others solely to the baptized or members of that congregation - you never know...] So, I went to a service. Chicago's big on diversity, but not so much on the integration of said diversity. We sort of hover around each other. I'd had minimal exposure to the faith/culture; mainly the history of Jewish-Black relations during the Civil Rights era. To sum things up, it was a foreign experience. Thank god for hymnals with English translations alongside the original Hebrew and kind people that simply smile when you respond to their open 'Shabbat Shalom' with a feeble 'Um, thank you?'. At the end of the service, I got to ask even more questions. What was davening? Why do women only count in some of the services? Can Judaism be considered a forward-facing culture with such old-school roots? It was so worth it.

Love the relaxed atmosphere . High Holiday services were wonderful. Great community of all ages.read more

From the owner: We are a Synagogue serving the Jewish community of greater Newburyportread more

I attended a wedding (I'm not Jewish). I can't speak to the religious subtleties, but I was very…read moreimpressed at the building - it's clearly been well-maintained, and it has a much better airiness and feel than European cathedrals that I've visited. I was also impressed at the education level of the Rabbi, the Cantor's enthusiasm was obvious (even if I didn't understand the words), and everyone clearly had a strong sense of what I would call a joyous sense of community. Something that Christian churches rarely have, unfortunately. People were really happy to be there, and to see and help each other. An inspiration.

This is a wonderful Jewish synagogue in the heart of Brookline, MA. A beautiful, large building,…read morewith a gorgeous main sanctuary, function hall, large daily minyan, and Hebrew School. They are open to interfaith couples who choose to raise their children Jewishly; they are open to gay and lesbian Jews; Jews of any ethnic background; Jews by birth and Jews-by-choice (halakhic conversions to Judaism); they are open to Jews who range from the very observant to not-so-observant. Their all-night Tikkun for the holiday of Shavuot is something to be experienced; the best that I have ever gone to. Make no mistake about it, this is a Conservative Jewish synagogue, in the broadest and most traditional sense of the term "conservative Judaism". Conservative Judaism, as it was intended by those who developed it, is trans-denominational, or if you prefer, non-denominational Judaism. They do not hew to a strictly rigid and narrow set of beliefs (theology) and practices (halakha), like so much of the Orthodox. Nor do they jettison all beliefs and practices, as did most of the Reform. As Reform Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut admitted, "there is no such thing as a [Reform] Jewish theological principle, policy, or doctrine", robbing people of the very thing people seek when they become part of a community, or religion. Instead, this synagogue follows the classical rabbinic Jewish path of acknowledging there are Jewish principles of faith, but recognizes that no one code of them ever developed canonical status, thus encouraging members to study many Jewish texts on the subject, and approach them intellectually; the same is true for halakhah (Jewish law and custom); Jewish law is considered to be normative (what one is supposed to do, as opposed to a mere suggestion), yet at the same time following the classical rabbinic Jewish path in which more than one interpretation of the law may be considered valid. This worldview is the basis of classical rabbinic Judaism in the Talmud, and of Conservative Judaism itself, whether or not a synagogue is formally a member of the Conservative movement. By the way, this definition also includes most of the Chavurah movement, the Union for Traditional Judaism, and the more liberal Partnership minyans which are nominally Modern Orthodox :-)

Temple Emanu-El deserves the most improved synagogue in RI award. In a dramatic turnaround…read moreinitiated by retired Rabbi Wayne Franklin, Emanu-El has morphed from a stodgy rigid institution to a welcoming and family friendly place of worship and socialization. They accommodate their congregation by holding early morning as well as regular time Shabbat services and will work with you on membership dues if you need financial help. Most impressive has been their commitment for online services that make it possible for just everyone to attend - even this Brooklyn based RI transplant! So if you are looking for a people friendly shul in the conservative tradition, I recommend the impressive synagogue at the top of the hill - Temple Emanu-El!

This shul has really figured out online zoom programming during covid. We have attended the…read morevirtual Israel Trip, many Trivia Nights, education classes, and Services. The "camera" man during Friday night services does a great job spotlighting families who are singing and dancing in their living rooms. It is common to have 50-100 devices logged into services. Lots of ruach.

The Walnut Street Shul is a welcoming, warm and old-time synagogue. The building itself is…read morebeautiful and more than 100 years old. I have spent Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur there the past 3 years and have loved it more each year. The visiting rabbi is fabulous with lots of spiritual and humanistic energy, and a real sense of how to include people from all walks of life. The shul is also available for visits if you just contact them. A unique and gorgeous piece of Jewish history we are lucky is still intact.