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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

On Rosh haShanah, I shared a vision for our Temple to be a center for the founding values of democracy. By standing up for our most sacred American beliefs, we can catalyze a new awakening toward a healthy, robust civic life within our walls. We are called to defend Washington's promise delivered in the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, “that on all occasions, in every location,” we act as citizens and patriots to uphold the foundation of our country. As an American Jewish community, the ideals enshrined in our Constitution are as sacred as our Torah. So our support of democracy occurs in the same way we embrace our Jewish beliefs: through text study. There is no other core American symbol to me than the Statue of Liberty. Etched into the foundation is Emma Lazarus’ poem The New Colossus. Let’s read her poem together:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Strikingly, in a vision for our country, Lazarus alludes to the great women of our tradition. The mighty woman with a torch is the prophetess Deborah. The Mother of Exiles is a nickname for Rachel. Leah is described as having mild eyes, and Hannah cries with silent lips. These 4 women used their power and wit to ensure history remembered them and thereby, progressing Judaism into what we know today. It’s no coincidence these matriarchs are the embodiment of the Statue of Liberty’s promise. Lazarus captures the heart of the American Dream: to be an active, proud, and accepted member of American society. It doesn’t matter why or how your family arrived in this country. As long as you promote core American values and contribute productively to society, you have a seat at the table of America.

As I reread these words with our matriarch at the forefront of my mind, they scream of belonging and opportunity, a beautiful vision for our nation. These words could be emblazoned on our own doors. TTS commits itself to being a home for everyone on the North Shore. How you ended up here and for how long is of no concern. Neither finances, religious upbringing, nor physical ability will prevent you from entering our doors. Like our matriarchs, we all have a gift to share, a seed to plant that will grow into the next flourishing of our community. Today and every day, we recall Lazarus’s timeless words and commit ourselves to being the home for everyone on the North Shore!

President, Jodi Coburn

Dear TTS family,

Many presidents of congregations wait until the end of the fiscal year to report good news, and while our temple certainly has many challenges right now that require my attention and the devotion of so many of my fellow congregational leaders and volunteers, I just love sharing the good stuff. There's a lot, too, so take a gander at what's been cooking:

Our Yom Kippur "Hineni" appeal brought in over $33,000. While it did not hit my ambitious goal, it represents more than double the highest amount an appeal has ever brought in. I cannot thank you enough for helping us to get to this point.
We have welcomed many new families to our congregation since our last bulletin. They include toddlers to seniors, enhancing our temple family with their presence.
Our Social Action committee has kept busy with work including making sandwiches for Peabody's hungry, collecting food for the Jewish Food Pantry, creating a statement of support for immigrants, and bringing in impactful speakers.
Our new dues structure has been very successful! Our membership fees now more closely align both with other temples, and more important, with the life circumstances of our members.
Zahav, our new social group for the 60+ crowd, is going strong and growing fast. They've shared meals, practiced tai chi, and studied with Rabbi Evan. Watch for their monthly meeting flyers.
Sisterhood has a robust calendar of events and had a wonderful autumn that included Sushi in the Sukkah, Goat Yoga, Book Club, Game Night, and many other get-togethers. Brotherhood recently had a nice dinner out at Polcari's, as well.
We have partnered with Lappin Foundation on many programs for teens, including their signature Y2I Adventure and leadership seminars.
We have been working with the JCC in Peabody to provide group activities for children in grades 3-7.
BalaGan, our program for toddlers and their families, is going strong, with ongoing Tot Shabbats and dinners.
Congregation Sons of Israel continues to rent space from us for their services and meetings. Both TTS and CSI are enjoying our friendship and the ability to see each other more.
Our Preschool is planning to add an extended day program in September, meeting the needs of working parents while continuing to provide an exceptional experience for our littlest friends.
We have a whole lot of work going on to bring in more money, getting us closer to the goal of leaving our deficit behind and setting us up for a wonderful next year.
Plans are being made for a huge party on April 11th to celebrate the 10th anniversary of being a merged congregation. Put that date on your calendar right now so that you can be sure of attending. How a decade went by so fast is beyond me, but I know that this is an occasion to really celebrate!

This isn't a complete list of all of the good things to report, but it's a great representation of what's been going on. (Rabbi Evan is working on lots of programs coming up, but he'll tell you about those himself as they come to fruition.) I am so proud to be working with our clergy, staff, board, and volunteers to continue the legacy of TTS providing a full menu of what Reform Jews on the North Shore want and need. I remain dedicated to meeting those needs, enhancing our offerings, and making TTS feel like home to each and every one of you.

Thank you, my temple family, for supporting me personally, and more important, for supporting TTS.

B'shalom,

Jodi