December 3 - December 10 • Vayishlach

Connect this Week

with Temple Sinai

Erev Shabbat Services - Friday, December 5, 6:00pm

Please join us this week for our Erev Shabbat services, led by Rabbi Vogel and Rabbi Stein, in the main Sanctuary or on Zoom. To join Erev Shabbat services by Zoom, click here.

Temple Sinai welcomes back the inspiring, joyful and beautiful music of Jacob’s Ladder on Friday, December 5 at Shabbat Services!

Led by Ariel Wyner, Jacob's Ladder is an internationally touring band seeking to push the boundaries of contemporary Jewish music and traditional bluegrass/American Roots music through Jewish communal singing and prayer, melding these worlds through Eastern European Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jewish traditions and their American heritage. Alongside our longtime klezmer-style Shabbat band on the 2nd Friday of each month, we will welcome Jacob’s Ladder to our Sanctuary on five additional Friday nights during the year, bringing a different musical style to Shabbat services. Funding is provided by the Howard and Arlene Weintraub Fund for Excellence in Music.

Adult B'nai Mitzvah Class Celebration - Saturday, December 6, 9:30am

Marion Cohen - Erin Deemer - Tania Erlij - Daniel Harsha - Justeen Hyde Mneesha Gellman - Tracy Moshe - Jennifer Sullivan

Caitlin Vaughn Schaffer - Matt Weyant 

For over 15 months, the Adult B’nai Mitzvah class at Temple Sinai has been learning Hebrew, discovering the meanings of Jewish prayer, studying the Torah portion, and exploring our Jewish journeys as individuals. Please join us to celebrate our Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class with this special service, when they are called to the Torah.

In honor of our Adult B’nai Mitzvah, we are organizing a community tikkun olam project to support La Colaborativa in Chelsea. Our goal is to raise $5,000 to help strengthen food security and provide vital resources for our immigrant neighbors. Click here to donate!

Read the December Luach Online

The paper version of the December Lu'ach

will arrive in your US mailbox soon. Meanwhile, please click here for a digital version. Please join us for many events, Shabbat services, classes, and holiday celebrations with your Temple Sinai community!

Thursday Study Group

with Rabbi Andy Vogel

Thursday, December 4, 10:15am

New Topic: Poetry, Music and the Jewish Journey of Leonard Cohen

Join us each Thursday for a lively and friendly class with Rabbi Vogel. We study a wide variety of topics, rotating to a new field of study about every six weeks or so. Thursday Study includes discussions, films, text study, and an occasional guest speaker. Join us each week or feel free to drop in just once! Contact the Temple office to be added to the email list for information about each week’s session and link.

In person, or by Zoom. All are welcome! 

K'tonton

Sunday, December 7, 10:00am-12:00pm, in the Larkin Library

This fun, interactive Jewish drop-off program for 3 & 4 year olds introduces young children to Jewish holidays and practices through arts & crafts, songs, stories and games. It’s a great way to introduce your child to the joy of Jewish learning!

Sample Class of the Teen Fellowship on Antisemitism

Sunday, December 7th, 1:00-2:00pm

Save the date! Our teacher Miriam Cohen will be leading an introduction to our teen 

fellowship course on Antisemitism. A pizza lunch will be served. Teens are invited to join Miriam in the Weintraub Community Room for a conversation to learn more about this course. Madrichim are encouraged to attend.

Click here for a full course description and more information.

Shabbat@Six Band and Oneg

Friday, December 12

Services at 6:00pm, Oneg to follow

Join us on Friday, December 12 at 6:00pm for Erev Shabbat Services with our Shabbat@Six band!

Following services, join us for an oneg in the Weintraub Community Room, sponsored by the Music, Prayer, and Ritual Committee.

Chanukah Party & Latke Competition

Sunday, December 14, 5:00-6:30pm

Join the Temple Sinai community as we welcome the first night of Chanukah together! We’ll light candles, sing festive songs, play dreidel, enjoy latkes, and more. All ages are invited to celebrate and connect.

Don’t forget to sign up for our latke competition—bring your most delicious or creative latke!

Light refreshments served.

Chanukah Celebration for Young Children & Families

Sunday, December 14 at 4:00 PM

Temple Sinai, Weintraub Community Room

Join us for a joyful, hands-on Chanukah celebration designed especially for families with young children (ages 0–6)! We’ll sing our favorite Chanukah songs, dance, read stories and do a special craft together. Then we will join together with the Temple Sinai community for a festive party and will light Chanukah candles, play dreidel, eat latkes and donuts, and much more!. Join us to celebrate Chanukah with warmth, laughter, and community—everyone is welcome!

