Word of this minyan spread rapidly through the Newton Jewish community. On the first night of the holiday, the family's sun room was filled to capacity. The gathering swelled on subsequent days to over one hundred men and women, who overflowed into the back yard. Many came because they sensed an opportunity for greater spiritual intensity and more personal participation than they had previously found possible.
The mood was electric. Addressed from a makeshift pulpit by such illustrious men as Professor Alexander Altmann, z"l, participants responded with a fervor few had either expressed or experienced before. Although conceived as a temporary measure, the minyan took on a life of its own. After several hastily convened meetings, some two dozen families decided to continue to daven together, and began taking steps to make this possible.
Establishing a precedent of participation which continues to the present, volunteers undertook all congregational functions, whether religious or organizational. Members led services, read the Torah, and delivered divrei Torah on Shabbat morning. Several renowned Rabbis from within the group agreed to act collectively as our founding board of halakhic advisors, providing the fledgling congregation with halakhic direction. A five-person steering committee oversaw executive functions. In addition, members attended evening meetings in one another's homes, organized lectures, typed letters, stuffed envelopes, paid bills, and of course, cleaned living rooms and moved chairs, books, and Sifrei Torah.
In December, the group which by then numbered some 30 families, moved back into the home in which it first met, where they set up a more formalized, albeit small sanctuary in which they davened each Shabbat for the rest of that winter and the following spring. During that period, they established a daily minyan which met for more than two years in the basement of another family's nearby home. As spring approached, growing membership and the family's renovation plans compelled the group to seek larger accommodations. After receiving the go-ahead from its halakhic committee, the minyan, which had collectively chosen the name Shaarei Tefillah, rented space in a gymnasium belonging to a local church on Furber Lane. There they met each Shabbat for more than five years. Although they knew it was temporary, "Furber Lane" felt like their first home.
About that time, however, Rabbi Mordecai Savitsky approached Shaarei Tefillah and offered to sell them his home at 35 Morseland Avenue, which had a synagogue in its basement. Once the sale was completed, in July 1985, the congregation transferred to its new home all educational and religious activities other than its Shabbat and Yom Tov minyanim, which continued to be held in the larger quarters of the gym on Furber Lane. It took more than four years and much expense for the congregation to design and get permission to build an addition onto the house on Morseland Avenue to serve as the main sanctuary and function room. The new construction was completed in early 1990. The dedication ceremony in March of 1990 began with a joyous procession of carrying the Sifrei Torah from the gymnasium to the new building.
As the end of Rabbi Simkovich's term grew near, members again began discussing the possibility of hiring a full-time rabbi. The shul was experiencing continued growth, and in addition to the increasing numbers of B'nei and B'not Mitzvah and other life-cycle events of its members, there were scores of other communal events which a part-time rabbi could never hope to cover. As a centrist Orthodox congregation, which encourages active participation on the part of all its members, including such activities as leading services, giving shiurim, offering divrei Torah on Shabbat morning, Shaarei Tefillah stood out on the Boston Jewish landscape. It had reached a point where it became important not only to have someone who could provide Halakhic guidance and leadership, but who could also represent the shul to the larger Jewish community. Rabbi Simkovich urged the shul to pursue a full-time rabbi. Since he felt it would not be possible for him to assume such a full-time rabbinic role with his teaching commitments at Maimonides, he urged the congregation to begin an external search.
A rabbinic search committee was formed, and almost immediately centered its attention on a young rabbi who was then serving as assistant rabbi in New York City's Jewish Center. Rabbi Benjamin Samuels came to Newton for an interview and met with overwhelming support. He was hired as Shaarei Tefillah's first full-time rabbinic leader, and together with his wife Stephanie and their son Amitai, moved to Newton in September, 1995.
Currently, Shaarei Tefillah has a membership of over 130 families. The shul is currently undergoing a strategic planning process, aimed at reflecting on the past and planning for the future. On the horizon are serious issues which must be faced: expansion of the building, diversification of educational programs, and further development of the shul's role in the large community. With guidance from Rabbi Samuels, and with the continued dedication of its members, Shaarei Tefillah will undoubtedly be able to face these and any other challenges the future may hold.