Congregation Berith Sholom is a progressive Reform congregation rooted in a long, proud history.
We are, above all, a caring community, warm, open, and diverse. We welcome traditional and non-traditional families to pursue joyous worship, lifelong learning and acts of loving kindness.
We are engaged with the State of Israel and the spirit of Reform Judaism, encouraging members of all ages to work actively within our congregation and in the wider community to help improve the world.
In 1866, a year after the Civil War, “all male persons of full age” were gathered together “in their rooms in the Wotkyns’ Block… for the purpose of incorporating themselves as the religious Society and Congregation of Baris Sholem.”
This group had, in the previous decade, organized worship services in their homes and created a burial society. By 1870, land was purchased at the present site on Third and Division Streets in Troy.
The cornerstone was laid in June, and the building was completed in time for the High Holy Days in September of that year. It now is New York State’s oldest building in continuous use as a synagogue.
Shalom u'vracha. (Peace and blessing) I am very happy to be serving as Congregation Berith Sholom's interim rabbi. I am a graduate of the Hebrew Union College and have served congregations in California, Nevada, Virginia, West Virginia, and New Jersey. This is my third interim pulpit. My father was also a Reform rabbi, and I was raised at movement camps and in NFTY, as were my wife, and our two children. I believe strongly that our Judaism should guide us how to live outside as well as inside the synagogue, and have been strongly involved in social justice, founding and or serving on the boards of many grassroots organizations, and am especially passionate about racial justice. Foundationally, I believe that we must always remember that the first chapter of the Torah teaches us that we were created in all of our diversity b'tzelem elohim - in the Divine image, and should move though the world with compassion, convinced that those around us are also acting with best intentions.
My spouse, Michelle Shapiro Abraham, is the Executive Director of JBI Library, which works to provide access to the Jewish world for those with vision and reading challenges. Our eldest child, Avital, works as a Judaic farm educator at Abundance Farm in Northampton, Massachusets, and our son, Ezri, is currently studying for his Ph.D. in synthetic biology at CalTech.
You can reach me at rabbiabraham@berithsholomtroy.org and I look forward to speaking with you.
Evocative and moving, our celebrated choir performs for High Holy Days and other special services throughout the calendar year, enhancing the synagogue experience.
To hear more about the choir, reach out to Natalie Klein-Raymond at choir@berithsholomtroy.org.
The Congregation Berith Sholom cemetery lies within the Elmwood Hill Cemetery in Troy, NY.
The Congregation owns two areas for burial separated by a few hundred yards. The old cemetery was established in the 1800s, and the newer area was purchased early in the 21st century with funds bequeathed to the congregation by Ruth Marinsky z”l.
The original gate was restored in 2022 in memory of Alan Ira Sirvint z”l by his husband Ed Rhubart.
For more information on Congregation Berith Sholom burials and Jewish customs in general visit our cemetery page.
Interested in serving our congregation as a trustee, committee leader, or committee member? Contact the Main Office at 518-272-8872, or reach us by email at office@berithsholomtroy.org.
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167 Third Street
Troy, NY
12180
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