Kahal B’raira means “Community of Choice.” Our name emphasizes our belief that we are responsible for our choices and answer to one another and ourselves.

Kahal B’raira Offers:

  • A congregation that supports the beliefs and commitments of Humanistic Judaism.
  • A place that welcomes all who identify with the history, culture and fate of the Jewish people.
  • A place to celebrate the joyous life cycle events of birth, B Mitzvah, and marriage and find support during times of hardship, illness, and loss.
  • Meaningful experiences of culture, celebration, education and community life.

All About Kahal B’raira

Kahal B’raira is a dynamic, warm, welcoming community including:

We hold Sunday School and adult meetings 15 times per school year.  The adult meetings take place during Sunday School hours and include social time, a Humanistic Jewish service, and an educational program.

See our calendar for specific dates and times.

Nancy Waters, Co-President
Ben Lieberman, Co-President
Ryan Katofsky, Past President
Cathy Cabrera, Treasurer
Lore Kantrowitz, Secretary
Ellen Forman, Holiday Coordinator
Allison Caplin, Sunday School Committee Co-Chair
Lee Feigenbaum, Sunday School Committee Co-Chair
Roberta Bauer, Member at Large
Linda Krupp, Member at Large
Melinda Rothstein, Member at Large
Dave Ross, Member at Large
Cara Seiderman, Member at Large
Jamie Wilson, Member at Large
Jon Levine, Delegate to Society for Humanistic Judaism
Lidia Pruente, Managing Director
Gladys Maged, Managing Director Emeritus
Sophia Brion-Meisels, Education Director
Zach Mayer, Music Director
Kahal B’raira has flourished since its humble beginnings in September of 1975.

Here is a short timeline of the congregation:

1975 Rabbi Sherwin Wine, founder of the Society for Humanistic Judaism, asks Barbara and Seymour (Sy) Schnuer to organize a congregation in Boston.On September 19th, the first meeting is held.
1978 The first Humanistic High Holiday service  and Chanukah celebration take place in Boston.
1979 The Sunday school is started.
1980 The name “Community of Choice” is chosen and translated into Hebrew: Kahal B’raira (KB).
1984 Congregation celebrates its first Bar Mitzvah, that of Daniel Dain.
1986 Steven & Linda Brion-Meisels chair the Sunday School Committee and serve as first Principals.
1989 First KB graduates teach Sunday School: Evonne Wetzner & Josh Dodes.
1999 100 families are in the congregation.
2003 KB hires Gladys Maged as administrative facilitator.
2006 KB hosts the Society for Humanistic Judaism Conference and (a year late) celebrates its 30thanniversary
2007 KB moves to Fayerweather Street School in Cambridge.

Kahal B’raira is committed to full inclusion of people with disabilities in all our activities and events. If you have an accommodation request or feedback about our inclusion work, please email Paul Rickter, our inclusion ombudsman, at rickter@gmail.com, or fill out this form.

Physical Access to Our Meeting Space, The Fayerweather Street School
The parking lot at 765 Concord Ave, Cambridge, has accessible parking spaces. The Concord Avenue entrance is accessible; there are no steps to access the building or inside the building. The building has accessible men’s and women’s bathrooms, as well as an accessible single-stall, all-gender bathroom.

Accessibility at our Online Events
Our community gatherings and holiday celebrations have automatic captions. To request captions at other KB meetings, please email Lidia at l.pruente@kahalbraira.org. Meeting hosts can use KB’s paid Zoom account in order to make captions available to participants.

Planning a KB event? The accessibility checklist is here.