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Education, lifecycle support, and inclusiveness were the key goals of the handful of families who formed Congregation B’nai Torah back in 1974. Their goals for education and lifecycle support were simple -- they wanted their children to know and be proud of their heritage and culture, so that their sense of Jewish identity would remain with them throughout their lives (hence the name "B’nai Torah" or "Children of the Torah"). Their goal of inclusiveness was more complex -- a desire to embrace anyone living in the Sudbury region who wanted to join a self-determining social, cultural, and religious Jewish community. Now, more than 30 years later, some 220 families are realizing the goals set forth by B’nai Torah’s founding families -- comprehensive educational programs; a menu of services for the entire lifecycle; and inclusiveness for everyone, regardless of their age, marital situation, or religious background. B’nai Torah’s first members came from every discipline of Judaism -- Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Ethical Culturalist. Many interfaith married couples also joined, as the only requirement for inclusion was, and remains today, their desire to participate in worship services and educational programs. Congregation B’nai Torah came to life in the fall of 1974 at Rosh Hashanah services held in the Martha Mary Chapel at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury. Using a Torah from a now-defunct congregation in Dorchester and prayer books donated by Temple Ohabei Shalom of Brookline, members conducted the High Holiday services themselves accompanied only by a paid guitarist. These same members also developed the Hebrew school curriculum for their children. During the congregation’s first few years, High Holiday services were held at the Martha Mary Chapel; Hebrew school and once-a-month Friday evening Sabbath services were celebrated at the Sudbury United Methodist Church and the First Parish of Sudbury; and, occasionally, services were conducted at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, Our Lady of Fatima Roman Catholic Church, Heritage Park, Sudbury Town Hall, or in congregants’ homes. As children reached Bar and Bat Mitzvah age, each family organized and led its own ceremony, either alone or with the assistance of more experienced members. A second Torah, a Holocaust "survivor" from Czechoslovakia, was acquired by the congregation in 1975. Self determination remained the spirit of the congregation when it hired its first professional leader, the late Cantor Joe Markind, in 1978. Cantor Markind’s music and religious leadership brought the congregation to a new level. In 1984, the congregation leased its first home at the Loring School on Woodside Road in Sudbury. Since the retirement of Cantor Markind in 1991, B’nai Torah has been served by several talented cantorial soloists, including Elizabeth Anker, Julia Priest, Lee Daum, and currently Jacqueline Breines. In 1988, the congregation sought professional rabbinical leadership for the first time by hiring a part-time rabbi, Rabbi Reuven Firestone. Rabbi Firestone, who was also a professor at Boston University, delivered both leadership and a rich academic scholarship to the congregation for three years. The congregation’s next leader was Rabbi Deanna Douglas, who conducted the first adult B’nai Mitzvot. In 1994, Boaz Heilman assumed leadership of the congregation. A former concert pianist and teacher, Heilman served the congregation part time while attending Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. Rabbi Heilman was ordained in May 1998 and now leads the congregation on a full-time basis. In 1996, B’nai Torah members felt the need to establish a permanent home. In less than two years, funds were raised, land purchased, and a beautiful building constructed on Boston Post Road (Route 20) in Sudbury. On Sunday, September 13, 1998, B’nai Torah members dedicated the building with hundreds of people in attendance, including many religious and political leaders from throughout the region. As Congregation B’nai Torah continues into the 21st century, its members remain committed to the goals established by the founding families -- education, lifecycle support, and inclusiveness -- ensuring that the temple will always meet the needs of the Jewish community in the Metrowest area.
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