Temple Shalom of Newton

Wonderful place. Warm clergy, accepting community, musical environment with fantastic cantor. Lovely place to anchor family.

Tough to rate a house of worship, if that’s what you want to call it. I prefer to see Temple Shalom as a Newton community of people who share a common background and come together to celebrate life and give thanks. Spiritual leader and chief rabbi Eric Gurvis leads the spiritual aspect of the congregation in an inclusive, contemporary style of American reform Judaism. He is an excellent speaker and writer available to all for coffee, talk or weddings, etc. Asst Rabbi Hirsch is equally committed. The physical space of the synagogue is contemporary using a lot of wood and windows so as to feature the beautiful natural setting. A great organization and physical space to reinforce positive values, an oasis.

I’m 25 and live in Brighton. I went to Temple Shalom for the High Holidays in 2010 — I had broken my leg a month before and couldn’t make the trip back to my home temple in NYC — after a friend gave me the heads up that it was nearby.
The entire congregation was warm and welcoming. People greeted me with smiles and the clergy was approachable and open to conversation after. I was impressed and made sure to contribute to their nonperishable food drive the next day.
They have a lot of ways to be involved and a good atmosphere. I’d recommend it for all ages!

I grew up going to Temple Shalom. It’a a great environment, and I met some of my closest friends through the religious school programs. It is very welcoming and i would recommend it strongly!

My fiancée and I looked into joining this temple and having our wedding there. I grew up in Newton and wanted to have our wedding at a temple in that area.
After speaking the Rabbi Perlman who during the entire interview tried persistently to convince us that this congregation is not for us since we (30 years old) are too young and could not make use of what they have to offer. Yes they have many child oriented activities and at the moment my fiancée and I are childless, but this will probably not be for ever, but should that be the primary reason for letting people join a congregation?
I believe that if you are jewish you should be welcomed to join in to any community not ostracized for not fitting into their particular demographic. Well low and behold, the rabbi calls us back flat out refusing our request to join their congregation because THEY don’t believe that we would be a «good fit» aka don’t have kids and are probably not very wealthy in order to be able to contribute monetarily to paying their fat paychecks, as if the exorbitant membership fee wasn’t enough, to add to it they mask themselves under a flag of community and jewish prosperity, but in reality are a bunch of elitists, who just want to belong to an exclusive club. If you’re an exclusive club. then dont’ call yourself a synagogue because then you’re sending out a false symbol to those around you thinking that you’re warm and welcoming.

this synagogue is not so young adult driven, but if you have a family, it’s a very nice community. i am a little biased because my boyfriend works there, but the staff are all really really nice, and i think they have excellent rabbis. theres always a lot going on, too — special events, services, etc.