Save the Date! Friday, September 25 · 5:45–7:30 p.m.
This year, on Sukkot, we'll gather in something new: the first fruits of HBT's solar collectors. The sun's power is endless, but HBT will be harvesting it for decades to come. This first harvest only happens once.
🌾 Gather & Glow: Sukkot, Solar & Supper
It's been too long! For the first time since May, our whole HBT community is coming together again, and we're celebrating in a big way.
Join us for a joyful Welcome Back Sukkot Bash. We'll kick off the evening with the official ribbon-cutting for HBT's new solar panels, followed by a delicious community dinner and festive Sukkot celebrations.
Reconnect with old friends, meet new ones, celebrate Sukkot, and help us kick off an exciting new year at HBT.
Come celebrate together.
🌞 Bringing Light All Year
HBT's Solar & Sustainability Campaign
Temple HBT's completed solar array, viewed from the front of the building.
We are illuminating a more sustainable future through our Bringing Light All Year campaign — a community-wide effort to care for our aging building and invest in long-term environmental and financial resilience.
For over 70 years, this building has sheltered Jewish life in West Roxbury. For 55 of those years, Temple HBT has filled it with community. Now, it is our legacy to make this home stronger, greener, and more efficient by replacing the roof, installing solar panels, and upgrading the heating system.
This project was made possible with generous support from our community and a $40,000 grant from the Jewish Solar Challenge, a project of the Schwartz-Rosman Foundation.
We replaced the roof, installed a 126-panel solar array, and upgraded the building with high-efficiency heat pumps. Together, these improvements move HBT toward full electrification and allow our solar system to produce approximately 120% of our annual electricity needs.
This project will help HBT shine for decades to come — not just in moments of celebration, but every day of the year.
Chevruta Corner — Sukkot and first fruits Chevruta: the practice of studying in pairs. This is where we share the thinking behind what you're reading.
Sukkot is called Chag HaAsif, the Festival of Ingathering, the Torah's own name for the fall harvest festival (Exodus 23:16). It's when the last of the season's produce is gathered in.
This holiday has an older cousin: bikkurim, the first fruits offering. In ancient Israel, farmers would bring the very first ripe fruits of their harvest to the Temple, not the biggest or the best, but the first. It could only happen once each season, marking the moment a harvest truly began.
Bikkurim were traditionally brought over a season running from Shavuot through Sukkot, so this teaching sits close to home this time of year, and close to home for HBT too. (More on that below.)
Reflect: What first fruits are you bringing this year?
Why This Matters
Caring for our building is caring for our community. Sustainability isn't separate from Jewish life at HBT, it's part of what it means to be a Kehilla Chaya, a living, breathing community that takes responsibility for the home it shares.
Our roof was nearly 30 years old and needed replacement, at a cost of $112,500. Delaying repairs would have risked leaks, interior damage, and rising costs.
Tearing off the original roof, nearly 30 years old, to prepare for the new solar-ready roof.
Because we had to replace the roof anyway, we designed it to support solar panels and electrification. Doing everything together — roof, solar, and heat pumps — saved time, money, and disruption.
What We Accomplished: A Greener, Stronger HBT
A safe, durable, solar-ready roof now protects our sanctuary, classrooms, and community spaces.
HBT's new 126-panel solar array (54.81 kW-DC) is projected to produce approximately 120% of our annual electric use — shifting HBT from burning oil to producing clean power.
Solar brings light in the darkest time of year and now helps HBT shine year-round.
The completed 126-panel array, covering the sanctuary roof.
HBT has installed high-efficiency heat pumps throughout our classroom and office building, greatly reducing our reliance on oil heat there. Our classrooms are now noticeably quieter and more comfortable, a big improvement for learning and teaching.
One of the new high-efficiency heat pumps serving HBT's classroom and office building.
Financial Impact: Responsible, Sustainable, Forward-Thinking
- Annual solar loan payment: ~$14,000
- Electricity budget prior to solar: ~$15,000/year
Over time, we expect our solar savings to offset these costs and help protect HBT from rising energy prices. This project was a strategic investment in HBT's future — grounded in Jewish values, environmental responsibility, and financial resilience. Continued giving now helps HBT pay down the solar loan and build toward long-term stability.
Thanks to your generosity, HBT raised over $60,000 from our community and secured a $40,000 grant from the Jewish Solar Challenge, a project of the Schwartz-Rosman Foundation, together funding this project.
The roof is replaced, the solar array is installed, and heat pumps are in throughout our classroom and office building. HBT is now a more electrified, climate-conscious building, and a model of Jewish sustainability for our community and beyond.
Ways to Support Temple HBT
With the solar and electrification project complete, your continued generosity helps HBT pay down the solar loan, maintain the building, and plan for future sustainability work.
- One-time Donation — Help pay down the solar loan and reduce long-term borrowing.
- Multi-year Pledge — Sustain HBT's building and long-term planning.
- Tribute Gift — Honor a loved one with a gift that powers our community's future.
- Gifts of Appreciated Stock — Maximize your impact and receive potential tax benefits.
- Planned Giving and Legacy Gifts — Leave a lasting legacy to support HBT for generations.
Sustainability Fund (optional)
HBT is continuing to build a Sustainability Fund, a long-term reserve for major infrastructure and operational needs. This optional fund allows us to respond to unexpected challenges and make the necessary investments to maintain our building and strengthen our community's resilience. To direct a gift here, select General and note "Sustainability Fund" in the comments.
Every contribution helps power the future of our synagogue — spiritually, environmentally, and financially.
Frequently Asked Questions
We took bold steps to care for our building and our planet. A new roof, solar panels, and heat pumps in our classroom and office building have reduced our carbon footprint, lowered operating costs, and aligned our physical space with our values.
Yes. Our solar loan payment is roughly equivalent to what we previously paid for electricity. Over time, we expect meaningful savings and insulation from rising energy prices.
HBT has always evolved with purpose. This project was an investment in our future, grounded in Jewish values of stewardship, justice, and care for generations to come.
Yes! While our "Bringing Light All Year" campaign launched in October 2025, the lights of Hanukkah 2025 inspired the theme. Now that the project is complete, that light shines year-round in a very literal way.
Installation is complete: new roof, 126-panel solar array, and heat pumps in our classroom and office building. Join us to celebrate at Gather & Glow: Sukkot, Solar & Supper on Friday, September 25, including the ribbon-cutting for our new panels. From here, our focus shifts to paying down the solar loan and growing HBT's Sustainability Fund.
Founded in 2021 by Mitchell Schwartz, the Jewish Solar Challenge (JSC) has one goal: to put solar panels on the rooftops of Jewish institutions across North America.
JSC offers matching grants to synagogues, schools, camps, and other Jewish nonprofits, cutting the typical payback time for solar in half and making the switch to clean energy financially achievable for congregations like ours. JSC is a fiscally sponsored project of the Schwartz-Rosman Foundation.
HBT is proud to be one of the congregations JSC has helped bring solar power to life, and we're grateful for their $40,000 grant toward this project.
Absolutely. Every contribution, large or small, helps us pay down the solar loan and sustain our building for generations to come. Contribute here, or if you're considering a leadership gift, multi-year pledge, or legacy commitment, contact Benita Block at bblock@templehbt.org.
Join Us: Help HBT Shine Brighter for Generations
Thanks to you, HBT's Solar & Sustainability project is complete, a gift from this generation to the next.
As we celebrate at Gather & Glow and look ahead, your continued support helps power everything we do — from paying down the solar loan and maintaining our building to the music, learning, and community that make HBT a spiritual home.
Every gift strengthens our community. Every step forward is powered by us.