About Us

Led by Rabbi Liza Stern, Congregation Eitz Chayim (tree of life) is best characterized by its warm, haimish atmosphere and meaningful engagement with Jewish traditions.  As a community, we celebrate Shabbat and holidays together, share life cycle events, and promote life-long Jewish learning through our thriving religious school and rich adult education programming.  We are a non-affiliated congregation that often worships creatively, and we work together to make new, fresh ideas happen.  Community at Eitz Chayim has always been intimate and organic.

Eitz Chayim is fully inclusive and LGBTQ-friendly, drawing families of all configurations and individuals from diverse backgrounds. We take seriously our involvement in the local and world communities. Our dynamic urban congregation is the fastest-growing in Cambridge; our members come from all over the Greater Boston area.

Rabbi Stern creatively involves ALL comers: children open the ark at services; we bake hamantaschen in our temple kitchen for Purim; we recreate the desert tent at Passover; and Rabbi Stern leads lively, weekly, adult Torah Study, to name just a few of the many activities led by our rabbi. Congregants laugh with her, pray in a modern way with her, and deeply connect with her learned teaching. When Rabbi Stern is not at the bima, our congregants lead services.

Eitz Chayim is noted for our hands-on personal involvement with making our haimish Jewish community. Congregation Eitz Chayim lives up to its name, truly our tree of Jewish life.