January 7 - January 14 • Shemot

Connect this Week

with Temple Sinai

Erev Shabbat Services - Friday, January 9, 6:00pm

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

Shabbat Yeladim - Friday, January 9 at 5:00pm

Join us for a joyful Shabbat celebration for young children and their families, featuring a short service with singing, dancing, and storytelling led by Rabbi Talia Stein and our Rabbinic Intern, Abi Oshins, along with a shared dinner that gives families time to connect with one another.

Please click here to register!

Shabbat Morning Services featuring the Bat Mitzvah of Annie Harsha - Saturday, January 10 at 10:30am

The entire congregation is encouraged to join us for Shabbat Morning Services, including the Bat Mitzvah of Annie Harsha, daughter of Dan Harsha and Elisha Meyer. We offer mazel tov to Annie and her entire family! To join by Zoom click here.

Tot Shabbat - Saturday, January 10 at 10:00am

Families with young children ages 0-5 are warmly invited to join Rabbi Talia Stein and Rabbinic Intern Abi Oshins in celebrating Shabbat together. They will lead families through a tot-friendly Shabbat service followed by a light Kiddush nosh. Together we’ll sing Shabbat songs and learn prayers, read stories and play!

Torah Study - Saturday, January 10 at 9:00am

Twice a month on Shabbat mornings, Temple Sinai members gather to discuss the ideas presented by the week’s Torah portion. We begin with a light breakfast and singing and then then explore the Jewish ideas that emerge from the weekly Torah reading. In person or click here to join on Zoom.

Sign Up to Sponsor a Nosh!

Help make our Erev Shabbat gatherings extra welcoming!

We’re looking for a nosh sponsor for Friday, January 16.

Noshes are served at 5:30pm, before Erev Shabbat services.

To sign up, contact Nessa at nessa@sinaibrookline.org.

Introduction to Judaism

Classes begin on January 14th

Register Today!

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.

K'tonton

Sunday, January 11 at 10:00am

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!

Continuing the Dialogue about Our Diverse Opinions on Israel, Palestine, Zionism, Gaza and the War

Wednesday, January 14, 7:00-9:00 pm, Ehrenfried Hall

Please join us for a dialogue about our different visions for resolving the longstanding conflict that has led to Israel’s most recent war. All members of the Sinai community are welcome, whether you have attended a previous dialogue session or not. Each session is self-contained; people who come consistently have the opportunity to build deeper relationships of understanding. 

In the spirit of Temple Sinai’s commitment to inclusivity and mutual care, members of the Israel Education Committee and the Israel/Palestine Committee are organizing these small-group dialogues in which congregants can discuss the conflict with open hearts and minds in order to better understand each other’s positions. This is not a debate. Rather, it is carefully structured and facilitated to help us hear one another with respectful curiosity and knit us closer together as a community, with appreciation for our diversity of opinion. Our goal is to strengthen the bonds within our community by engaging our members in respectful dialogue that supports understanding and connection, even when we may disagree.

 These dialogues follow a well-tested model of Reflective Structured Dialogue. We will break into dialogue groups including diverse perspectives. Each group is facilitated by a Sinai community member. Conversational guidelines help create a safe enough space to discuss these sensitive issues with respect, curiosity and thoughtfulness. 

This program is for Temple Sinai community members only.

Please click here to register.

New Member Shabbat Community Dinner

Friday, January 23

Services at 6:00pm, Dinner at 7:15pm

Celebrate Shabbat with your Sinai community, and welcome our new members! Join us on Friday, January 23 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.

Please click here to register.

Registration closes at noon on Friday, January 16.

Mussar Study Group: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Challenges

Every other week, beginning Wednesday, January 21

12:00-1:30pm at Temple Sinai

Mussar is a Jewish tradition that helps each of us cultivate and practice our ethical understanding. Come and explore Jewish teachings, through study, practice and conversation, traits such as gratitude, patience and compassion. We meet every other Wednesday at Sinai, noon - 1:30. Contact merry@merryarnold.com if you are interested in joining us.

Healing Across the Divides

Saturday, January 24, 4:00-5:30pm

Healing Across the Divides supports community groups that promote the health of marginalized Israelis and all Palestinians. It encourages community group interaction where possible in an effort to further mutual understanding. HATD has funded more than 50 Israeli and Palestinian community groups, measurably improved the lives of over 200,000 marginalized Israelis and Palestinians.

