Rabbi at Tremont Street Shul / Temple Beth Shalom (TBS)

Rabbi at the Tremont Street Shul / Temple Beth Shalom (TBS) 

About Us

The Tremont Street Shul, formally known as Temple Beth Shalom of Cambridge (TBS), is an independent, participatory, and intergenerational Jewish community offering diverse minyanim, including egalitarian, partnership, and orthodox. We serve the local Jewish population through prayer, ritual, social gatherings, chesed, and learning.

Community Values

• Unified Diversity: We value coming together across our differences for events and observances. We strive to build a community that feels heimish and is accessible for all. We know that we are stronger when we build connections with each other through understanding and with empathy.

• Communal Observance: As a community, we follow Jewish tradition and practices. We welcome and appreciate our members’ varied and evolving personal Judaic practices based on their backgrounds, customs, and personal spiritual growth.  

• Chesed: We support each other during times of joy and sorrow. We participate in efforts to promote social good in the broader community.

• Participation: We have a strong tradition of member participation and volunteerism in all parts of community life: participant-led services and communal singing, sharing of knowledge and skills, and organizing of varied shul events.

About the Role

We are seeking one full-time or two part-time rabbis to join our warm, diverse, and growing community in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As an independent synagogue with 175 member units, we aim to foster community growth and connection.

Responsibilities

The activities are listed below in a rough order of priority for our community and are adaptable based on individual strengths and interests. 

• Pastoral Care: Provide support to congregants across life stages, including illness, grief, relationship challenges, Jewish identity, and aging. Collaborate with the Chesed Committee and promote understanding of pastoral care within the community.

• Life Cycle Events: Support and guide families through life cycle events (e.g., weddings, b’nei mitzvah, baby-namings, funerals, conversions, gender-affirming rituals). 

• Community Participation: Engage as an active member in davening, Shabbat, and holiday observances, fostering our participatory culture.

• Religious Practices and Halachic Guidance: Serve as a resource for communal and individual halachic questions, collaborating with the Ritual Committee.

Additional possible activities based on interest and capacity may include:

• Education: Offer classes or workshops on Jewish texts, ritual skills, caregiving, and more.

• Outreach and Partnerships: Build connections within the shul and with other faith communities. Expand TBS’s presence in the broader Jewish and Cambridge-Somerville communities.

• Spiritual Programming: Lead special events such as holiday preparation, nigun circles, meditation, and Shabbatonim.

Given our strong tradition of lay-led davening, the rabbinic role will not include regularly leading davening. 

Qualifications

• Rabbinic ordination

• Enthusiasm for being in Shomer Shabbat settings

• Ability to connect with congregants of varied observances and backgrounds

• Experience with halachic guidance or research

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills

• At least one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education or comparable pastoral experience

• Interest in fostering intergenerational connections

• Comfort engaging with a politically diverse community

Compensation

The shul will offer salary and benefits commensurate with experience.

How To Apply

Please send a curriculum vitae and a brief statement describing experience with pastoral care, Jewish life-cycle support, and community-building to [email protected]. Review of applications will be on a rolling basis beginning February 1, 2025.