Roots and Renewal (1949–1970)

The story of Temple Hillel B’nai Torah begins in the years after World War II, when Jewish families were putting down roots in West Roxbury. In 1949, the Parkway Jewish Women’s Club formed, followed in 1950 by the Parkway Jewish Men’s Association. Together they became the nucleus of a new synagogue community.

By 1953, they had formally established Temple Beth Torah, moved into the Corey Street building, and launched their own Hebrew School — the building that remains our home today.

The young Conservative shul flourished. By the mid-1950s, more than 300 Jewish families belonged. A new sanctuary was added, the Hebrew School took root, and synagogue life blossomed under Rabbi Oscar Bookspan and Cantor Simon Erdman.

The Brotherhood and Sisterhood anchored community life with popular events — from annual Sisterhood donor dinners to Brotherhood mayoral-candidate breakfasts. These gatherings gave the congregation not only a spiritual center, but a distinctly social one as well.

Meanwhile, in nearby Mattapan, Temple Beth Hillel was thriving too. At its height, the Hebrew School enrolled as many as six hundred children — a testament to the vitality of Jewish life in Boston’s neighborhoods.

As the 1960s unfolded, Boston’s Jewish population shifted. Families moved farther from the city, and Beth Hillel’s base diminished. This was not unique to Boston — Jewish communities everywhere adapt to demographic change. At HBT, it led not to decline, but to adaptation: a decision to join communities and secure the future of Jewish life in West Roxbury.

“In 1970, Beth Hillel joined Beth Torah to form Temple Hillel B’nai Torah. That moment was marked in a striking way: Rabbi Bookspan carried the Torah through the streets of West Roxbury — a visible act of continuity, joining two histories into one future.”
— Jeremy Ronkin, History presentation

As Jeremy Ronkin recalled at Rabbi Aliza Schwartz’s installation, his grandfather, Milton Saltman, became the first president of the newly merged congregation — a reminder that HBT’s history is written not only in dates, but in the lives of the families who built it.

Bridging Generations (1980–1993)

In the 1970s and early 1980s, HBT remained a vibrant congregation. Yet leaders also recognized a demographic reality: fewer young families were joining, and many of the next generation were moving away. The status quo could not be sustained indefinitely. Renewal would be needed to secure the synagogue’s future.

“In the ’70s going into the ’80s, Temple HBT was active, with Brotherhood and Sisterhood events, strong minyanim, and deep community ties. But even with all that energy, the future wasn’t certain.”
— Lenny Markowitz, History presentation

When Rabbi Oscar Bookspan retired in 1986, Rabbi Eliot Somers served as interim rabbi for several years. These were transitional times, but not stagnant ones: the vitality of the community was still strong, even as leaders recognized that change was necessary to secure its future.

In 1985, Brotherhood president Harold Gordon invited the newly formed West Roxbury Chavurah — a group of young families seeking participatory Jewish life — to join HBT. Their arrival brought fresh energy. New voices began shaping synagogue life, and a tradition of retreat at the Craigville Conference Center on Cape Cod took root (as remembered in the archives).

Chavurah families and longtime members didn’t always see things the same way — but this was generational, not adversarial. Priorities sometimes differed, but they shared a common vision: sustaining a synagogue that was vibrant and meaningful.

Under the guidance of leaders like Marvin Rosenkrantz, and with a new generation stepping forward, HBT showed it could adapt with purpose. It did not feel like a congregation in decline — it felt vibrant, but at a crossroads. What began as a bridge between generations became something deeper: new ways of seeing Jewish life and new voices shaping HBT’s identity.

That turning point came in 1993 with the election of HBT’s first baby boomer president. It marked a generational shift that launched a community-wide visioning process, inviting participation across ages and perspectives.

Around this same time, HBT also secured funding for Project Gesher — “bridge” in Hebrew — reflecting the congregation’s effort to connect generations and voices across the community. The process itself mattered as much as the outcome: it was the congregation claiming its voice. And it set the stage for the next chapter — a rabbinic search and, soon after, the reopening of the Chaverim School.

A New Era of Leadership (1993–1995)

In 1993, Dan Gelbtuch, who had joined HBT with his family through the West Roxbury Chavurah, celebrated his bar mitzvah on the bimah — the first at HBT in more than fifteen years. For his family, it was a deeply personal milestone, but it also mirrored what was happening in the congregation.

