Central Reform Temple of Boston

Wherever you are on your spiritual journey,
the focus of Central Reform Temple of Boston is to provide everyone
with a home for growth and new horizons.
We are a house of prayer for all people.

Rabbi Shire leads the procession carrying the Torah scrolls to the new Ark on Rosh Hashanah followed by Michael Scanlon and Jill Silverstein. Photos by Jesse Kiefer

The word rabbi means "teacher" and our rabbi embodies that title in a very special way. Reading his sermons is a wonderful way to reach a deeper understanding of the ethics that support our faith tradition.

Rabbi Shire's Sermons Now Posted
in print and video

Emmanuel Ctr. Movie Night

Thursday, October 15 at 7:00pm

This week's Emmanuel Center Movie Night features Will and Harper (2024). It is an intimate and vulnerable documentary about a longtime relationship that also becomes an intentional allegory for America's reckoning with transgender understanding.
SUMMARY: When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship in an intimate portrait of friendship and transition.

Shabbat Service & Potluck
in Person & Multicast

Friday, October 30, 2026 at 6:30pm

Join us for our Multicast Shabbat service (in person and online). There will be NO Shabbat Schmooze this week, but we will gather for a Shabbat Potluck in Parish Hall after services. Bring your favorite dish to share.

Keep up with everything going on at CRT, including Zoom links to multicast services, by reading The Week Ahead, our weekly enewsletter. Want to join the email list? Email
info@centralreformtemple.org

Shabbat Service In Person &Multicast

Friday, November 13 at 6:30pm

Join us for our Multicast Shabbat service (in person and online). There will be a Shabbat Schmooze in the Emmanuel Room from 5:45-6:15pm, prior to the service starting. We hope you will join us.

Keep up with everything going on at CRT, including Zoom links to multicast services, by reading The Week Ahead, our weekly enewsletter. Want to join the email list? Email
info@centralreformtemple.org

Torah Study
In Person & Zoom

Saturday, November 14 at 10:00am

Join us for our monthly Torah Study time with Rabbi Shire. Details on the next Torah parasha will appear the week before.
For those in person, we will enjoy coffee and pastries in the Emmanuel Room at 15 Newbury. We hope those on ZOOM will grab a snack and join.

Keep up with everything going on at CRT, including Zoom links to multicast services, by reading The Week Ahead, our weekly enewsletter. Want to join the email list? Email
info@centralreformtemple.org

Next CRT Book Group

Sunday, November 15 at 7:00pm

We have chosen for our next book Kafka’s Metamorphosis (38 pages).
SUMMARY: The Metamorphosis
(German title: "Die Verwandlung") is a short novel by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. Often cited as one of the seminal works of fiction of the 20th century, it is widely studied across the western world. The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed into an insect.

Emmanuel Center Movie Night

Thursday, November 19 at 7:00pm

Our next film is Silkwood (1983).
SUMMARY: The movie Silkwood tells the true story of Karen Silkwood, a worker at a plutonium processing plant who becomes a whistleblower after discovering unsafe working conditions and contamination at the facility. As she gathers evidence to expose the plant's violations, she faces increasing harassment and danger, culminating in her mysterious death in a car accident while en route to meet a journalist. The film highlights themes of corporate malfeasance and the personal cost of standing up for justice.

View Calendar Events

click here to See photos, sermons, and REsources

Central Reform Temple of Boston is a uniquely welcoming community that embraces the richness of the Jewish tradition. Our worship, conducted primarily in English, is inclusive and accessible. We offer a warm, unconditional welcome to all who seek to join us in worship, study, and service, without regard to religious background or beliefs. One need not be born Jewish, be able to read Hebrew, or convert to Judaism to be a full, participating member of Central Reform Temple. Interfaith families and people of all faiths, including the unaffiliated, are fully embraced. Members of the LGBTQ community are a vibrant part of our Temple family.

March 13th marks our return to Multicast Shabbat services (in person and online). We will celebrate being together in person with a Shabbat Potluck supper after services. We will start with a Shabbat Schmooze with the rabbi and CRT members at 5:40 in the Emmanuel Room. Rabbi Shire will lead us in worship and we will be accompanied by our musicians.
Everyone is welcome.
If you would like to be on the newsletter list at CRT, email
info@centralreformtemple.org

With a focus on adult programming and social justice, we strive to be engaged with each other both within and outside our Shabbat, Festival, and High Holy Day Services. Our one-of-a-kind covenant relationship with Emmanuel Episcopal Church with whom we share our spiritual home, integrates us both physically and ideologically within the Back Bay interfaith community.

Membership & Donations

Our Rabbi

Rabbi Dr. Michael Shire joined Central Reform Temple of Boston as part-time rabbinic leader on July 1, 2022. Rabbi Shire also holds the title Rabbi in Residence at Emmanuel Church in the city of Boston. He is Professor of Jewish Education at Hebrew College.

More About Rabbi Shire

View and Read Rabbi Shire Sermons

Link to Press Release for Publication

From the Rabbi's Study

Perhaps the single most practical thing Judaism has offered to the world, is the distinction between the working week and a day of rest. This concept of Shabbat first conceptualized in the Hebrew Bible and then spun into a myriad forms has been applied by every Civilization through the ages to provide a cessation in the unceasing drive to have, to own and to obtain more!
For as Abraham Joshua Heschel stated in his Classic work, ‘The Sabbath’, Shabbat is rather a time to be, to become, to be open to wonder...

All High Holy Day Services curated for you on YouTube. Use the link below to access them all including Selichot and the Yom Kippur afternoon study session.

CRT 5787/2026 High Holy Day Services Click HERE

Rabbi Shire leads our Yom Kippur morning service. Beautiful music provided by our talented and dedicated High Holy Day quartet accompanied on organ and piano by John Dilworth.

Angelynne Hinson Soprano
Amy Lieberman Mezzo Soprano
William Hite Tenor
Mark Andrew Cleveland Bass

Visit CRTBoston.org for more information on Central Reform Temple of Boston services and events. Find an electronic copy here: https://www.crtboston.org/service-pdf.... Subscribe to this channel. Support CRT's Media Team with your donation at https://www.crtboston.org/donations.

Rabbi Shire leads our Kol Nidre service featuring cellist Roric Cunningham. Beautiful music provided by our talented and dedicated High Holy Day quartet accompanied on organ and piano by John Dilworth.

Angelynne Hinson Soprano
Amy Lieberman Mezzo Soprano
William Hite Tenor
Mark Andrew Cleveland Bass

Subscribe to Central Reform Temple YouTube Channel

Enjoy CRT Shabbat Services “on demand” on the temple YouTube channel. When you subscribe you will be notified by email each time a new video is uploaded. Experience CRT services for the first time, review a service you missed, or relax into prayer and meditation in the middle of the week. Enjoy!

Central Reform Temple of Boston meets at our home in
Lindsey Chapel at Emmanuel Church,
15 Newbury Street in Boston, Massachusetts.
We welcome you to join us!

Guests who would like to receive our weekly email with information on service dates, activities, and more please email us at [email protected].