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
Why is the K-4 Learning Program at TBS Called Mayim?
"Water is likened to Torah." (Talmud - Bava Kama 82a)
Mayim is the Hebrew word for water. In so many ways we see connections between water and the learning settings that we have created for our elementary school-aged children and their families:
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Water has depth, and our foremost goals for the Mayim program are to create depth of relationships and of learning for our children and families.
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Water flows freely and easily, and we seek to create the smoothest transitions possible from year to year, from our youngest preschool students through our oldest teens.
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Water allows for growth in our world, and we want our students and their families to grow through ever-richer Jewish lives and experiences.
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Water takes on many forms just as our children vary significantly in their learning styles and needs, and we seek to create nurturning learning environments for all who are able to participate.
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Water allows us to float, and this is the definition of resilience - the ability to keep one's head up even through turbulent times and circumstances. Temple Beth Shalom is such a "life-preserver" for our children and adults alike.
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Water envelops us when we are in it, just as our Jewish learning should inform all of our lives, both in and out of the synagogue.
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Water produces reflections in which we can see ourselves, just as we strive to see ourselves in the stories and values of Jewish tradition.
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Water can be tranquil and peaceful, just as Temple Beth Shalom serves as an oasis for our families - a place to seek sanctuary from the hectic pace of daily life.
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Water builds independence as children learn to swim in it, and our learning programs do the same, allowing children to take age-appropriate risks as they mature.
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Water is fun and engaging for the whole family, just as our learning programs need to be.
"Some teach that it is a parent's responsibility to teach a child to swim in the water." (Talmud - Kiddushin 29a)