“In 1993, I celebrated my bar mitzvah on the bimah — the first at HBT in more than fifteen years. For my family, who had joined through the West Roxbury Chavurah, this milestone was deeply personal, but it also mirrored what was happening in the congregation.”
— Dan Gelbtuch, History presentation

That same year also marked the end of an era: HBT held its final Brotherhood mayoral-candidate breakfast, with then–acting mayor Tom Menino among the participants.

The coincidence of these two moments — the last of a long civic tradition and the first bar mitzvah in over a decade — captured how the congregation was both closing one chapter and stepping into another.

In 1994, during the presidency of Lenny Markowitz (1993–1995), an intergenerational search committee — co-chaired by Laurie Rotman and Ruth Lederman, with contributions from members including Susannah Sirkin — brought together both longtime members and newer Chavurah families. Their collaboration symbolized the renewal of HBT, bridging generations and priorities into one future.

Their collaboration symbolized the renewal of HBT, bridging generations and priorities into one future.

That work culminated in 1995 with the arrival of Rabbi Barbara Penzner. From her very first sermon, Rabbi Barbara set a bold tone: LGBTQ Jews were not just welcomed, but embraced. For many, it confirmed why the congregation had called her — she embodied the values of inclusivity, justice, and courage that HBT was ready to live out.

That same year, the Chaverim School reopened, becoming the heart of Jewish learning and family life at HBT. After years without a Hebrew school, children once again filled the building — a living sign that renewal was not just about leadership, but about future generations.

For Dan, Rabbi Barbara became a mentor who shaped his Jewish values and his path toward justice. His reflections illustrated a larger truth: this was a moment of generational renewal, when new leaders, new families, and new voices carried HBT into its next chapter.

Chaverim School and Living Our Values (2006–2015)

By the late 2000s, HBT’s Chaverim School had blossomed into the beating heart of congregational life. What began in the mid-1990s as just a handful of students had grown into a spirited community of more than ninety children.

The building was alive with Shabbat songs, Purim parades, Passover storytelling, and the everyday rhythm of Jewish learning. The school was more than a program — it reflected the evolving spirit of the community itself. Under the direction of leaders like Hillary Pinsker Engler, the classrooms and hallways were reshaped so that the images on the walls mirrored the children who filled them.

Multiracial and interfaith families were not guests to be “welcomed.” They were the congregation itself.

Among the children who grew up in this era was Naomi Bethune. Raised in a multiracial Jewish family, Naomi found a deep sense of belonging at HBT. Her story shows how the Chaverim School was never just a program — it was a place where identity, inclusivity, and community took root.

“I’ve been part of the HBT community since I was six years old, growing up in the Chaverim School and in a multiracial Jewish family that found a deep sense of belonging here.”
— Naomi Bethune, History presentation

Naomi’s experience illustrated something deeper: families like hers were never outsiders being “welcomed” into someone else’s vision of Jewish life. They were affirmed as HBT itself.

“For me, the seeds planted at Chaverim grew into a lifelong commitment to Tikkun Olam, and helped shape the next chapter of HBT.”

In Naomi’s words, we glimpse how Rabbi Barbara’s vision took root in the life of a child and blossomed into a commitment to justice in adulthood. And yet, this is only part of the story: the Chaverim School was built by many hands — parents, teachers, and leaders whose efforts deserve to be told more fully in the future.

By the 2010s, the seeds planted in those classrooms were flourishing in the wider congregation. Spiritual life and social action were no longer parallel tracks but intertwined expressions of what it meant to be HBT.

It is here that we turn to the voice of Keren Sammett, who spoke of how her “little family of two” found not just welcome, but full embrace in this community.

Justice, Legacy, and Community Leadership (2005–2023)

For nearly three decades, Rabbi Barbara Penzner guided HBT with wisdom, strength, and heart. In 2005, the congregation formally affiliated with the Reconstructionist movement, affirming an identity that had long been evolving: rooted in tradition yet open to transformation. With support from CJP, HBT also reimagined its governance, creating a fair-share dues structure and drafting community principles that continue to guide synagogue life.

