Upcoming Chanukah Events

Candle Lighting: Celebrate Chanukah on the front Lawn of TCS
Wednesday, December 25th, at 5:00–Rabbi Ken
Thursday, December 26, at 7:00–Brotherhood
Friday, December 27, at 6:00, we will light the m’norah as part of services
Saturday, December 28, at 4:30, Ritual will lead Havdalah and light the m’norah
Sunday, December 29, at 4:45–Seniors
Monday, December 30, at 6:45–Sisterhood
Tuesday, December 31, at 4:30—Past Presidents
Wednesday, January 1, at 6:00—T.O.R.C.H.

Wednesday 12/25 – Chanukah Day Hike
Depart from Borderland State Park Visitor’s Center at 10:00am

Thursday 12/26 – Brown Bag Bible Study – 12:30 – 2:00pm
Join Cantorial Soloist David Rothberg for an exploration of the Prophets and Writings, the parts of the Hebrew Bible that come after the Torah. We’re starting at the beginning of the prophets, with the book of Joshua and the story of the Israelites crossing the Jordan to finally enter the promised land. Brown bag your own delicious parve/dairy lunch.

Friday 12/27 – Chanukah Tot Shabbat – 5:30 – 6:30pm
Songs, stories and crafts for the kids led by Rabbi Ken, Cantorial Soloist David Rothberg, and special guest Aileen Newton. At 6:00pm, we will join the rest of the congregation to light our outdoor m’norah, before coming back inside for dinner.

Friday 12/27 – Chanukah Pot Luck Dinner Celebration & Shabbat Service In Person and Remote
6:00 pm Chanukah Pot Luck Dinner Celebration & Shabbat Service
We encourage you to bring your own m’norah from home to light at dinner.
Please join in by bringing something to enjoy with the community, and help make our Chanukah pot luck dinner tasty, healthy, and festive. Sign up for a slot or two, so we have enough food for everyone!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080E45A9AF2FA2FC1-53452957-hanukkah
Please remember that TCS is nut-free and that all items should be dairy or parve. We hope to see you there!

Saturday 12/28 – Torah Study – 9:00 – 10:00am
In-Person (with bagels and coffee) and Remote
Join Rabbi Ken and your TCS friends to gain a deeper understanding of familiar (and unfamiliar) Torah stories and their relevance for today. No prior knowledge of Torah, Hebrew, or Judaism is required.
Please contact the TCS office for the zoom link.

Saturday 12/28 – Havdalah Service Online – 6:00 – 6:30pm
Join us as we bid farewell to Shabbat. If you wish, bring your own cup of wine or grape juice, candle and spices (regular cinnamon or another spice of your choice will be perfect)!

Sunday 12/29 – Senior Chai Chanukah Celebration – 3:15 – 5:30pm
Everyone is invited to enjoy an indoor and outdoor Chanukah celebration with Senior Chai and others. Join us inside: play dreidel, downsize some of your Jewish themed items, and bring them to the Yankee swap and enjoy jelly donuts (munchkins) and drinks. Sing Chanukah songs and enjoy socializing with new and old friends.

2025 TCS Shoveltown 5k - Apr 6

See our calendar for Shabbat service times. Participate in person or connect remotely.

Link for Friday night Service

Come as you are

No matter where you are on your Jewish path, there is something for you at TCS!

Find spiritual fulfillment at one of our many themed, and always musical, services. Discover community among our diverse membership with activities for all ages.

Learn about the many exciting and innovative
educational opportunities for children and adults.

You’re invited to join our pluralistic and welcoming
community where everyone is empowered to seek God through meaningful interactions, enriching programming, and Jewish practice.

Let TCS be an extension of your living room, help determine your personal Jewish path, and be your second family.

Welcome Home

PROSPECTIVE FAMILIES

Continue reading to explore the many facets of our community, and all we have to offer.

CURRENT MEMBERS

Click here for upcoming events, happenings, and all you need to be involved in temple life.

Click Here

Friendships

Form long-lasting friendships within the congregation and in the great community. Children and teens make friends across schools and towns as part of a larger Jewish peer group. Adults broaden and deepen their social circles through temple relationships.

Education

Through innovative and engaging programming, children and adults explore and experience Torah, traditions, and holidays as a community.

Volunteerism

We are active participants in creating our own community, with a strong culture of volunteerism working in partnership with our dedicated and talented professionals.

