A Reform Home on Hagen Ranch Road
Temple Shaarei Shalom stands along Hagen Ranch Road in the western part of Boynton Beach, a Reform Jewish congregation rooted in the West Boynton community since 1992. Members come for Friday evening Shabbat services, Saturday morning Torah study, religious school classes, family programming, and a busy calendar of social events. The temple describes its purpose as establishing and maintaining a synagogue for worship, education, and assembly in accordance with the tenets of Reform Judaism, cultivating love and understanding of the Jewish faith and heritage, stimulating fellowship in the Jewish community, and applying the principles of Reform Judaism to the values and conduct of its members.
The congregation is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism and counts more than 450 member households. The building sits off Hagen Ranch Road, reached from either the Turnpike or I-95 by way of Boynton Beach Boulevard, and includes a sanctuary, religious school classrooms, and the Tendrich Center for Lifelong Learning, an 18,000-square-foot expansion completed in 2009.
From Eighteen Families to a Full Congregation
The story of Temple Shaarei Shalom began in May 1992, when eighteen families from Temple Torah of Boynton Beach broke away to start what they initially called "The Reform Temple of Boynton Beach." Each family contributed seed money, and the new congregation gathered for Shabbat services at Santaluces Community High School. Norman Bleshman became the congregation's first president that summer, and Rabbi Samuel Jaffe was hired part-time to conduct Friday night and Holiday services.
The first High Holiday Services were held at the Holiday Inn in Fall 1992. By December, the congregation had acquired its first Torah for $4,000 and published the first issue of News and Views, a newsletter that continues to this day. Cantor Anne Newman was engaged in Fall 1993, and the congregation moved to a storefront at 9776-D South Military Trail in March 1996. The Temple joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, now the Union for Reform Judaism, in November 1995.
In September 1996, at the urging of Rabbi Jaffe, the congregation added a Hebrew name and became "The Reform Temple, Shaarei Shalom." Membership grew past 200 families, and in 1999 the congregation voted to purchase land at 9085 Hagen Ranch Road. Construction began in Spring 2001, and the new temple building opened its doors in June 2002. In December 2001, the congregation voted to drop "The Reform" from its name and became simply Temple Shaarei Shalom.
By 2003, the congregation was outgrowing its new home. A $3 million Capital Campaign launched in Fall 2006 funded an 18,000-square-foot addition, dedicated in October 2009 as the Tendrich Center for Lifelong Learning. In June 2009, with the new wing complete, membership topped 640 families and 300 children were enrolled in the religious school.
Clergy and Professional Team
Rabbi Anthony Fratello has served Temple Shaarei Shalom since April 2000, after the congregation formally hired him following a year-long "Year of Four Rabbis" search. A California native and graduate of Pomona College, Rabbi Fratello earned his Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1998 and was ordained in June 1999. He received his Doctor of Hebrew Letters in March 2024. He has served as President and Treasurer of the Palm Beach County Board of Rabbis, has served on boards of Jewish Federation agencies, and from 2018 to 2022 was a member of the North American Board of the Union for Reform Judaism. Rabbi Fratello is married to Rabbi Joanna Tract, who serves as Campus Rabbi at Sinai Residences in Boca Raton, and the couple has two sons, Samson and Eli.
Cantor Carrie Barry joined the congregation from Congregation Ahavath Chesed in Jacksonville, where she had been cantor for four years. With more than fifteen years of experience, Cantor Barry brings a warmth of spirit, creativity, vocal versatility, and skill as a teacher and worship leader to her role. She is a graduate of Vassar College with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and earned her Master of Sacred Music and Ordination as Cantor at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music in New York. She previously served as cantor of Temple Beth Torah in Wellington for ten years, where she created programs including "Rock Your Soul Shabbat," a monthly worship service accompanied by a band of temple members. She lives in Boynton Beach with her husband Ian and their two sons, Blake and Eli.
Caryn Feldman, MPH, is the Executive Director, bringing experience from serving as Temple Vice President of Administration and as President from 2013 to 2016. She holds a Master's Degree in Public Health Administration from Rutgers University. Alissa Frankel, MSW, is the Education Director, bringing more than fifteen years of experience in Jewish education and credentials including a master's degree from the University of Illinois Chicago. She is a graduate of the M² Senior Educator Cohort and the K'ilu Lab for Early Childhood Family Educators. Taylor Forster, M.Ed., is the Youth Advisor and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who grew up involved in her own synagogue's youth group. She works with the youth programs called Club 5, STARY Jr., and STARY.
Shabbat and Worship Life
The heart of congregational life at Temple Shaarei Shalom is Shabbat. Friday evening services are held at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary, with a weekly service sheet available for download. On the second Friday of each month from October through June, the Family Shabbat Service takes the place of the regular Friday evening service at 7:00 p.m., creating an intergenerational service especially welcoming to families with children.