These years brought landmark values-based decisions: welcoming interfaith families (1998), affirming same-sex weddings before marriage equality was law in Massachusetts (1999), revisiting kashrut policies, and renewing Shabbat morning services through the COSMOS committee. At the same time, the community deepened its practice together — celebrating adult b’nai mitzvah groups, traveling to Israel (2007, 2018, 2022), repairing homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina (2009), and reviving the spring Shabbaton retreat on Cape Cod (2013), where nearly 100 members came together in joy and learning.

Justice and inclusivity became woven into HBT’s identity. Partnerships with interfaith coalitions, immigrant justice and labor organizations, and civic groups made public witness and Human Rights Shabbat central expressions of faith. Lay leadership flourished, and the voices of Jews of color, LGBTQ members, and interfaith families helped shape the evolving character of the congregation.

Into this vibrant moment stepped Keren Sammett, who joined HBT in 2004 with her young daughter.

“As a Boston resident with a young child of color, I was looking for a Jewish community rooted in inclusivity, compassion for the marginalized, and social justice — one where our little family of two would be embraced by spiritual traditions and meaningful practice.”

Her experience confirmed that inclusivity at HBT was not just a slogan or policy — it was lived practice.

“We built lasting partnerships with interfaith, immigrant justice, labor, and advocacy organizations. But our transformation wasn’t just outward.”

“Lay leadership flourished. HBT’s identity deepened, shaped by the voices and lived experiences of Jews of color, LGBTQ+ Jews, interfaith and multiracial families, and members across generations.”

“The pursuit of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, became a spiritual practice. Justice work wove itself into congregational life, from our annual Human Rights Shabbat to encouraging youth leadership and activism.”

By the 2010s, the congregation had reached a turning point where spiritual life and social action were inseparable.

Keren’s reflections remind us that under Rabbi Barbara’s leadership, HBT became not only a congregation of memory and tradition, but a living community of justice, belonging, and transformation.

Carrying the Vision Forward (2023–Present)

The story of HBT continues with the next generation. Ephram Kronenberg — a Chaverim School graduate, madrich, and teen board member — has grown up in the life of the congregation. For him, HBT is the place where belonging and leadership came together.

Ephram spoke with particular pride about serving as a madrich in the Chaverim School, guiding younger students in the same program that helped shape his own Jewish identity. In his words, teaching and mentoring others was both a way of giving back and a way of carrying HBT’s future forward.

“As a madrich and a teen board member, I learned that leadership isn’t standing apart — it’s stepping in to guide others the way I was guided.”

In 2023, while the community prepared for a new chapter, Rabbi Sara Noyowitz served as interim rabbi, bringing warmth and stability. Then, in 2024, HBT joyfully welcomed Rabbi Aliza Schwartz as its new settled rabbi. Ephram described how Rabbi Aliza leads not apart from the community but within it — in circles of study, in song, and in celebration.

Watching that model of leadership, alongside his own experiences as a madrich and teen board member, crystallized a larger truth for Ephram about what it takes to sustain a community:

“To build something lasting, it takes three kinds of people: those who give what they can, those who step up to lead, and those who show up.”

His words echo the teaching that just as our ancestors built the Mishkan with their hearts and hands, so too will HBT be carried forward by all of us.

Carrying the Story Forward

Throughout history, synagogues have lived with the ebb and flow of shifting demographics — families move, neighborhoods change, numbers rise and fall. HBT has been no different. Yet our story has never been one of decline; it has been one of adaptation, resilience, and growth.

Each time the future seemed uncertain, members stepped forward. The Chavurah families of the 1980s, the rabbinic search committee of 1994, the builders of Chaverim School, the leaders of social justice initiatives — all carried HBT forward. Through it all, we have remained active in civic life, sustained our minyanim, and found joy in learning and celebration.

For three decades, Rabbi Barbara Penzner guided HBT with wisdom, heart, and courage, shaping us into the inclusive, justice-centered congregation we are today. Her leadership created the foundation on which the next chapter now rests.

As Ephram reminded us, building community takes more than vision. It takes people who contribute their resources, people who offer their skills, and people who faithfully show up. That truth has sustained us for seventy years.

And it continues today. With Rabbi Aliza Schwartz as our spiritual leader and the newest generations stepping into leadership, Temple Hillel B’nai Torah will keep writing its story — evolving, growing, and moving forward together. We will do so, as always, through the Treasure, Talent, and Time of our members.