Osek Be-tzorkhei Tzibbur
At Kehillath Israel, we bring our community together for prayer, learning, and connection—from Shabbat and holiday services to our religious school and preschool. Our lay-led tefillah team, campus security committee, greeters, and parent volunteers help make KI a welcoming place to gather and grow.
Together, we live the value at the heart of our annual appeal: Osek Be-tzorkhei Tzibbur, being actively engaged in the needs of our community.
This Giving Tuesday, please put the value of Osek Be-tzorkhei Tzibbur into action with a meaningful gift to our annual appeal.
The KI Board of Trustees will match all gifts received on or before Giving Tuesday (December 1) up to $10,000. Give by December 1 to make your contribution go further, and double your impact today.
Ways your gift creates immediate impact
Sustaining Our Rituals
Covers the cost of challah for Shabbat Kiddush.
Sanctifying Our Week
Covers the cost of Kiddush wine/grape juice for 6 Shabbatot.
Fostering Connection
Covers the cost of 6 participants in KIYP (20s/30s) Shabbat Dinners.
Enriching Community & Learning
Covers the cost of books and school supplies for one KIRS classroom.
Nurturing the Next Generation
Covers the cost of youth educators for 4 sessions of Shabbat Kolot.
Nourishing Our Community
Covers the cost of a standard Shabbat Kiddush.
Securing & Strengthening Our Home
Covers the cost of one week of security coverage for KIPS.
Rejoicing In Our Traditions
Covers the cost of maintaining and growing our collection of ritual items used by the community every day, including tallit, kippot, and sacred books.
Dedicating Our Sacred Spaces
Covers the cost of naming a sanctuary pew in honor of a cherished loved one.
Why we give
KI has become our second home, woven into the life we’ve built together. Shabbat and weekday minyan are part of our rhythm, not out of obligation, but because of the community and connections that make KI so special to us. Rabbi Hamilton has been a constant source of wisdom, warmth, and support since our early days at KI. The conversations he guided us through in the months before our wedding helped us better understand each other and feel even more connected as we prepared for married life. On our wedding day, every corner of KI felt familiar and full of love, from the beautiful chuppah in the sanctuary to dancing the night away in the social hall. KI isn’t just where we got married; it’s where our Jewish life continues to flourish.
There is nothing like family during the holidays. Families are spread out all over the country and the globe, but during the holidays, there is a need to be together. I cannot begin to share the joy I felt as absolutely stressed parents, brothers, and sisters tried to figure out how to get their children, siblings, cousins, and even the occasional roommate into our building to join whatever community because they had all of the tickets and wristbands and their loved ones were seemingly left to talk their way in on their own. I felt the joy because I could feel how important this was and I knew how this was going to end. Jewish communities welcome all guests and everyone got in, of course. What started out as stress ended with families praying together. Hollywood – write that script!
KI is special to me because it is a place where my son Ethan is known, respected, and warmly welcomed. When Ethan walks into the KI building, whether it is for Shabbat, to work in the office as he did over the summer, or to attend a Yachad gathering, he is known. Security guards welcome him, Suzanne and Samantha make a point to stop and chat with him. On Shabbat, Ethan expects that at some point in the service Rabbi Hamilton will come up to him and say, “Motzi?”, and Ethan gives him a thumbs up. Standing alongside Rabbi Hamilton as he makes the kiddush and then motions to Ethan to say the Motzi provides our family and Ethan with a treasured sense of belonging and place at KI.
It’s “heimish.”
Nothing sums up the KI experience more than that Yiddish concept. The word literally means “home-ish.” It’s a community that’s warm and unpretentious with friendly people who know a lot and care deeply about Judaism and Israel.
That’s KI’s “secret sauce.”
As I noted at a recent KI Annual Meeting, I believe KI has improved over the past years in every possible way. Since attending the minyanim more regularly, it is obvious that even that community has become stronger and more necessary. We have grown a better educated and competent laity, and the best example of our present status is the significant unsolicited response to the passing of Elizabete Guedes.
We joined KI shortly after moving to Brookline in 2012, and it has helped our family deepen our Jewish identity and build our Jewish community. From Shabbat, to high holidays, to Bat Mitzvahs and hopefully someday weddings, we are so grateful to have this temple to call our home. Our oldest had the first Covid Bat Mitzvah, our middle brought the Boy Scouts of Brookline to the temple to build an Oct 7 commemorative garden, and our youngest made us beam with pride stepping up to kill it with her Bat Mitzvah and encouraging us to visit Israel last year. Our former professors are members; our business school classmates show up; my Mahjong group started here. It’s a wonderful center of the Brookline universe for a Jewish family. We are greatly looking forward to all the adventures that will unfold in the KI community in the years to come.
For us, KI is community, family and future. It is a place for our family to be part of an active Jewish community and somewhere our kids can learn and eventually make the Jewish decision to join a synagogue of their own.
What makes KI so special to me is the opportunity to connect, think, and worship.
Other ways to give
Donate online
Make a general donation as a KI member or as a guest.
By check
Mail your gift to:
Congregation Kehillath Israel
384 Harvard Street
Brookline, MA 02446
Stock
Custodian: Fidelity Investments
DTC #0226
Account name: Congregation Kehillath Israel
Annual Fund/Operating Account: Z41223085
KI Next/Capital Campaign: Z66053457
Fidelity: (800) 544-6666
Please email info@congki.org so we can credit your gift properly.
Donor Advised Funds & cryptocurrency
We gratefully accept gifts from Donor Advised Funds and cryptocurrency. For cryptocurrency, please email info@congki.org so we can credit your gift properly.
Sponsor a Kiddush
Mark a simcha or honor a memory by sponsoring Friday night or Saturday Kiddush. Sponsor Kiddush page
Kehillath Israel’s Tax ID number is 04-2121331. To secure the future of our synagogue, please consider a gift to our endowment fund.
However you choose to give, thank you.
Your generosity will help keep our traditions alive for generations to come. We are so grateful for your partnership in our ever-widening circle.
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