Shalom
Welcome to the website of Beth Shalom, the Progressive Jewish Community of Auckland.
At Beth Shalom, you will find a spiritual home, a centre of friendship and community, a place to learn, and a setting to build a better world. Beth Shalom is a gathering of people dedicated to Judaism and to creating diverse opportunities for personal enrichment through learning (Torah), worship (Avodah), and acts of compassion (G’milut Hasadim) in a communal context. At Beth Shalom, we embrace our Jewish tradition in ways relevant to our 21st Century lives, honouring the values of inclusion, gender equality and social justice.
Beth Shalom is a vibrant centre of Jewish life, and boasts a very involved community—lay leaders join me in teaching at our thriving Sunday School, leading worship, reading Torah, settling policies, and planning activities. I invite you to join us for Shabbat worship, a learning session or holiday.
We have members from all corner of the world—not only native Kiwis, but also from Britain, France, Israel, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, and the United States. Members maintain a wide range of Jewish observance. Some were born into Jewish families, and some became Jewish of their own accord. These factors contribute to the excitement and diversity of Beth Shalom. It is a privilege for me to serve this community as rabbi.
We welcome interfaith families.
Whether you are a long time resident of Auckland, new to our community or just passing through, please consider yourself welcome at Beth Shalom.
Rabbi Dean Shapiro
