Welcome to Temple Ahavat Achim
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Welcome
We are Temple Ahavat Achim in Gloucester, MA. For more than 100 years we have been, quite simply, the center of Jewish Life on Cape Ann and surrounding North Shore towns.
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Our teen programming is based on experiential learning and gimilut hasadim (acts of loving kindness). We learn to be Jewish is to do Jewish!
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We are the only Jewish congregation on Cape Ann. We have been an integral part of the community for over a century. There is a real sense that each one of us is needed to nurture and sustain Jewish life here.
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Our lively, creative synagogue school is for students K-8th grade, and we have Shabbat and Sunday morning programs for 0-preschool ages, too!
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We invite you to join us!
Events
Adult Torah Study with Rabbi Lewis
Thursdays at 11 am
Neighborhood Shabbat
Click here for details.
PLEASE NOTE: TAA Office will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, October 14-15 in observance of Columbus Day and the first two days of Sukkot.
There will be no school on Tuesday, October 15th - please join us for the Sukkot Celebration for All with potluck!
Sukkot Celebration for All with Veggie Potluck
Tuesday, October 15th at 5:30 pm (school in session from 4-5:15 pm)
Please click here to RSVP and let us know what you will bring for Main Dish, Salad, Dessert or Beverages!
A MAH JONGG EXTRAVAGANZA!
Thursday, October 17th at 5:30 pm
THE LINE-UP:
5:30 pm - Registration, welcome & snacks
6:30 pm - Dinner & movie
"The Tiles that Bind" - a 32-min entertaining film on the history of Mah Jongg in America
7-9 pm - Play Mah Jongg!
Don't know how to play? Come and learn!
Bring your own mah jongg set (one per table)!
Don't forget your cards!
Groups and single players welcome!
$18 PER PERSON
SPACE IS LIMITED!!
CLICK HERE TO RSVP
Simchat Torah Celebration
Sunday, October 20th at 5:30 pm
5:30 pm - Nosh
5:50 pm - Service with Dancing!
7 pm - Dinner and Dessert!
THIS IS A FREE EVENT for ALL AGES!
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Please also join us on Monday, October 21st at 9 am for the Simchat Torah & Shmini Atzeret service with Yizkor. Kiddish to follow.
PLEASE NOTE: TAA Office will be closed on Monday & Tuesday, October 21-22 in observance of Simchat Torah and Shmini Atzeret.
Simchat Torah & Shmini Atzeret Service with Yizkor
Monday, October 21st at 9 am
John Simon Talks on Finnish Jews
Tuesday, October 22nd at 7:30 pm
John Simon took over seven years to research the untold history of Jews in Finland. Newly published in English, "Strangers in a Stranger Land" is a creative combination of history and fiction.
The event is free and open to the public.
CLICK HERE TO RSVP
Simon will share a brief talk and readings of portions of his book, as well as stand by for questions. His presentation is sponsored by the Temple, the Cape Ann Finns, St. Paul Lutheran Church, and Gloucester Office of Veterans Services.
"How the Jews came to Finland forms a unique chapter of the Diaspora," Simon concluded. He tracked their original, involuntary resettlement from other parts of Tsarist Russia to one of the coldest, darkest and most isolated parts of Europe.
"They were then caught -- along with the rest of the population of Finland -- in the cross-fire of great European powers at war in the twentieth century," Simon said. Simon, an American Jew who married a Finn and lives in Finland, thought that it was up to him to tell the story. In order to dramatize the evolving history text, Simon alternates chronological history with the saga of a fictional family of Finnish Jews, whose lives and experiences reflect those of their tiny community.According to Simon, Finland stands alone historically. "Despite its military alliance with Germany, Finland never turned over any of its Jewish citizens to the Nazis' concentration or death camps. This is a record unmatched by any other country." Also, in no other country did an army including Jews who openly proclaimed their religious affiliation fight alongside the Germans (Finland was fighting the Soviet Union to preserve its independence).
TAA Book Club: My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel by Ari Shavit
Thursday, October 24th at 7 pm
This is a free event. Everyone is welcome. Please RSVP to Barbara Kaplan.
First Musical Kabbalat Shabbat Service of 5780!
Friday, November 15th at 5:30 pm
Please join us for the Musical Kabbalat Shabbat with pre-neg and oneg!
5:30 pm Pre-neg
6:15 pm Service
7:15 pm Oneg
This is a FREE event.
Everyone is welcome!
The German-Jewish Cookbook!
Sunday, November 24th at 1 pm
Authors Gabrielle Rossmer Gropman and Sonya Gropman, of The German-Jewish Cookbook, will talk about the recipes and history of German-Jewish cuisine. Enjoy recipe samples and book signing by the authors.
The program is free and open to everyone. Walk-ins are welcome.
CLICK HERE TO RSVP
TAA's own Phoebe Potts presents:
Sunday, December 1st at 2 pm at the Gloucester Stage
Reception and Conversation with Phoebe following the performance
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS
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To pay your Membership Commitment online, please Click Here.
To make a donation online, please Click Here.
TAA WEEKLY NEWSLETTER:
CLICK HERE
Click Here for the Photo Gallery
See images from recent events, and a record of our past
Hebrew Calendar
Weekly Torah Portion
Eric and Cynthia Kaplan
Cynthia and I came to TAA 12 years ago when we moved part-time to Gloucester. TAA is a "Hamish" place and the Rabbi is a big part of why we enjoy it.
I am a retired pediatrician having practiced for 40 years in Lowell and Westford. We lived in Chelmsford and raised our two daughters there. My wife Cynthia loves plants and has worked at Cavicchio Greenhouses for many years. One of our daughters is a lawyer in Massachusetts and the other owns a scene design shop for off Broadway shows in Brooklyn, NY.
I enjoy the many opportunities to engage and help out at TAA. I have joined the kitchen "crew", the Torah study class, and am a regular at Shabbat services and Sunday minyan. Having been a board member at my previous shuls for 25 years, I hope to have something to offer the TAA board of directors.