Congregation Beth Israel of the Berkshires

04/06/2026

“…I thought I’d try something new this year: giving us a way to remember loved ones with a short Yizkor remembrance at home. Although traditionally Yizkor is communal, this communal ritual clearly isn’t speaking to our community as we are now. But maybe a ‘DIY’ version to do at home might speak to some of us….”

Read the whole thing here:

"...I thought I’d try something new this year: giving us a way to remember loved ones with a short Yizkor remembrance at home. Although traditionally Yizkor is communal, this communal ritual clearly isn’t speaking to our community as we are now. But maybe a 'DIY' version to do at home might spea...

08/21/2025

A note about the coming Days of Awe. We can't wait to welcome y'all (back) to CBI soon! All are welcome -- read on to learn more.

Even as we savor the sweetness of high summer in the Berkshires, the Days of Awe are on the horizon. Here at CBI we are already hard at work preparing for that deep and meaningful season of our year.

07/29/2025

Words from Rabbi Rachel Barenblat before Tisha b'Av, about our obligation to feed the hungry in Gaza and about ahavat chinam, "senseless love."

On Saturday evening at 8pm we will observe Tisha b’Av. We will mourn the destruction of the First Temple (586 BCE) and the Second Temple (70 CE), the start of the First Crusade (1096), the expulsions from England (1290), Spain (1492), and the Warsaw Ghetto (1942), and more. We will read from Eikha...

06/15/2025

Happy Father's Day to all who father: dads, step-dads, uncles, fathers-in-law and more! And if today is difficult for you for any reason -- maybe infertility, or a painful relationship with your father or your child -- please know that you are not alone and I'm here to listen.
-- Rabbi Rachel

05/23/2025

"...I am writing to you from a rented house on Cape Ann where I’m spending part of Memorial Day weekend. The peaceful sanctuary of this borrowed home has been pierced by news of the horrific shooting of Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, alongside news of famine in Gaza. As this Shabbat approaches, my grieving heart is in pieces – again. ..."

A note from Rabbi Rachel before Shabbat:

I am writing to you from a rented house on Cape Ann where I’m spending part of Memorial Day weekend. The peaceful sanctuary of this borrowed home has been pierced by news of the horrific shooting of Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, alongside news of famine in Gaza. As t...

05/11/2025

Happy Mother's Day to all who mother: moms, step-moms, aunties, moms-in-law and more! And if today is difficult for you for any reason -- maybe infertility, or a painful relationship with your mother or your child -- please know that you are not alone and I'm here to listen.

-- Rabbi Rachel

02/10/2025

It is amazing to watch Rabbi Druin of Sofer on Site repair our sifrei Torah. Our holy scrolls are returning to life (and legibility) in his hands!

12/03/2024

It's so exciting that this mural -- originally on the wall of our Francis Street building, long ago -- has been safely moved and installed at the National Yiddish Book Center! An amazing piece of our Jewish history. (Havurah Beit Yisrael and Congregation Chai Adom, when they merged, became what is now Congregation Beth Israel of the Berkshires...)

The Yiddish Book Center is the new home to a historic mural, found in the attic of a former synagogue in North Adams, Massachusetts

11/02/2024

"I gravitated toward these verses because they show us Noah and those under his care emerging after the storm. The worst is over. Now they rebuild. I would love to be able to fast-forward to that part in our collective story. Right now, a lot of us feel like we’re battening down the hatches in preparation for… well, we don’t exactly know what’s coming..."

Rabbi Rachel's d'var Torah from Shabbat morning services:

The verses I chose to read this morning come from the very end of our parsha, when Noah and his family have just emerged from the ark. They release all of the animals, and then Noah builds an altar and makes an offering to God. In return, God makes a promise to Noah and implicitly also to us: never....

10/12/2024

"...God opens the Book of Memory, but we’re the ones who write it. We can’t control the possibility of fire or flood, sword or wild beast, black ice on the highway or genetic predisposition. But we get to write the book of what we do with the life we’ve got..."

My Yom Kippur morning sermon at Congregation Beth Israel of the Berkshires -- with extra gratitude to R. Julia Watts Belser whose work forms the backbone of this teaching.

The prayer Unetaneh Tokef, which we recite on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, probably dates back to the Crusades, when Christian soldiers en route to the Holy Land slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Jews. We don’t actually have exact data...

10/07/2024

A gentle reminder, friends, that for many of us today has the capacity to re-inscribe trauma. Pay attention to signs (e.g. tears, wobbly legs, upset stomach, racing heart, chest tightness, inability to breathe) and spend time offline if and when you need to. Our suffering does not help anyone Over There.

10/04/2024

Join us this morning at 9:30 for our Four Worlds Second Day Rosh Hashanah service -- starting with either gentle yoga or meditation (including walking the Al and Frances Small Memorial Labyrinth, seen here!), followed by song, Torah study, and shofar. RSVP here: https://cbiberkshires.com/event/rosh-hashanah-2-2024/