Photo & Video Gallery
Click a heading to see recent event highlights!
Chesed Committee sponsored: Support for Caregivers - a Q&A with Rabbi Judith Kummer and the CBE clergy and shared stories from community members
We heard from speakers, Rabbi Judy Kummer, Cantor Sarra, Rabbi David, and congregant Lauren Solomon. You can view the recording of these speakers' talks below. This program provided an opportunity for attendees to hear about, and share with others, experiences of caregiving-- with their many joys and challenges. Attendees discussed what supports would be helpful, and the Chesed committee is now working with our professional staff to create more ways for our community to fill some of those needs.
You can find Rabbi Kummer's bio HERE. Rabbi Judy Kummer is a board certified chaplain who delights in her work with individuals and groups in a variety of settings throughout the Greater Boston area.
Labor on the Bimah Kabbalat Shabbat Service ♦ Friday, August 23, 2024
We welcomed Shabbat together and celebrated the importance of workers’ rights. CBE joined more than 500 congregations across the country in honoring workers and lifting up worker struggles. The service was part of the annual Labor in the Pulpits/on the Bimah/in the Minbar program hosted by national worker rights organization, Interfaith Worker Justice, and its network of affiliates. Our speakers, from the New England Jewish Labor Committee, were Amy Mazur Employer Engagement Volunteer, Massachusetts Coalition of Domestic Workers and Rachel Scarpino Organizer, Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action.
CBE Choir Annual Music Shabbat ♦ One Community, Many Voices ♦ March 29, 2024
The CBE Choir celebrated Kehillah Achat – One Community – with a service of music from the many voices that make up our global Jewish world, including selections from Uganda, India, Israel, England, Canada, Argentina and America. A most beautiful service of song.
Purim Service & Megillah Reading ♦ Saturday, March 23, 2024
Many joined us for the annual mitzvah of listening to the story of Esther and Mordechai, chanted by over 25 members of all ages from our CBE community. We celebrated this season of joy, fun, and laughter, with Klezmer music by our special guest Barry Shapiro and CBE musicians! Many were in costume and cheered for Mordechai and Esther and used their noisemaker's and feet to stomp out that other guy's name. We sang, danced and made lots of noise!
Log into your account (upper right of the page) to see the video recording of your fellow congregants reading from the Megillah, dancing, and making lots of noise!
Purim 5784 Talent Show! ♦ Sunday, March 24, 2024
We had a fun-filled morning celebrating Purim with congregants of all ages! First was the Talent Show, a Purim Social Action Project and then our always popular Purim Carnival.
Log into your account (upper right of the page) to see the video recording of The Purim Talent Show. The show featured fun acts, trivia questions, jokes and more! Watch your talented fellow congregants show their stuff!
Faux Food Truck Festival ♦ Sunday, May 22, 2022
Many congregants enjoyed the food from the "food trucks" set up by several organizations within CBE. Here are some highlights! Click on the photo to view the gallery from this event!
Purim Service & Megillah Reading and Purim Carnival 2022
Fun was had by all as the video and photos show! Check out the 15 second "chicken dance" video and then click on the image below the video to see the gallery of fun photos.
Click on the image below to view the gallery of photos! You may need to click on the lower right of the blue bar to see all 23 photos.
Gimel Class (3rd grade) Shabbat Service - May 10, 2019
New York City Trip for 8th and 9th graders ♦ March, 2019
Brotherhood Breakfast featuring Dr. Steven Michelson: "What can you teach me? -- A glimpse at today’s adolescent social media influenced world" ♦ April, 2025
Dr. Steven Michelson is a life-long resident of Acton and CBE congregant and former board member.
