Meet Our

Spiritual Leaders

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. Jeri Robins leads our Educational programs.

Rabbi Ken Carr

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

A native of Massachusetts, I came to Temple Chayai Shalom in 2016 after fifteen years of experience as Rabbi of Congregation Or Ami in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania. I previously served as Associate Rabbi at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills, California.

Following my undergraduate studies in psychology at Harvard, I earned a Masters Degree in Jewish Education while pursuing rabbinical training at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

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As a student rabbi, I served small congregations in Alberta and North Dakota, and coordinated programming for high school and college youth from across the country. I received a Wexner Foundation Graduate Fellowship for leadership, as well as awards in sermon delivery and academic achievement, and was ordained in 1996.

I focus on creating warm and participatory services, developing lifelong learning, and strengthening community both inside and outside of the congregation. Along with Cantorial Soloist David Rothberg, I am leading a group of dedicated laypeople in creating a new prayerbook for TCS that will make our services more engaging by providing contemporary reflections on and interpretations of the traditional liturgy, along with a full Hebrew text that will also be entirely transliterated, so that people who are not as comfortable in Hebrew will also be able to join in the singing and reading. I strive to build our congregational community through exciting programming, including trips to Israel (for adults and families), the South (to explore the struggle for civil rights), and, with our teens, Washington DC and New York City.

I also work to develop connections with the broader community through involvement in interfaith activities, convening the Easton Interfaith Clergy Association and spearheading our Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. I belong to the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis and participate in various social justice advocacy networks and actions.

Since I grew up in the Boston area, I am a lifelong fan of the Boston sports teams!

My wife Rebecca and I have two young-adult children, Ari and Hanna, we are weekend puppy-raisers for a service dog in training.

Contact Rabbi Kenneth Carr at rabbiken@templechayaishalom.org.

David Rothberg

Cantorial Soloist

David Rothberg is Cantorial Soloist at Temple Chayai Shalom in Easton MA, and is a Jewish songwriter and recording artist. He is known for his ability to shift from a traditional to a contemporary sound on a dime, his expert guitar work, his warm engaging voice, and his enthusiasm for teaching Jewish subjects, both musical and not.

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A veteran of many musical worlds — acoustic singer-songwriter, classic rock, jazz and blues – David uses all of his diverse musical experience to create an exciting and uplifting musical culture. Among the highlights are Rockin’ Shabbat Eve, a Friday night rock service composed by David, Hippie Shabbat, a mash-up of some the greatest songs of the 60s and 70s with the Shabbat prayers, and Shabbat NaShirah, a sacred circle of song featuring deeply spiritual and hypnotic chant-like melodies. David has released one album of Jewish music, Rockin’ Shabbat Eve, and is beginning work on a new album of Jewish holiday music.

Contact Cantorial Soloist, David Rothberg at music@templechayaishalom.org.

Jeri Robins

Director of Education

As Director of Education at Temple Chayai Shalom, I bring a love for teaching people of all ages in the classroom and individually, as well as a passion for being Jewish. I am hard-working and energetic and work to inspire a strong sense of Jewish identity and values, work collaboratively, and create meaningful learning opportunities for our students and their families.

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I spent my childhood in Cleveland, Ohio and moved to the Boston area in middle school. Raised in the Reform movement, I participated in NEFTY at Temple Beth Avodah in Newton and was active in BBYO, serving as a regional officer. We raised our family as members of Temple Emanuel in Newton. I have held positions in both the Reform and Conservative movements, giving me a broad understanding of Jewish practice and traditions, worship styles and musical genres.

An experienced and skillful Jewish Educator, prior to joining Temple Chayai Shalom in 2020, I held the position of Director of BJEP, the Boston-area Jewish Education Program, an independent Sunday school that meets at Brandeis University. I also previously served as the Director of Education and Youth Engagement at Congregation Or Atid in Wayland and the Cantor and Director of Education at Temple Tiferet Shalom in Peabody. In the classroom, I have taught grades 2-9 at a number of congregations in the Greater Boston area. In addition, while in school, I spent a summer as the Director of Jewish Life and Learning at Camp Tel Noar in New Hampshire, which I attended as a teenager.

From an educational perspective, I became ordained as a Cantor and earned my Master’s degree in Jewish Education from Hebrew College in 2013. Prior to that, I was in the business world, working in marketing and finance and as an executive recruiter. I hold a BS in Information Systems and Business from Carnegie-Mellon University and an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at MIT.

When not working at Temple Chayai Shalom, I am the Cantor at Beth El Temple Center in Belmont and teach 4th grade at Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline. I live in Newton with my husband, Steve. Our children are both grown and married. One lives in Washington, DC and the other lives in Jerusalem, Israel. In my spare time, I strive to walk several miles each day. I love to read and, when I can, I enjoy yoga, running, and skiing, as well as musical theater.

Contact Jeri Robins, Director of Education at education@templechayaishalom.org

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.

Meet Our

Spiritual Leaders

Rabbi Ken Carr

David Rothberg

Jeri Robins

Life Cycle Events

Birth of a Child

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Confirmation

Marriage

Conversion

Illness/Death