Saturday mornings feature weekly Torah Study at 9:00 a.m., followed by a Shabbat Morning Service at 10:30 a.m. Torah Study is led by the Rabbi and meets in Rooms 210 and 212; the morning service is held in the Sanctuary. The congregation also offers a once-a-month Tot Shabbat for children ages two through eight, introduced in January 2009.
All services are livestreamed, with a schedule posted online and an archive going back to 2022. Worship draws on Mishpat Gateway Song lyrics and the Gates of Prayer prayerbook, with a transliteration companion available for those less comfortable with Hebrew. Onegs, light refreshments following services, follow each Friday evening service in the lobby.
The Religious School
The Temple Shaarei Shalom Religious School opened in September 2000 under founding Director of Education Marilyn Brand, who grew enrollment from twenty-three students in its first year to one hundred and fifty before her retirement in May 2007. Today the school serves more than seventy students from Pre-K through Confirmation in tenth grade, with the opportunity to continue classes through twelfth grade.
The school year follows the public school calendar, with classes meeting on Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. for Pre-K through seventh grade. Students in grades four through seven also attend one mid-week session, with options for either in-person Wednesday classes or online classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Teen Nights for grades eight through twelve meet on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Confirmation, a long-standing tradition of the Reform movement, is celebrated at the end of tenth grade.
The school's curriculum emphasizes prayer and worship, ceremony, ethics, Hebrew language, K'lal Israel, theology, and personal religious commitment. They prepare students for Bar and Bat Mitzvah around the time they turn thirteen, with tutoring by Rabbi Fratello, Cantor Barry, Alissa Frankel, and the tutoring staff during an additional time slot, beginning six months before the ceremony. A B'nei Mitzvah Handbook is available to families, and the congregation's cantor and rabbi also lead B'nei Mitzvah tutoring for students who attend.
Inclusion and the Tichon Teen Program
Temple Shaarei Shalom is a leader in the North Palm Beach Jewish community in working with children with special needs. They were the first area school to place a Special Needs Family Coordinator on staff, and the congregation runs an Inclusion-style program designed to make Jewish education accessible to any child whose family requests learning modifications or alternative plans. The Coordinator works with students, families, and teachers to develop individualized strategies.
The Tichon program serves eighth through twelfth graders, drawing on the Hebrew word for "middle level" to mark adolescence as a distinct stage between childhood and adulthood. After Bar or Bat Mitzvah, teens in Tichon serve as Madrichim, or teen helpers, in classrooms on Wednesday evenings, Sunday mornings, or both, earning community service hours while developing leadership and classroom skills. Elective offerings have included "Being Me: Surviving in the World," "How Does Hollywood Tackle Anti-Semitism?," "Purim Shpiel Playwrights," "Modern Israel and Conversational Hebrew," "Creativity in Judaism: Art, Music, and Poetry," and "Jewish Food from Around the World."
Youth Groups: STARY, STARY Jr., and Club 5
The Temple Shaarei Shalom youth group is called STARY, an acronym for Shaarei Shalom Temple Active Reform Youth, and is affiliated with NFTY, the North American Federation of Temple Youth. Founded in October 2004 under its first Youth Group Director David Ginsberg, the group motivates and empowers Jewish teens in the Boynton Beach area, offering monthly meetings, social events, overnight and travel experiences, and special Shabbat and Holiday services led by teens themselves. They sell pizza on Wednesday evenings between religious school classes, run the annual Purim Carnival, and raise scholarship money to send TSS students to URJ Camp Jenny.
STARY serves grades nine through twelve, with STARY Jr. for grades six through eight, and Club 5 for fifth graders. The temple has welcomed NFTY's recognition of "long community service" traditions and notes that members can earn community service hours through their participation. STARY received the Collaborative Judaic Program Award in May 2012. Information about joining STARY, STARY Jr., or Club 5 is available by emailing the Youth Advisor.
Adult Learning, Havurot, and Life-Long Education
Adult education at Temple Shaarei Shalom includes Torah Study on Saturday mornings, an annual Adult Jewish Learning Collaboration (ADJLC) that has grown to include five synagogues and is supported by the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, and a Havurah program. Havurot, or fellowship groups, currently include Empty Nesters (women whose children have graduated from high school), a Book Club that meets to discuss chosen books or films, Pot Luck and Shabbat (a group that shares potluck dinners and attends Shabbat services together once a month), and a Men's Havurah that has organized activities including golf and Scotch in the Sukkah.
The Tendrich Center for Lifelong Learning houses much of this programming, including classrooms for adult classes and meeting space for Havurot. A Scholar-in-Residence program, supported by the Harvey and Joan Milowe Endowment Fund, brings notable Jewish thinkers to the congregation each year, including Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin for the congregation's twenty-third Birthday Weekend and Dr. Robert Watson for the twenty-fourth. The Rabbi Fratello Endowment Fund, created in honor of the Rabbi's eighteen years of leadership, supports special programming under his guidance.