Steve is a family therapist and founded Life Management Associates in 1983 specializing in treating children, adolescents and families. During the summer of 2017, he studied at both Hebrew University in Jerusalen and the Israel Trauma Center learning how communities manage trauma. Since his retirement last year, he continues to address rebuilding resilience post-COVID within the Acton-Boxborough community with Acton-Boxborough United Way. Currently, he is part of the Association of Jewish Psychologists and the Jewish Community Mental Health Initiative facing the challenges of antisemitism and racism within the US. He co-facilitates a support group for families in the US who have families currently living in Israel. He has a special interest on the impact of social media on adolescents.
Brotherhood Breakfast with Dr. Jonathan Golden ♦ Sunday, October 6, 2024
As part of the CBE commemoration of the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, the Brotherhood hosted Hebrew College educator Jonathan Golden.
He shared with us many songs that had been written before October 7 that have been re-imagined during both the Judicial Reform protests in 2023, and after October 7.
Dr. Golden elicited engaged responses and conversations about the meanings of these songs. Thank you to all who attended, including Morah Bryna, who brought her 7th grade class, and asked good questions.
You have a second chance to hear Dr. Golden's talk below.
Here and here are links to information about these songs, and
Here is a YouTube playlist that includes one of the songs we discussed: שבט אחים ואחיות - שבט אחים ואחיות (A tribe of brothers and sisters).
Brotherhood Breakfast with Matt Robinson ♦ Sunday, September 8, 2024
Matt Robinson is a professional writer, editor and educator. For over 20 years, he has published pieces for the Jewish Press, created communications for a variety of organizations and hosts a speaker series for Needham Community Television called the Writers Block www.needhamchannel.org/the-writers-block/.
Matt discussed his first book, Lions, Tigers, and...Bulldogs? An unofficial guide to the legends and lore of the Ivy League (Fighting Quaker Books), which is available at www.LionsTigersBulldgos.com. The book is a tribute to his father, who graduated from Brown University. Matt grew up in nearby Westford and is a proud graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. More of Matt's writing can be found at www.TheRobinsonReporter.com.
Brotherhood Breakfast & Community Solar Forum (Co-sponsored by Energize Acton and Jewish Climate Action Network) ♦ April 7, 2024
Following the Brotherhood provided breakfast, we celebrated the Department of Energy Sunny Award for Equitable Solar, awarded to CBE. and learned more about how community solar helps us meet the state’s ambitious climate goals.
In 2020, 621 Energy installed an array of four solar canopies in Congregation Beth Elohim’s parking lot. One canopy was designed to meet half of CBE’s electricity needs. The remaining three canopies provide about 245 kw of electric capacity and are managed by Sunwealth Power, a community solar investor. In addition to CBE, the electricity generated benefits 17 low to moderate income families in the community.
View the video below to hear the speakers at this forum including: State Senator Jamie Eldridge, who spoke on current legislation regarding the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Climate goals; Barry Nyer, Congregation Beth Elohim Solar Team, spoke on the operation and performance of the CBE system for the CBE community and Sean Howe, Sunwealth Power, spoke on how community solar works in general, and how individuals can invest in community solar.
Brotherhood Speaker Event: Jason Lovitz, Virginia Firefighter, shares his November volunteer experience in Israel ♦ Sunday, January 21, 2024
Jason is a firefighter in Norfolk VA. and volunteered as a firefighter in Israel during the first two weeks of November 2023. Jason shared his experience with both his home community of Temple Emanuel and our community at CBE in a Zoom only speaker event. Jason and his extended family are related to our congregants Heidi, Melissa, Samuel, and Peter Lovitz.
The recording of Jason's talk appears below IF you are logged into your account. To view this recording, you must be a congregant and logged into your account.
Sisterhood Scavenger Hunt ♦ November, 2024
Several board members organized this fun event. Teams were formed and were given clues for activities to accomplish across the community. Click on the photo to see a gallery of fun photos from the event.
