At the close of its 100th anniversary year, Norwood’s only Jewish congregation, Shaare Tefilah, has launched into its second century in a new, rented home that will help cut costs while offering an accessible, welcoming environment to members.
On Oct. 25, temple members formed a caravan of cars to transport their sacred Torah scrolls to new space on the campus of the South Area Solomon Schechter Day School on Commerce Way, near Route 1. The congregation’s sprawling 556 Nichols St. property has been sold to the Jain Center of Greater Boston, currently housed at 15 Cedar St.
Jainism is an ancient religion based in India that espouses a nonviolent way of life.
Shaare Tefilah president Carol Turkewitz said she was thrilled with the move. The decision was partly based on membership, which is down to about 63 families, she said. That rendered a large school wing that had to be heated and maintained virtually unnecessary.
But more importantly, some longtime members could no longer negotiate the former location’s many stairs and were forced to sit out activities and services, she said.
“We have much more building than we need, and it sits on a nice parcel of waterfront land that we certainly don’t need,’’ Turkewitz said. “At this point, we want to reduce our huge and unnecessary overhead while replenishing our nest egg to fund our programs.’’
Today, the temple’s congregants come from Dover, Foxborough, Medfield, Millis, Norwood, Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, Westwood, Wrentham, and several other communities.
“With this move, we’ll be more conveniently located to serve our Jewish community of Norwood and neighboring towns,’’ she said. “And it’s exciting to think of attracting new members. I think people who feel disconnected from their Judaism might be surprised to find how comfortable they can feel in our little family.’’
Michele Morgan Bolton 