As founder and CEO, Norbert Goldfield MD has focused for more than 20 years on peace-building through health in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Dr. Goldfield previously worked for 30 years as medical director for a research group developing tools linking payment for health care services to improved health care outcomes.

New England Jewish Poetry Festival

with Dr. Rachel Korazim

Sunday, January 25 at 11:00am on zoom only

Join us at Temple Sinai for the watch party!

Dr. Rachel Korazim is based in Jerusalem, and is a Jewish education consultant in curriculum development for Israel and Holocaust education. She is a beloved teacher of poetry, and opens for her audiences a window to Israeli society through literature; through stories, poems and songs of the best of Israel’s writers, she invites listeners to engage with Israel in an innovative way. She teaches at Israel’s well-known learning centers such as Pardes and the Shalom Hartman Institutes as well as numerous world Jewish communities.

In joining us, she will teach and explore Jewish, Israeli and Palestinian poetry since October 7, 2023 and the war that followed. Dr. Korazim will join us in a livestream study session from Israel via Zoom.

The annual New England Jewish Poetry Festival is supported by a generous grant from Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), and is co-sponsored by Temple Sinai. It is coordinated by Temple Sinai members Deborah Leipziger and Andy Hoffman.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THIS EVENT ON ZOOM

Jewish Ways in the End-of-Life & Mourning

A 3-session series Co-Sponsored by the Caring Network & the Adult Jewish Learning Committee

Sunday, January 25, 1:00pm-2:30pm

Join us for any or all of these three sessions to help our community focus on traditional and modern Jewish rituals and resources for facing the end-of-life and mourning.

“The Hevra Kadisha & Rituals of Tahara”

With a special guest from the Greater Boston Community Hevra Kadisha

• What is the ritual and the work of the Hevra Kadisha?
• Why would someone opt for tahara?
• What do volunteers do, and how can people volunteer?

“A Journey in Grief, Loss and Hope” with Jaser Abu-Mousa

Thursday, January 29 at 7:00pm 

Jaser Abu-Mousa is a native of Gaza, and is a 2025 Yale Peace Fellow. Previously, he was living in Gaza, working as a program officer for the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation (SDC), until the breakout of the war in October 2023. During the war, Jaser lost his wife, Heba, and two children, Hmaid (age 18) and Abdulrahman (age 8), and he left Gaza with his remaining two children, Abdallah and Sham, to receive medical treatment in the United Arab Emirates, before coming to the US and the Greater Boston area. Upon his arrival in the US, amidst tremendous grief, loss and disconnection, he has been working to find resilience and hope for his surviving family, and for the future for Israel and Palestine. His professional focus is on how Gaza's postwar reconstruction can reflect Palestinians' priorities while repairing the social fabric of society. 

Sponsored by Temple Sinai’s Israel-Palestine Affinity Group & Temple Sinai’s Israel Committee, Co-Sponsored by J Street New England

Rainbow Committee Movie Night Series

For the next 6 months the Rainbow Committee of Temple Sinai will be screening movies that explore the intersection of Jewish and LGBTQ+ identities.

Yentl: Saturday, January 31 at 5:00pm in the Weintraub Community Room

On every list of the 10 to 15 must-watch movies that explore this theme is “Yentl” (the Streisand version). “Yentl” follows a bookish Jewish woman in an early 20th century shtetl in Poland who dreams of studying Torah. Women are banned from yeshiva study, so she does what any determined diva would: She chops off her hair, dons a suit, and reinvents herself as a yeshiva boy named Anshel.

Temple Sinai/Ohabei Shalom Softball Registration

Registration for the 2026 Softball season has begun! The Temple Sinai/Ohabei Shalom team plays 8 games from April-June, Sunday mornings at 10am. Games are played primarily in Brookline and Newton, with a couple of other towns further away. ALL who are 25 years old and up are eligible to play, no gender restrictions. If you are interested please contact Jon Katz (jonckatz@gmail.com).

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.

In the Community

Art For All Returns: Do Good! Buy Art and Support Immigration Justice

Saturday, Feb 7, 2:00-4:00pm

Brookline Teen Center, 40 Aspinwall Ave. Brookline, MA

Art for All is a ‘pick your price’ art sale where you shop for unique and original pieces donated by local artists. Find what you like and pay what you can. 100% of what you donate helps The Brazilian Women’s Group support families affected by deportations and ICE raids in our community. Learn more here.

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.