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Community Breakfast featuring Colette Phillips, "Bridging Communities: Reaffirming the Black-Jewish Alliance" ♦ Monday, January 20, 2024
Colette Phillips is President and CEO of Colette Phillips Communications, Founder and President of Get Konnected! and The GK Fund. She is the author of The Includers, The 7 Traits of Culturally Savvy, Anti-Racist Leaders.
Watch the recording of her talk below.
Colette Phillips implored attendees to “Do good, Seek justice and Walk humbly with God."
Over 130 people, including community leaders, community members and congregants, crowded the Congregation Beth Elohim social hall (with 40 connections on Zoom) to listen to Colette Phillips, President and CEO of Colette Phillips Communications, and author of "The Includers; Seven Traits of Culturally Savvy, Anti-Racist Leaders." With humor, intelligence, and passion, she spoke about her journey and urged attendees to pursue Tikkun Olam — Repairing the World.
This was the 23rd annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day community breakfast at CBE, organized by the CBE Social Action committee, Na’Aseh. CBE Rabbi Braham David expressed pride in hosting this annual event, reminded attendees of the ongoing fight against racism and anti-Semitism, and the historic ties between Blacks and Jews.
Read Ms. Phillips full bio here
Na'aseh Forum: Immigration and Resettlement in Massachusetts and the Country ♦Tuesday, October 29, 2024
The Torah, which contains the most sacred principles of our Jewish faith, commands us to "welcome the stranger" no less than 36 times. Our Jewish values and our shared, broader moral values compel us to treat others the way that we would want to be treated.
Our speakers, spoke of the challenges for people coming to our neighborhoods and for those wishing to welcome them. We learned from the following speakers who have been working directly with people newly arrived to our country. Our speakers were:
Julia Schlozman, senior staff attorney at Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA), was deeply involved in advocating for, passing and implementing the Work and Family Mobility Act which secures drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants in MA.
Noah Lanckton, community organizer at JALSA, came from Jewish Vocational Service where he worked as a caseworker with families in the Emergency Assistance Family Shelter Program.
Jeff Handler, PhD, is Chief Program Officer for Making Opportunity Count, a non-profit Community Action Agency covering the north-central county of MA. M.O.C. operates dozens of social service programs from WIC, Meals on Wheels, housing, and health programs to Head Start, Energy and Fuel Assistance. M.O.C. also contracts with the state and operates 10 Family Emergency Shelters in MA including shelters in Concord and Acton. Dr. Handler has worked in the private non-profit industry for more than 30 years.
State Senator Jamie Eldridge has served as State Senator for the Middlesex and Worcester district since January 2009. He has focused his energies on Beacon Hill on increasing investments in public education and transportation, combating climate change, making healthcare a right, stimulating the economy, advocating for affordable housing, reforming our criminal justice system, advancing campaign and ethics reform, protecting the environment, supporting immigrants, making government more transparent and updating our election and campaign finance laws. He grew up in Acton, and now lives in Marlborough.
Here is the recording of the event:
Press Event with Representative Lori Trahan: CBE's Department of Energy Award ♦ Sunday, May 5, 2024
CBE welcomed US Congresswoman Lori Trahan to CBE.to celebrate the Department of Energy Sunny Award for Equitable Community Solar to Congregation Beth Elohim and Sunwealth Power. This event followed our successful Brotherhood Breakfast and Community Solar Forum on April 7.
The Acton Exchange published an article about the forum here: https://www.actonexchange.org/community-solar-forum-at-congregation-beth-elohim/.
Congresswoman Lori Trahan received a tour of the canopy and provided remarks congratulating Sunwealth Power and Congregation Beth Elohim as Grand Prize winners in the 2023 national competition! Also invited were Sunwealth CEO John Abe, State Representative Dan Sena, and town manager John Mangiaratti.
Watch the 7 minute recording of this event.
