©
Who are we?
The Progressive Chavurah is a community of Jewish adults in the Brookline and Greater
Boston area who pray, celebrate, and study together. We are a member-led, highly
participatory group, and all services and activities are coordinated by group members. We
value and practice egalitarian principles in our liturgy as well as in our organization.
We are a small group, currently numbering about 50 members. Our membership consists of
singles, couples and families; all are welcome to attend our events.
What do we do?
We celebrate Erev Shabbat together approximately twice a month, usually in Brookline (but check the schedule or
newsletter for details). A typical Friday night service includes a member-led service
using our own siddur, Siddur Chavarim Kol Yisrael, which
was created with chavurot across the U.S. This siddur includes both Hebrew and
English text, with transliterations of all the Hebrew passages.
Services include traditional prayers, creative readings, and music. Following services is a discussion, which may focus on the Torah portion, a current issue, or other issue of Jewish interest. Finally, after the blessings over wine and challah, an Oneg Shabbat allows the group to socialize and to eat. Each Erev Shabbat service is different as it is designed by the service leader for the evening. Any member can sign up to lead services, discussion, or to provide music for a service.
What else do we do?
We celebrate many of the Jewish holidays together as a
community, have small Shabbat dinners at members homes several time a year, and come
together for social, educational and social action events. The Chavurah Book Club meets approximately every 6 weeks. See the list of contacts to find out where to ask for more information on
any particular activity.
Interested?
If you are interested in learning more about the Progressive Chavurah, send email to membership@chav.net. Include your name and
phone number if you would like someone to call you back.
Our history
The Progressive Chavurah was born in January 1986, as a small group of people meeting in
each others living rooms. It has evolved since then to the organization described on this
page. A history of our "early years" is available in long-time member Mark
Frydenberg's first decade retrospective.
| Social Action | |
| You will often notice social action activities included in our schedule of events. |
These pages are a work in progress. Please send any comments or suggestions to webmaster Pavlik
Page last updated Sunday, August 04, 2002