Welcome to Temple Tiferet Shalom!

Your Reform Jewish Home

We are a warm and vibrant congregation based in the Reform Jewish tradition. Here you will find a welcoming and inclusive community of spirituality, comfort, and life-long learning for individuals and families. We have a culture of engaging in Jewish life through prayer, study, celebration, and social action to make our world a better place.

Pre-registration by all visitors (who are not members) is now required.

Temple Tiferet Shalom warmly greets all newcomers to its community. However, during these challenging times, out of an abundance of caution, we now require all visitors who are not temple members to pre-register with the Temple Office at least 24 hours in advance before attending a service or event.

To pre-register, please call 978-535-2100 between 9AM and 4PM. You may not receive a confirmation call back, but you will be placed on the guest list. Visitors may accompany a Temple member to Temple without pre-registration.

TEMPLE TIFERET SHALOM WILL REQUIRE PRE-REGISTRATION BY ALL VISITORS:

Temple Tiferet Shalom warmly greets all newcomers to its community; however, during these challenging times, out of an abundance of caution, we now require all visitors who are not temple members to pre-register with the Temple Office at least 24 hours before attending a service or event. Thank you for helping to keep our community safe.

To pre-register, please call 978-535-2100 between 9AM and 4PM. Visitors may accompany a Temple member to Temple without pre-registration.

While no steps can guarantee Temple security, we believe this strikes the correct balance between our desire to be a warm and welcoming community and a safe one.”

A Statement from Rabbi Evan Sheinhait and TTS President, Jodi Coburn

Hamas’s attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023 have left Jews around the world in a state of grief, anger, and mourning.

In all moments of life, Temple Tiferet Shalom supports its members, our local and national communities, and Jewish communities in Israel and around the world.

For as long as this conflict continues, our Temple is here to support you and your family through constructive dialogue and prayer.

For ways to support Israel during this difficult time, please visit the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ’s) article entitled “How You Can Support Israel During This Time of Great Tragedy and Mourning,” at https://urj.org/blog/how-you-can-support-israel-during-time-great-tragedy-and-mourning.

Messages from...

Rabbi, Evan Sheinhait

With Pumpkin Spice lattes and Halloween decorations already on full display, it feels like we are being rushed into autumn. Many of us recently returned from camp, vacations, and time with loved ones, enjoying all the blessings of summer. Now, the school year is upon us. In the blink of an eye, we will fill our hallways and classrooms filled with the joyous sound of children playing and learning together. The routine of the year happens without us appreciating the transition into this next chapter.

Our Jewish calendar, on the other hand, fortunately, eases us into the fall-time transition. We all know the High Holy Days are just around the corner (even if they are much later than expected), yet we never rush into them. We take the time, the whole month of Elul, to be exact, to prepare for this seasonal shift. Once Elul begins, which starts on the evening of September 3rd this year, we practice mindful adjustments to our lives that are more in tune with the High Holy Days. We dine on apples and honey at our Shabbat table to increase the sweetness of our lives. We begin making amends to be ready for Yom Kippur. The music and liturgy of our Shabbat services nod to the drama and awe of the season, hinting at the production about to occur. Rituals frequent our calendar, from Selichot to our annual cemetery pilgrimages and even Reverse Tashlikh, allowing the messages of the holidays to settle upon our hearts. We are never expected to rush into the holiday season without any preparation. This whole month is one long meditative moment, facilitating us out of the ease of summer and toward the sacred work of the year.

Once the holidays arrive, our fall is off and running with more holidays, events, programs, services, and opportunities for our community to gather together. We prepare so we can celebrate. Because of the holidays’ lateness this year, we might want to push off our preparations another day or two, but we all know what happens when we do! There is no better time than right now to begin our transition into the High Holy Day season.

Shanah Tova u’Metuka! Wishing you and your loved ones a healthy and sweet 5785!

Rabbi Evan

Rabbi Evan Sheinhait (he/him)

President, Jodi Coburn

Dear TTS family,

As our year progresses, I am perpetually astounded and humbled by the amount and quality of work that our Board of Trustees members and committee members are doing. These volunteers are putting in hours and hours to ensure that our congregation has a safe space in which to gather (Security), gets a quality Reform Jewish experience (Worship), makes strides towards making our world a better place for all people and for the planet (Social Action), has a building that stays in working order and is beautiful (House), has opportunities to engage in learning (Adult Education), stays fiscally healthy (Finance), offers a good social life (Sisterhood and Brotherhood), keeps us accessible and inviting to all (Inclusion), and honors our collective past (Zachor). There are other smaller groups working on projects, too, and I appreciate every single individual who helps to make TTS the warm and meaningful home it is for us.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said, "Religion creates community, community creates altruism, and altruism turns us away from self and towards the common good… There is something about the tenor of relationships within a religious community that makes it the best tutorial in citizenship and good neighborliness." He is right. We are still in need of people to work on Publicity, Membership, Youth, and the Religious School. You do not necessarily need to be a committee chair (although that would be great!); you could just help with a small part of the work or just help for a short amount of time, if that's what your life allows. Also, we are always in need of volunteers to do security (non-confrontational) and greeting, and we provide easy training. If you are able to help with anything mentioned above, please email me.

We have a calendar full of programs coming up, so I hope you'll take a moment to look at the flyers, as well as those in the Weekly Updates each Friday. If you don't see something that interests you, and you have an idea for a program, please let me know, and I'll try to get that going for you. I am certain that we have a way for every person to connect to TTS, so let's find yours.

I am not here for me; I'm here for you.

L’shalom,

Jodi