"Refugee Shabbat" - Dinner & Service Hosted by Na'aseh ♦ Friday, April 28, 2023
According to HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), Refugee Shabbat is a moment for congregations, organizations, and individuals in the United States and around the world to dedicate a Shabbat experience to refugees and asylum seekers. lAt our service, we learned more about CBE's teamwork with the United Church of Christ, Boxborough (UCCB) to support the resettlement in our area of an Afghan family of six. We heard from team volunteers, a special guest from Jewish Family Services, and the Afghan family members themselves.
Video of 21st Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute with guest speaker. Tanisha M. Sullivan, the President of the Boston branch of the NAACP.: "Dear Beloved Community…The Power of Grace in the Movement"- 2023
About Tanisha Sullivan:
Tanisha M. Sullivan is the President of the Boston branch of the NAACP, leading the organization in its fight for racial, economic, and social justice with a data-driven and solutions-oriented framework. In this volunteer leadership role, Sullivan has led efforts to build a more inclusive democracy and improve quality of life for all Massachusetts residents. She is a seasoned corporate lawyer, has over 25 years experience in the life sciences industry and served as the inaugural Chief Equity Officer for the Boston Public Schools. Boston-born, Sullivan earned a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Virginia, and an M.B.A. and J.D. from Boston College. In 2022, she ran for Secretary of State in Massachusetts.
Close to 150 people attended, either in person or via Zoom.
Video of 20th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute: "Racial Justice and Communal Safety: Cultivating MLK's Legacy" with distinguished guest speaker U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins
Monday, January 17, 2022
We were honored to welcome Rachael Rollins as our featured guest speaker.
About U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins
The Honorable Rachael Rollins is U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. She is an advocate for criminal justice reform and has worked to push measures to reduce incarceration, correct racial and ethnic disparities, adopt alternatives to traditional prosecution, and improve relationships between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. She is the first woman to serve as Suffolk County District Attorney and the first woman of color to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.
The event was sponsored by Na'aseh ,the Social Justice group of CBE. Co-sponsors included: Racial Justice for Black Lives, United Church of Christ, Boxborough, St. Matthew's United Methodist Church, Congregation Beth El, Sudbury, Fostering Racial Justice, Highrock Church of Acton, League of Women Voters - Acton, Acton-Boxborough United Way, and Indivisible Acton.
2025 Scholar in Residence Weekend with Rabbi Salkin ♦ February 7 - 9, 2025
Matt Liebman, Chair of the Adult Education Committee provides a recap of the weekend.
Read the full article HERE.
Earlier this month, we hosted Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin, our Scholar in Residence. The weekend was well attended and highlighted by the Brotherhood breakfast where over 35 hardy New Englanders braved the cold and snowy conditions to learn about the Jewishness of Bob Dylan's lyrics.
Rabbi Salkin spoke on a plethora of topics this past weekend, from a story about how an Israeli cabdriver taught him a life changing lesson about Jewish peoplehood to the true story behind the audience booing Bob Dylan when he went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. He made us laugh and he made us think.
Beginning with the story about the cab driver, Rabbi Salkin spoke in his sermon about what it means to be a liberal Jew in America after October 7, 2023. He asserted that American Jews are recalibrating their loyalties and self-perception. Jews have been so focused on the “universal" expressed by Tikkun Olam, that we have neglected our own community and sense of peoplehood, expressed as Tikkun Ha’am, or “repairing our people”. (The title of his latest book.) He stresses that this is a time to “Reboot Judaism” and consider what is meant by Hillel’s message: “If I am not for myself, who am I?”
Read more about Rabbi Salkin HERE.
Jewish Book Month Author Event with author, Joan Leegant - November 17, 2024
CBE Adult Education and Sisterhood hosted Joan Leegant, author of the award-winning collection of short stories called Displaced Persons. Joan discussed her inspiration for the stories, her writing process, and what she sees as antisemitism in the publishing industry after October 7. The program is part of the annual Jewish Book month celebration. If you missed the program, you can view the recording below.