Clergy & Directors

Rabbi Kenneth Carr

Since 2016, Rabbi Carr has fostered warm and participatory services, with a focus on inclusion and welcome.

David Rothberg

Cantorial Soloist since 2011, and has cultivated music as central to worship and community life.

Jeri Robins

Director of Education, develops educational practices centered on play and project-based learning.

Meryl Levenson

Temple Administrator

Brenda Leonard

Temple Bookkeeper

Denise Morgan

School Administrative Assistant

COMMUNITY

Brotherhood

Socialize, fundraise, and promote social action within our community with the common goal of deepening relationships and supporting the growth and sustenance of our congregation.

Sisterhood

Form new friendships and strengthen old. Meet fellow adults within the congregation through social, spiritual, and educational events. Open to all women who are members of the congregation.

Community Service

Make an impact in the greater community, alongside fellow congregants.

Loving Kindness (Chesed)

Make an impact within and beyond our community, during times of joy and need, as is the tradition of our Temple.

Senior Chai

Plan cultural and social events throughout the year with fellow members age 55+.

Teens (TeCSY)

Have fun, making a positive difference in the community, celebrating Jewish holidays, and deepening Jewish connection with others.

JOIN US FOR SERVICES

People come to Temple Chayai Shalom from a broad spectrum of backgrounds and lifestyles. Our worship services are warm, personal and highly participatory, blending the traditional with the contemporary in prayer and song. Rabbi Ken Carr and Cantorial Soloist David Rothberg encourage each worshipper to find peace and meaning in the prayers. We balance prayer in both Hebrew and English.

Friday
Shabbat Service in person or online at 7:30 pm

Click here to see our full calendar of events.

LIFE CYCLE EVENTS

We view Temple Chayai Shalom as an extended family. When an individual family has a life cycle event to celebrate or mourn, our temple family wants to help make the observance of these milestones as meaningful as possible.

Shabbat Evening Service

On most Friday nights, we welcome the gift of Shabbat at 7:30 pm. This uplifting, participatory service blends traditional and modern melodies with beautiful guitar accompaniment. A D’var Torah (sermon) makes ancient lessons relevant to our contemporary world.
Shabbat NaShirah on Selected Fridays

Join us for a Shabbat NaShirah Service

We are excited to bring back Shabbat NaShirah with a full complement of Mevarchim (“blessers” who play instruments and sing)! Come elevate your soul with favorite melodies and spiritual moments that we have grown to love.

Covid safety note: all mevarchim (musician and singer leaders) are vaccinated. All who are unmasked have tested negative for Covid within 2 days of the service.
Family Shabbat Services

Our regular family services engage kids, parents, and grandparents of all ages. Some of these services are led by our students, while others feature themes such as Drum Circle Shabbat, Camp Shabbat, and Sweet Shabbat. Join us for a meaningful, joyous, and spiritual experience for the entire family!
Shabbat Morning and Afternoon Service

On many Shabbatot, we hold morning or afternoon services that are led primarily by our B’nai Mitzvah students. As a community, we take great pride in preparing our emerging young leaders to be role models and teachers in our community. As with all Shabbat services, these services are open to everyone.
Rockin' Shabbat Eve

On a few Friday nights each year, Temple Chayai Shalom rocks out! Rockin’ Shabbat Eve is an upbeat, exciting, musical Shabbat experience for the whole family, featuring a live rock band with drums, bass, and electric guitar, including some of our talented staff and congregants.
Hippie Shabbat

Groovy ones! Once a year we have an out-of-sight band called the “Hebrew Hippies” lead our Shabbat pray-in! They find the true cosmic meaning of songs by The Beatles, the Monkees, the Mamas and the Papas, the Doors, and Bob Dylan – by Shabbatifying them! So truck on down to TCS for peace, love, and prayers set to some of the greatest songs in classic rock!

Birth of a Child

Mazal tov! We are delighted to help celebrate and consecrate the birth of a new child. Ceremonies to welcome a baby into the covenant of Judaism include B’rit Milah (circumcision covenant) for boys and B’rit Bat (daughter covenant) for girls. At these ceremonies, the child receives a Jewish name as a sign of having entered into the covenant of Judaism, and so they are sometimes called “baby namings.” B’rit Milah is typically held at home, officiated by a mohel, whom our rabbi can help find, and our rabbi is happy to participate as well if desired. B’rit Bat, as well as covenant ceremonies for boys who were previously circumcised without Jewish ritual, may be held at the temple during Shabbat services, when our temple family is eager to share in the welcome, or at another location at another time. Please contact our rabbi directly for more information.

