Clergy : Rabbi Eric Gurvis

Rabbi Eric Gurvis became Senior Rabbi of Temple Shalom on July 19, 1999. His rabbinic career spans over 20 years including synagogues in New York City, Jackson, Mississippi, and Teaneck, New Jersey before coming to Temple Shalom. Rabbi Gurvis is a recognized leader of youth and camping programs in the Union of Reform Judaism. He currently serves as Dean of Faculty and Chairperson of the Education Committee for the URJ Eisner and Crane Lake Camps. Rabbi Gurvis served as chairperson of the Committee on Youth for the Central Conference of American Rabbis from 1986-1993.(CCAR is the professional organization of the North American Reform rabbinate).  Rabbi Gurvis serves on the National Board of ARZA the Association of Reform Zionists of America and has served on the Commission on Social Action of the URJ. Rabbi Gurvis has been active in interfaith affairs, having served as president of the Mississippi Religious Leadership Conference, founding chairperson of the Jackson Clergy Network, and as first chairperson of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Bergen and North Hudson Counties’ task force on Inter Group Relations. He is an active member of the Newton Clergy Association. He is past-chairperson of the Boston Area Reform Rabbis group, Treasurer of the Northeast Region of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and is a member of Executive Board of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis. He also serves on the Adult Learning Committee of the Commission on Jewish Continuity of Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston. Rabbi Gurvis served as an Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City and has taught at Tougaloo College and at Millsaps College in Jackson. Rabbi Gurvis is the author of the Teacher's Guide for Why Be Different? a Look Into Judaism, published by Behrman House, West Orange, New Jersey. He was a contributor to the URJ publication A Taste of Judaism: Are You Curious – Program Guide. Rabbi Gurvis and his wife Laura have four children: Benjamin, Sarah, Aaron and Jacob and reside in Newton. Rabbi Gurvis may be contacted via email by clicking here.

Clergy : Rabbi Michelle D. Pearlman

Rabbi Michelle Pearlman received her ordination from Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in 2005 and joined the Temple Shalom community in the summer of 2006. Immediately following ordination, Rabbi Pearlman began to lay the foundations of her rabbinate at the Union for Reform Judaism with a keen focus on youth work, outreach, and membership issues. While at the URJ, she served both as the Director of Youth and Informal Education (New Jersey Council), and also as the Project Coordinator in the National Department of Outreach and Synagogue Community. She is thrilled to return to congregational life, where the real action of Jewish life and connection takes place. Beginning her professional life as a classical singer, Rabbi Pearlman holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree in Voice Performance from the University of Michigan and University of Illinois respectively, and has performed extensively including engagements with the Santa Fe and Palm Beach Operas. Rabbi Pearlman's love for music and Judaism converged during the five years that she served as Cantorial Soloist and Musical Director of Congregation Kol Ami in Chicago. She credits her experience at Congregation Kol Ami with fostering her passion for studying and teaching Torah and leading her to the rabbinate. As a student she held pulpits in many communities including Woodstock, VT, and New Brunswick, NJ, and was also a recipient of many prizes and awards for both her academic and pulpit work, most notably in the areas of human relations and pastoral care. Her most unusual pulpit experience was serving twice as visiting rabbi at Beit Warszawa, a vibrant liberal congregation in Warsaw, Poland, an experience she loves to share. Rabbi Pearlman lives in Waban with her husband Dr. Andrew Denker and their daughters Madeline Rachel and Noa Elizabeth.   To e-mail Rabbi Pearlman, click here.

Clergy : Cantor Judith Ovadia

Cantor Judith Ovadia earned a Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College in New York in 1991. She enrolled in the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion School of Sacred Music in 1992. During her first year of cantorial studies in Jerusalem, she had the honor of performing for such dignitaries as Israel’s President Chaim Herzog and Mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek.  At the School’s main campus in New York City, Cantor Ovadia was awarded the Davidson Memorial Prize and the Stetner-Math Award to the Student Showing the Most Promise in the Reform Cantorate.   In 1996 she received the degree of Master of Sacred Music and was invested as a Cantor.  Cantor Ovadia’s  writing on Jewish themes and her Torah commentary have been included in the ACC’s Koleinu and in Living Torah, published by URJ Press.  She publishes a website about Jewish parenting, and is an avid blogger and podcaster.  Cantor Ovadia has performed throughout the United States and Israel.  She served congregations in El Paso, Texas, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania before coming to Temple Shalom of Newton.  Cantor Ovadia and her husband, Ron, have two sons, Omri and Yaniv, and a daughter, Zohara.  Click here to contact Cantor Ovadia by email

Clergy : Rabbi Murray I. Rothman (z'l)

Rabbi Murray I. Rothman (z'l) died on January 28, 1999, at the age of 77. He led Temple Shalom from 1953-1988, arriving a few years after it was formed. The temple’s chapel is named in his honor. Rabbi Rothman led one of the first ecumenical missions to the Holy Land and followed that with annual trips to Israel with Temple members. He was a leader of the interfaith movement in the Boston area, founding the Clergy Institute and serving as president of the Newton Clergy Association. He was also president of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis. A lecturer for 30 years at Andover Newton Theological School in Newton, in 1993 he was awarded the seminary’s first President’s Medallion and two years later the Rothman Prize was established. It is given each year to a minister in recognition of superior work to enhance Christian-Jewish understanding.