Scholar-In-Residence Weekend with guest and teacher, Rabbi Leonard Cohen ♦ Friday and Saturday, February 9 and 10, 2024
The theme for the Weekend was "How we as Jews interact with the world around us in the aftermath of October 7th and the trauma those attacks unleashed". Rabbi Gordon spoke at Friday evening Shabbat Service, led our Torah Study on Saturday morning and led a discussion at our Havdalah service on Saturday evening.
Rabbi Leonard Gordon chairs the National Council of Synagogues, the organization that facilitates interfaith dialogue for Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative Jews. A frequent teacher in the Me'ah program* at Hebrew College, he is currently planning a Me'ah trip to Andalusia (Spain) this May.
Rabbi Gordon has master's degrees in comparative religion from Brown and Columbia Universities and a Master's of Jewish Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary where he was ordained. In 2018, he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in interfaith studies from the Andover Newton Theological School. He recently served as Rabbi at Congregation B’nai Tikvah in Canton, MA.
Below is a video recording of Rabbi Gordon's Friday evening drash titled: "Interfaith Dialogue through the lens of October 7th: Reflections on a recent visit to the Gaza border." This very moving video recording will appear below once you log into your account (upper right of screen).
Tu B'shvat Community Celebration featuring Rachel Canar, Executive Director of Nature Israel ♦ Sunday, January 28, 2024
Following a locally sourced lunch, children enjoyed holiday themed craft activities and adults and teens welcomed Rachel Canar, who spoke about "Introducing Nature Israel: 70 Years of Healing Israeli Nature — And Now Helping Nature Heal Israel" — the vital work that the organization has been doing to heal displaced Israelis since October 7. Here is the recording of Rachel's talk. Matt was not miked for his intro. The clear sound kicks in when Ms. Canar speaks.
Jewish Book Month Speaker: Author Ilan Evyatar on "Israel at War: Fighting the Iranian Axis" ♦ November 5, 2023
On Sunday morning November 5, the Adult Education committee was thrilled to host Ilan Evyatar, co-author, with Yonah Jeremy Bob, of the recently published book titled: Target Tehran: How Israel Is Using Sabotage, Cyberwarfare, Assassination and Secret Diplomacy to Stop a Nuclear Iran and Create a New Middle East.
It is a history of Israel's attempts to thwart Iran's nuclear weapons program, and how it leveraged mutual fear of Iran to forge alliances with Gulf Arab states. If you haven’t had a chance to read this book – it just got published in September -- you can order it from Silver Unicorn in Acton, or at other booksellers.
Over thirty people went on Zoom to listen to llan Evyatar, who was calling in from Jerusalem. He is the former editor-in-chief of the award-winning magazine The Jerusalem Report, and a former News Director, columnist, and senior contributor at The Jerusalem Post.
Here is the video recording of his informative, timely and interesting talk:
"An Update on Democracy in Israel with speaker, Rabbi Eliana Jacobowitz ♦ Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Many congregants have expressed interest in better understanding the history and current status of political events in Israel. To that end, on August 29, 2023, the Congregation was briefed on the Status of Democracy in Israel by Rabbi Eliana Jacobowitz of Temple B’nai Brith of Somerville. She was born and raised in Israel, and studied law at Tel Aviv University, ordinated at Hebrew College and has been Rabbi at TBB Somerville since 2010. Because of her legal background in Israel, she provided special insights on the current situation in Israel. Rabbi David, who spent two weeks in Israel this summer, introduced Rabbi Jacobowitz, and provided firsthand descriptions of the weekly protests in Israel.
This is the recording of this Zoom only event:
Yom Hashoah program with Yelena Lembersky, co-author of "Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour" ♦ April, 2023
Our Yom HaShoah guest speaker, Yelena Lembersky, spoke of her grandfather, artist Felix Lembersky, who recreated his parents' last steps during the Babyn Yar massacre, via his powerful paintings. Yelena spoke of his art and her family's journey to bring his paintings out of Russia.