(As a Reform congregation, we recognize as Jewish a child who has at least one Jewish parent and who is being raised solely in the Jewish religion. Other denominations of Judaism may only recognize as Jewish a child whose mother was Jewish at the time of the baby’s birth, unless the child is officially converted. If that distinction raises concerns for your family, we strongly encourage you to have a conversation with our rabbi about whether an official conversion would be beneficial.)
Bar/Bat Mitzvah

A Jewish child becomes Bar/Bat Mitzvah (responsible for the commandments) automatically upon turning 13. Soon thereafter, the student may have the opportunity to lead the congregation in a service, read from the Torah, teach the congregation a meaningful lesson from the portion, and be welcomed by the community as a responsible young leader of the congregation. With great joy, our rabbi and David, our cantorial soloist help to prepare the young adult to assume these new privileges, and eagerly celebrate with the family on that day.
(As a Reform congregation, committed to egalitarianism, we celebrate becoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah for both boys and girls at age 13. For further information about the process and requirements for marking becoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah, please consult our handbook.)
Confirmation

We offer many different ways to help young adults explore their Jewish identity. While becoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah is a major milestone, it is only the first step into Jewish adulthood. Because 13-year-olds continue to grow and develop, their Jewish learning must also grow and develop if Judaism is to remain relevant to them, especially during the teenage years. Students who continue in our programs may enroll in our Confirmation class, which our rabbi loves to teach, in 10th grade or later. This time of more mature reflection on the meaning Judaism has for them culminates in the ceremony of Confirmation, held at services on Shavuot in the late spring, which the students lead. Unlike Bar/Bat Mitzvah, which is usually marked as an individual family, Confirmation focuses on the group. Consequently, our entire temple family takes great pride and joy in this powerful celebration.
Marriage

Our rabbi is delighted to officiate when couples consecrate their relationship! He enjoys meeting with them several times in the months leading up to the wedding ceremony, getting to know them and helping to craft a ritual that will be meaningful to and reflective of that particular couple. Weddings may be performed in our sanctuary or elsewhere. Please contact our rabbi directly for more information.
Conversion

Our rabbi welcomes the opportunity to help people who are not Jewish explore whether Judaism may be the right choice for them. Through private meetings and group classes, he helps to guide this investigation, usually for at least a year. When the process culminates in a choice to become Jewish, he joyfully officiates at a conversion ceremony. These ceremonies may be held during Shabbat services, when our temple family happily joins in the welcome, or at another time or place. Please contact our rabbi for more information.
Illness and Death

Our rabbi makes it a point to try to visit family members who are ill. He is also available to help families who are coping with a death in the family. Traditionally, following a funeral, the family sits “shiv’ah” for a period of mourning. Temple members are ready to help at these times. Please let our rabbi know immediately when an illness or death occurs.

Your opinions are important to us. You can call us by phone or email us directly.

508-238-6385 x101

adminasst@templechayaishalom.org

239 Depot Street
Easton, MA 02375

Directions

239 Depot Street
South Easton, MA 02375
508-238-6385, Ext. 101

We are located at the junction of Rt.123 and Central Street.

Directions Rt. 95 North or South

Take exit 7A off Rt. 95 (route 140 South, Mansfield)
Take a left at the 3rd set of lights onto Rt.106 East
Follow Rt. 106 for 5.9 miles into Easton
Turn left at Easton Five Corners following Rt. 123 East for 2 miles
(gas stations on three corners, near Shaws plaza)
Temple Chayai Shalom is at the junction of 123 and Central Street
Turn left onto Central Street and make a QUICK right turn into the parking lot
Directions Rt. 24 North or South

Take exit 17B, Rt. 123 West towards Easton
Proceed straight through two sets of lights
At the 3rd set of lights take a left onto Rt. 138
(CVS is directly in front of you)
Proceed to 2nd set of lights and take a right onto Depot Street
(the temple will be on your right)
Take first right onto Central Street and the main entrance is on the right

BECOME A MEMBER