Chanukah Community Dinner

Friday, December 19 following 6:00pm Shabbat services

Please register here by Wednesday, December 17

Celebrate Shabbat with your Sinai community! Join us on Friday, December 19 at 6:00pm for our Erev Shabbat Services. After, we will enjoy a catered Shabbat meal, and come together to connect as a community. All ages welcome.

Introduction to Judaism

Wednesdays, 7:00-9:00pm, January 14, 2026-May 13, 2026

Click here to learn more

Introduction to Judaism is an in-person multi-session course for anyone interested in exploring Jewish life. Over the course of 16 sessions, we will explore the foundations of Jewish living including holidays, life cycle moments, and building a Jewish home. We’ll also be exploring core Jewish sacred texts, and Jewish history and theology–including the Hebrew language, prayer, the Torah, Israel, and the American Jewish experience. Open to all, this onsite course is perfect for interfaith couples, those raising Jewish children, spiritual seekers, individuals considering conversion, and Jews who want a meaningful adult Jewish learning experience.

We never want cost to be a barrier. Please contact us to have a confidential conversation about obtaining a scholarship to reduce the fee. Temple Sinai is committed to making the Introduction to Judaism class affordable for all who wish to participate.

For questions, please contact our Rabbinic Intern, Abi Oshins.

Celebrate Jewish Book Month

It’s JEWISH BOOK MONTH November 13-December 13th. Participate in our Temple-wide Jewish Book Bingo! You can copy the bingo card here, or pick up a card at the library. Do it alone, with a friend, with your family. We’ll be giving out prizes on December 13th. For questions, email lissa@sinaibrookline.org. Be sure to add your suggestions for your favorite Jewish books, movies and podcasts in the ornate box on the Library display table. We’ll be publishing a list at the end of the month!

Weekly Sunday Afternoon Mahjong

Weekly on Sundays, 3:00-5:00pm in the Weintraub Community Room

Join us to play at our weekly Sunday Sinai Mah Jong games! All who play are welcome to this friendly game. Come enjoy an afternoon of strategy, community and enjoyment. Whether you are a seasoned expert or still learning the game, you are welcome to join! If you are a complete novice, please contact Robin Orwant ahead of time. Mah Jong sets will be provided, but feel free to bring your own set, and please bring your own card, if you have one. Please note: this is not a class for learning how to play the game.

Do You Love to Sing?

Do you love to sing? Then come join the Sinai Singers, a friendly group that loves the joy of making music together and sharing it with the congregation. No audition required and all levels of experience are welcome. We meet on the first and third Tuesday of every month from 7:00-9:00pm. To join, or for more info contact Laurie Lasky.

In the Community

The Next Dream: Documentary and Discussion

Tuesday, December 16, 7:00-8:30pm

Temple Israel, 477 Longwood Ave, Boston

The Next Dream is a documentary about more than 1 million Temporary Protected Status (TPS) families across the U.S., who are in danger of deportation. Followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.

Free Admission, but RSVP is required. To learn more about the project and to RSVP, please click here.

Hosted by Temple Israel of Boston and the Center for Adult Jewish Learning.

Film at the Coolidge Corner Theater:

“Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire”

Sunday December 21, at 2:00pm at the Coolidge Corner Theater

Co-sponsored by Temple Sinai

Eighty years after his liberation from Buchenwald, we seek to understand the man behind Elie Wiesel's searing and widely read memoir Night. Told largely through his own words and eloquent voice, Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire seeks to penetrate to the heart of the known and unknown Elie Wiesel (1928-2016)—his passions, his conflicts and his legacy as one of the most public survivors of the trauma of the Holocaust. With unique access to personal archives, original interviews and employing hand painted animation, the film illuminates Wiesel’s biography as a survivor, writer, teacher, public figure and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Professor Ingrid Anderson of the Elie Wiesel Center and a former student of Elie's will join filmmaker Oren Rudavsky in a Q&A following the screening. For tickets, click here.

IFSI Clothing Drive

Help us support our partners at IFSI Immigrant Family Services Institute-Boston. They are currently in need of winter clothing items. Please drop of donations at the temple anytime, or if you wish to donate funds, you may do so through their website. 

Joining Temple Sinai as a New Member

Click here to fill out a new member application.

Rather than charging fixed amounts for member "dues," the SinaiPromise membership model provides information about the amount needed to sustain Temple Sinai each year and enables every household to voluntarily pledge and contribute an amount of their choice to financially support our synagogue. Your membership contributions are vital in helping us continue to offer enriching programs, maintain our facilities, and foster our vibrant community!

Want to learn more about Sinai Promise? Click here.