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

B-SAFE Food Project

Thursday, July 23 at 9:00am

CRT members and friends - we have partnered with Emmanuel Church to provide bags of groceries for families of children attending the summer camp program held at St. Stephen's Church under the auspices of the Episcopal diocese. These are families who are living on the edge, and now more than ever, are in need of support. We purchase non-perishable foods to fill 2-bags per family for 25 families, and include a $25 gift card so that they are able to purchase fresh foods.
We hope that you will give a donation to help support our effort. Having been involved with this project over six years, it is a truly meaningful effort and greatly appreciated by the families and children.

Informal Shabbat Service

Friday, July 24 at 6:30pm

During the month of July, Rabbi Shire is on holiday. We offer informal worship and gathering, providing an opportunity to observe Shabbat, and also to remain connected as a community. Join us in Lindsey Chapel. No streaming and no schmooze available.
Keep up with everything going on at CRT, including Zoom links to multicast services, by reading "The Week Ahead," our weekly newsletter. Want to join the email list? Email
info@centralreformtemple.org

CRT
Book Group

Sunday, August 2 at 7:00pm

For next book is : Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity and Belonging by Rabbi Angela Buchdahl 2025 (352 pages) . We'll meet to discuss this on Zoom on Sunday August 2 at 7pm. In the meantime, have a great summer.
SUMMARY: Angela Buchdahl was born in Seoul, the daughter of a Korean Buddhist mother and Jewish American father. Highly spiritual from a young age, by sixteen she felt the first stirrings to become a rabbi. Despite the naysayers and periods of self-doubt, she stayed the course. Rabbi Buchdahl has gone from outsider to officiant, from feeling estranged to feeling embraced. She has emerged with a deep conviction that we are all bound to a larger whole and mission. She has written a book that is both memoir and spiritual guide for everyday living, which is exactly what so many of us crave right now

CRT Sukkah Painting Day

Thursday, August 6 at 2:00pm

Come help paint the back wall covering for the Sukkah making it more attractive, more artistic, and warmer inside. We need people who love splashing around with paint and maybe have no artistic skill. There is a lot of wall to cover with simple colors and fill-in sections as directed. We will provide the brushes and paint, snacks, and music-to-paint-by! You bring some old clothes or an apron and lots of enthusiasm.

Please let us know that you are coming so that we can assign tasks as needed. NO ART EXPERIENCE NEEDED! Please RSVP below.

RSVP

Shabbat Service In person and Multicast

Friday, August 7 at 6:30pm

Join us for our Multicast Shabbat service (in person and online).
More details to come.
Keep up with everything going on at CRT, including Zoom links to multicast services, by reading "The Week Ahead," our weekly newsletter. Want to join the email list? Email
info@centralreformtemple.org

Shabbat Service In Person and Multicast

Friday, August 24 at 6:30pm

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...

We've survived another New England winter and were cozy and warm for our first meeting of 2026 n Lindsay Chapel at our home at 15 Newbury Street. Rabbi Shire leads the service with music by Angelynne Hinson and our music director, Andrew Mattfeld. The service leaflet used for Service III (3) which can be found at this link: https://www.crtboston.org/service-pdf... The songbook with words for songs not in the prayerbook can also be found there. Visit CRTBoston.org for more information on Central Reform Temple of Boston services and events.

Rabbi Shire leads the service and is joined by congregational reader Richard Perlmutter, with Richard and granddaughter Nina lighting candles. Recorded music by Angelynne Hinson and Andrew Mattfeld. For our final winter service online, CRT member Josette Huang shares her journey to CRT and her work shining a light on sexual abuse.Her work is inspirational and he journey enlightening. . The service leaflet used for Service II (2) which can be found at this link: https://www.crtboston.org/service-pdf... The songbook with words for songs not in the prayerbook can also be found there. Visit CRTBoston.org for more information on Central Reform Temple of Boston services and events.

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].