Jodi M. Schechtman, M.S.M.
Welcome to Temple Beth Am

As the proud Cantor of Temple Beth Am, I would like to welcome you to our website. I'm going to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you via the marvels of the internet, but I would be delighted to meet you in person either on Shabbat, or in my study at your convenience.

I am now in my 22nd year at Temple Beth Am, having come here right after my investiture from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1988.

As the first Cantor of Temple Beth Am, I have had the privilege of working on all aspects of temple life, including worship services, officiating at weddings, funerals, b'nai mitzvah ceremonies and baby namings, and visiting our congregants in the hospital. I teach liturgy to our elementary and middle school students, I teach ethics and culture to our 9th grade, Confirmation and Post-Confirmation students, and I prepare all of our candidates for b'nei mitzvah.

It's hard to limit my job to just a list of responsibilities because it is so much more than that. It is about celebrating with congregants at their simchas and grieving with them at their time of sorrow. It is about watching Jewish children grow into "mensches" and the joy of officiating throughout the life cycle events of families. It is especially gratifying to be able to officiate at the weddings of my former bar and bat mitzvah students. There is nothing to compare with standing under the chuppah and giving a wedding address to a bride or a groom that I have known since they were young children!

In addition to my responsibilities here at Temple Beth Am, I am very active with the ACC (American Conference of Cantors) where I serve on the professional staff as the Director of Organizational Partnerships. In that capacity, it is my job to interface with the URJ (Union for Reform Judaism), the CCAR (Central Conference of American Rabbis) and HUC-JIR (Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion) as the representative of the American Reform cantorate. I also sit on the Board of JCAM (Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts), and I am a member of the NEBC (New England Board of Cantors).

When I am not caring for congregants or working on behalf of the ACC, I am spending time with my husband, Gene, our (amazing) daughter, Madison, our dogs, Lexi and Bon Jovi and our cat, Oliver. Please stop by my study and say hello, or look for me at the Oneg Shabbat. I look forward to meeting you in person in the near future, or you can e-mail me.