chabad

The word chabad is a Hebrew acronym for the three intellectual faculties of chochmah (wisdom), binah (comprehension) and da’at (knowledge). Guided by the teachings of seven rebbes and holding as a central tenet the value of every Jew, the movement started 250 years ago in Lubavtich, Russia and today has members throughout the world. Rabbi Yitzchok Tiechtel (pictured here with his son Levi) came to Nashville to organize the city's first chabad shul. Beginning first in his home and then moving to a couple of rooms rented below a bar, the Chabad Center of Nashville recently opened an extensive center in Bellevue, where it hopes to continue its growth.

lisa silver

Lisa Silver is the cantorial soloist/music director at Congregation Micah. Originally from Detroit, where her father was a vocal teacher for several Motown artists, Lisa came to Nashville in 1972. Lisa is a Grammy-nominated songwriter and classically trained violinist with experience in a wide variety of musical settings.

the lunch bunch at the temple

A non-denominational group of Jewish senior citizens gathers for lunch bi-monthly at The Temple.

the coleman family

The Coleman family is one of a small number of young Orthodox families to move to Nashville. The cost of living within Nashville's eruv (the ritual enclosure in which certain types of work are permitted on Shabbat) is one significant deterrent for many young religious Jewish families.

Whenever it rains the question Batya always asks is: why is it raining? And i explain to her that it's raining because HaShem wants it to rain. Because plants and animals and people need the rain and so we have to be grateful for it.

rob and joshua's wedding

Recent converts to Judaism, Rob and Joshua were married at The Temple. Their wedding was the first same-sex marriage to be officiated at a Jewish house of worship in Nashville.

sostrin family shabbat with tzofim

The Sostrin family hosts Israeli scouts (tzofim) for Shabbat dinner. The tzofim send a delegation to the US each summer for three months to represent Israel either through work at Jewish summer camps or song and dance performances.

congregation micah

Rabbi Flip helps students prepare for their b'nai mitzvah at Congregation Micah, a reform synagogue in Nashville.

the temple (congregation ohabai shalom)

Established in 1851 as The Vine Street Temple, the Reform congregation, Ohabai Shalom (usually just referred to as "The Temple") is the oldest and largest Jewish house of worship in Nashville.