Rabbi Jay Perlman
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Rabbi Jay Perlman is a Senior Rabbi at Temple Beth Shalom. Since his arrival in Needham in the summer of 2003, Rabbi Perlman has been dedicated to nurturing a warm, vibrant, spiritually meaningful community. He is proud to share in this sacred service with many outstanding clergy, professional, and lay leaders.
Rabbi Perlman is active in both the Needham and the Greater Boston Jewish community. He is an active member of the Needham Clergy Association, including having recently served as president. He currently serves on the New England Regional Board of the Anti-Defamation League. He frequently dedicates two weeks during summer to serve on the faculty at the Union for Reform Judaism’s Camp Eisner. Rabbi Perlman has served as a rabbinic mentor for both the Hebrew College Rabbinic Program and the rabbinical school at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He is a regular teacher for the URJ’s “Taste of Judaism” and “Introduction to Judaism” programs and is a member of the Needham Coalition for Suicide Prevention.
Before coming to the Boston area, Rabbi Perlman served at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis, MO. While there, he was awarded UJA Federation’s Rabbinic Award for outstanding community leadership. Rabbi Perlman was active in the development of innovative worship experiences, creative youth programming, and in working with the St. Louis Jewish deaf community. In addition, Rabbi Perlman was the founding Rabbinic Director of the Fleischer Jewish Healing Center of St. Louis.
Rabbi Perlman was ordained from the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 1996. While at HUC, he was the recipient of a number of academic awards, including his selection as a Steinhardt Scholar for his work in informal education.
Rabbi Perlman is originally from the Boston area. He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Brandeis University, where he received his B.A. in both History and Near East and Judaic Studies. Rabbi Perlman has participated in numerous study opportunities in Israel, including programs at the Hartman Institute, the Conservative Yeshiva, the Pardes Institute, Hebrew University, and through the World Zionist Organization.
Rabbi Perlman has a passion for teaching, learning, building bridges, and sharing the beauty of our Jewish tradition. He joyfully shares his life with his wife, Emily, and their children Liana and Jonah.
K-12 Learning At Temple Beth Shalom
Etzim Educators
Sam Powers
Pronouns: He/Him
I am so excited to be joining the TBS community this year as a Youth Educator and Musical Leader. I am a graduate from Berklee College of Music where I studied mandolin performance and music business. I have been a professional Jewish musician for over a decade and have been a Jewish Educator since 2016. This year I will be working with Mayim, Shorashim, and Etzim. You can also see me playing Shabbat Friday Night Services all year long!
My educational philosophy is that students' interests should shape their learning. I believe that my role as an educator is to create an inclusive learning environment for my students and teach through their interests.
Sadie O'Neill
Pronouns: She/Her
I am thrilled to be returning to TBS this year as a Shorashim educator. I recently graduated from Lesley University, where I earned a degree in Counseling and Expressive Arts Therapy. I have spent the past 15 summers at URJ Crane Lake Camp as a camper, counselor, and most recently, the Performing Arts Director. My time at summer camp has sparked my love for Jewish learning and I am so excited to use my creativity, joy, curiosity, and passion to continue to nurture that spark within the TBS community.
Leah Goldstein
Pronouns: She/Her
I am so excited to begin my second year at TBS as a Jewish Learning Guide in Shorashim, teaching for Etzim, and serving as the Jr. BESTY advisor. Originally from Austin, TX, I have been living in Brookline for the last 13 years and absolutely love the Jewish community here.
Prior to joining TBS, I spent a decade working with teens in different capacities at Hebrew College where I was the Associate Director of Prozdor, a pluralistic Hebrew High School program. While there, I also served as the Director of the Jewish Teen Foundation of Greater Boston (JTFGB) at Hebrew College, a Jewish leadership program that educates and empowers teens from the Greater Boston Area to develop a life-long commitment to strategic philanthropy, advocacy, and community engagement as they work together and learn the ins and outs of the nonprofit sector.
I am deeply passionate about Jewish education and have dedicated my life to working with kids of all ages to make a real impact on this next generation. As an educator, I have always found myself the most energized when teaching and talking about tzedakah and tikkun olam. I love finding new and creative ways to organically infuse Jewish values into the lives of everyone I work with. I believe in creating a unique, sacred, and fun space where kids can not only learn with each other, but also from each other. I am constantly inspired by all of the time I have spent watching children thrive and grow over the years. Forming meaningful and lasting relationships with every one of my students has always been one of my favorite things and I am really looking forward to doing that with the incredible community here at TBS.
