About Us
The Jacob Berman Community Center is a modern Orthodox synagogue founded in 1970. It is situated on the green, insulated campus of Yeshivat Hadarom in Rehovot, The shul currently numbers over 260 member families, many of whom made aliyah from English-speaking countries, but also young families for whom Hebrew is their mother tongue. It is thriving with young families and growing at the rate of more than ten families a year. The shul has a warm and open atmosphere and counts a large number of professionals and academics among its members.
Berman's is entirely run by volunteers. There is no formal Rabbi, although our membership includes several Rabbis (some of whom are also professors in secular fields). A lay Board oversees the educational programs (including a wide range of lectures open to the wider Rehovot community), social programs, tzedakah programs (including the largest Gamach (Interest-Free Loan) program in the Rehovot area), youth programs and an outreach program.
As an Orthodox synagogue, Berman's is a model of tolerance and pluralism, where women dance with the Torah on Simchat Torah, deliver Divrei Torah from the bima on Shabbat, lead a separate women’s reading of Megillat Esther on Purim and can serve as President.