Brotherhood, Sisterhood, and the PTO
Brotherhood, founded in 1992, welcomes all men of the congregation and promotes fellowship through religious, social, and educational activities. Brotherhood members created the Holocaust Memorial Garden, sponsor an annual cruise, host Brotherhood Shabbat, provide Bar-B-Que for Religious School students at the end of the year, and run a year-round program of social events.
Sisterhood, also founded in 1992, welcomes all women of the congregation and supports the Religious School Scholarship Fund, Reform Temple YOZMA in Modi'in, Israel, and the Judaica Shop. Sisterhood originates the annual Women's Seder and its unique Haggadah, presents a gift to each Bar and Bat Mitzvah, and facilitates the Oneg Shabbat refreshments. Sisterhood also offers a full programming calendar and supports social activities throughout the year.
The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) facilitates communication and community among Religious School families, with monthly Sunday morning breakfast meetings, holiday-related interactive Onegs for Family Shabbat Services, and fundraising to support the Religious School. The PTO Co-Presidents lead the organization with a Treasurer, Secretary, and Fundraising Coordinator.
Committees, Social Action, and Community Reach
Standing committees include the Executive Committee, which prepares Board agendas, develops the annual budget, and evaluates senior staff; the Israel Committee, which celebrates the modern State of Israel through educational and cultural programming and supports expressions of Jewish community; the Membership Committee, which recruits and welcomes new members; the Religious Services Committee, which supports the Rabbi at services and leads monthly Shabbat or Holiday services at local rehabilitation and retirement centers; and the Social Outreach Action and Reform (SOAR) Committee, which pursues social action and social justice through volunteer projects, education, and advocacy.
The Religious Services Committee also leads Shiva Minyan Services for temple members in the absence of clergy, ensuring that mourners are supported during periods of loss. SOAR, meanwhile, partners with other community organizations to address issues such as addiction prevention and recovery, support for those in need, and broader social justice concerns. The congregation also supports URJ Camp Coleman through the URJ Camp Overnight Camp Scholarship Fund, helping to defray the cost of sending TSS children to the Reform movement's overnight camp in Cleveland, Georgia.
Membership, Donations, and Legacy Gifts
Temple Shaarei Shalom invites newcomers to "Let Us Be Your Jewish Connection!" Prospective families are encouraged to worship at a Friday evening Shabbat service, study Torah on Saturday morning, and stay for the Saturday morning service. The Membership Committee interviews and welcomes new members, hosting events such as the New Member Wine and Cheese ProNeg. Members receive access to the religious school, youth groups, adult education, Brotherhood or Sisterhood, Havurot, and life cycle services. Dues and Religious School fees for the 2026-2027 year are available through the temple office.
Donations may be made online and directed to one of several funds, including the Congregational/General Fund, the Rabbi's and Cantor's Discretionary Funds, the Adam Berger Scholarship Fund for religious school scholarships, the Building Reserve, the Capital Campaign Fund, and the Sanctuary Enhancement 2026 Fund supporting current construction. Special donation opportunities include Memorial Plaques ($500), Tree of Life Rocks ($600) and Leaves ($360), and Commemorative Bricks ($250 for temple members, $500 for non-members).
Twelve named endowed funds support the congregation's ongoing mission, including the Holocaust Education and Programming Fund endowed by Eve Barak and Eugene Davidson; the Gerness and Harvey Alpert Endowment Fund for URJ Overnight Camp attendees; the Marilyn and Joe Ernsteen Endowment Fund for membership assistance; the Fran and Lance Berkowitz Youth Endowment Fund for post-B'nei Mitzvah education; and the Miriam Schaffer Life-long Education Fund, honoring the late Education Director's lasting impact on Jewish learning at TSS. Members may also arrange legacy gifts through the Legacy Donor program, leaving endowments that endure beyond their lifetime.
Finding Temple Shaarei Shalom
The temple is located at 9085 Hagen Ranch Road, Boynton Beach, FL 33472, with office hours Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Visitors arriving from the Turnpike exit at Boynton Beach Boulevard East, travel east to Hagen Ranch Road, turn left, and proceed through two roundabouts; the temple will be on the left within a mile. From I-95, the route is the same but Boynton Beach Boulevard is taken west, with a right turn onto Hagen Ranch Road. Both directions include a note: if you reach Gateway Boulevard, you have passed the temple by about three-tenths of a mile.
The full calendar of Shabbat services, Torah study, family programs, committee meetings, and religious school sessions is available online and through a Google calendar subscription. Visitors and prospective members are warmly welcomed at all services and programs.