Tiferet Center of Temple Israel: A Place for Jewish Wellness & Healing is a community-wide resource for innovative programming in Jewish wellness, healing and spirituality within a synagogue setting. Classes and workshops open pathways to Jewish wisdom using the different modalities of text study, creative arts, meditation, movement, circles of support, creative prayer services, music, nature and spirituality. Through our programs, participants cultivate connection, friendship and community around common interests, passions, and needs. We serve as a resource for bringing together Jewish wisdom and insights with concepts of health, wellness, healing and spirituality. 

Why The Name Tiferet? 

According to Jewish mystics, Tiferet is one of the ten attributes of God manifesting in the world. In Hebrew the word means beauty, splendor or harmony. Because true beauty emanates from within, the path of Tiferet for the individual and for the community requires the delicate balancing of mind and heart and, ultimately, a synthesis of the two. Through its rich and varied programming, the Tiferet Center offers a taste of tiferet to its participants. Serving Sharon and the wider Boston community, we hope the Tiferet Center will become a place of beauty, health, healing, comfort and spirituality for all who enter its doorway.

Regular Programs

Sunday Meditation and Poetic Text Study
Sunday mornings, 8:15-9:15am on Zoom
Parasha-based meditation, led by Shoshana Cetlin. Questions or to request the next weekly link? Email Shoshana

Testimonials: Drop-in Meditation on Shabbat

Weekly drop-in group, Shabbat mornings at 8:55am.

• "The Jewish meditation program is a perfect way to start the week. It's so appropriate that we are doing a purely spiritual exercise on Shabbat. The relaxation I do in meditation carries me throughout the week that follows. I often call on meditation during stressful situations and it helps me cool down and maintain a sense of balance and proportion. I also try to continue the practice daily on the train on the ride to work. It's very special to have a practice which is Jewish based. I look forward to coming to meditation."

• "The meditation sessions are a unique and precious time for me. They afford me the opportunity to meditate with what feels like a" chavorah." The meditation experience is also immeasurably enhanced and enriched by the parshah hashavuah study that precedes it and on which our meditations are based. This has encouraged me to study the parshah before our sessions. I am very grateful for all that our sessions have to offer."

• "The meditation sessions on Shabbat morning have been lovely experiences for me. They provide an opportunity to practice meditation regularly and a way to get into the Shabbat mode that speaks to me more than the traditional introductory prayers (Birchot Ha'shachar and P'sukei D'zimrah) do. I love integrating study of the parashah - or at least its themes — with the meditation. I adore Rabbi Yael Levi's poetic interpretations. I love the openness to experimentation, the opportunity to taste different meditation formats. Leaders have been extraordinarily giving and welcoming. It has been a wonderful learning experience. I thank you for being so instrumental in making this happen. What a bonus that this lovely experience is offered in my own shul!"

• "I have only been attending the Shabbat meditation group for a short time, but I feel a sense of comfort and closeness to all the group members. Everyone has been warm and welcoming and it does not matter if you are just starting a mediation practice or have been meditating for many years — this sense of acceptance is felt as soon as one walks in the door. I especially enjoy the relationship of the Parsha to the meditation as I often do not have the opportunity to read the parsha before Shabbat. The sharing after the formal meditation ends only enhances the experience of people getting together who truly want to be there for each other in a sharing, caring manner. The meditation group has become an important part of my weekly Shabbat observance."

Planning and Advisory Committee 

The Tiferet Center was founded in 2010. Its planning committee is comprised of Temple Israel volunteers, members of other synagogues and unaffiliated individuals from across the Jewish denominations. The committee has expertise and interest in varied approaches to wellness and healing, Jewish education, pastoral care, and nonprofit programming. Temple Israel professional and lay staff advise the committee. We welcome collaboration with other organizations and individuals who share a common purpose. 

Chairperson: Shoshana Cetlin

Committee:  Esther Anastasia, Sharon Jacobs, Nancy Lord
For more information, email Shoshana Cetlin.