About Us

Dorshei Tzedek is a dynamic and growing Reconstructionist congregation in West Newton, Massachusetts, with over 200 member households. We are dedicated to Jewish learning and to ethical Jewish living in the modern world. Our Reconstructionist educational program is committed to making Judaism relevant and meaningful for children as well as adults.

Our Rabbi, Toba Spitzer, has been named one of the "Top 50 Rabbis in America."  You can read and listen to her talks here.

Our community includes people from a wide variety of Jewish backgrounds, as well as interfaith families and people with little or no previous Jewish learning or experience. We embrace one another’s unique points of view. Our membership includes families, couples, and singles of all ages, Jews by birth and Jews by choice (or still choosing). We value and include everyone regardless of age, marital status, income level, or sexual orientation.

History of Dorshei Tzedek

Six households created Congregation Dorshei Tzedek (CDT) during the summer of 1991. We sought to establish a Jewish congregation committed to Reconstructionist principles and philosophy. We envisioned a welcoming, participatory and inclusive community with a rabbi, strong lay leadership, a religious school, lifelong education, Shabbat and holiday services, and lifecycle observances. We chose the name "Dorshei Tzedek" which means "seekers of justice."

To create Congregation Dorshei Tzedek's first High Holyday services, each founding household contributed $500 for initial funding. Services were held at Brandeis University's Sacher Auditorium. We bought a modest number of High Holy Day prayer books and engaged Rabbi Mordechai Liebling to help us lead services. We advertised in the Jewish Advocate, local Newton newspapers, and on community bulletin boards and held our breath!

To our amazement, services were a great success. We were able to pay all our bills, make an appropriate contribution to Brandeis Hillel, and even had a little left over. More importantly, several families joined us right after the holidays. We applied for membership in the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation and were accepted at their next board meeting.

Over the next two years, we held regular Shabbat services, celebrated holidays, and organized a board. We knew we needed to grow and to do that we needed a rabbi and a religious school.

For the first few years, Temple Emanuel in Newton graciously allowed our children to enroll in their religious school. By our third year as a congregation, we were able to start our own Religious School, starting with a Gan-Aleph (K-1) class and adding another grade each year until we had a full Gan-Zayin school.

Rabbi Liebling, at that time the Executive Director of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, continued to serve as our High Holy Day rabbi. As our congregation grew to almost 30 households, he advised us to hire a student rabbi for one Shabbat weekend per month plus High Holy Days. Rabbi Linda Potemken served our congregation for the last three years of her rabbinic schooling, from 1994 until 1997.

With a regular rabbinic presence, our membership grew steadily, and by the time Rabbi Potemken graduated we had reached 60 households. At that point, we were able to raise enough money to guarantee a half-time salary for two years. We were incredibly fortunate to bring Rabbi Toba Spitzer to Boston in 1997.

For several years, we held High Holy Day services at the Solomon Schechter School in Newton. Since 2007 we have celebrated High Holy Days at the Gann Academy in Waltham.

Our religious school, adult education and holiday programs, and especially our commitment to tikkun olam, continue to grow thanks to Rabbi Spitzer's guidance and our dedicated membership.

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