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ABOUT US

Congregation Sons of Zion was founded in 1904. Our membership derives from towns throughout the Pioneer Valley.

We are a warm, welcoming, independent Conservative Synagogue. Our congregation is vibrant and diverse in terms of age, religious background, and experiences.

At our small synagogue, we feel like we are part of a close family. We enjoy spiritual leadership in our beautiful and historic sanctuary. In addition to Wednesday minyan services and participatory Shabbat morning services, we also enjoy sharing potluck Erev Shabbat and services in one another's homes throughout the area. 

We welcome visitors and new members!

MEET OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICERS

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Joanne Saltman

PRESIDENT

-Cemetery Committee (Chair)

-Book Club (Chair)

-Building Committee

-Budget & Finance Committee

-Activities & Fundraising Committee

-Religious Committee

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Laura Marks

VICE PRESIDENT & TREASURER

-Budget & Finance Committee

-Religious Committee

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Lois Levin

RECORDING & CORRESPONDING SECRETARY

-By-Laws

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Cindy Vieu

FINANCIAL SECRETARY

-Activities & Fundraising (Chair)

-Religious Committee

Board of Directors

BOARD MEMBERS

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Marjorie Bloom

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David Carmen

-By-Laws

-Building Committee

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Andrea Fox

-Religious Committee

-Building Committee

-Safety and Security Committee

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Richard Freyman, Phd

-Religious Committee (Co-Chair)

-Membership Committee

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Alfred Hutt, MD

-Budget & Finance Committee

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Judy Katz

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Ira Laby

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Stephen Levin

-Budget & Finance Committee

-By-laws

Burton Resnic, Esq

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-Religious Committee

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Michael Rosner, MD

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Mady Schorsch

-Budget & Finance Committee (Chair)

-Religious Committee

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 Barry Sparkes

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Ken Vieu

-Building Committee (Chair)

Joan Rosner

President Emeritus

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Stephen Levine, MD

CONGREGATION SONS OF ZION LEGACY SOCIETY

Legacy Society
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Our Committees

  • Budget & Finance Committee

  • Activities & Fundraising Committee

  • Membership Committee

  • By-Laws Committee

  • Tikkun Olam

  • Building  Committee

  • Religious  Committee

  • Personnel Committee

  • Cemetery Committee

  • Future Planning Committee

  • Safety and Security Committee

Committees

WHAT OUR MEMBERS SAY

Blue Surface

Andrea

My partner (of a different faith) and I joined SOZ over 10 years ago when our son was very young. He attended Hebrew school and became bar mitzvah here. I am an active member of the synagogue. The community is warm, inclusive, and welcoming to LGBTQIA families. Our family experiences unconditional love here and we enjoy celebrating Shabbat, and the other Jewish rituals and holidays in such a friendly, compassionate, and vibrant shul.

Blue Surface

Rick

 Although I didn't grow up with much Jewish education, and my command of Hebrew is limited, I am still able to find meaningful connections and spirituality at SOZ. I love listening to the Hebrew singing during Shabbat morning services, and our online choir during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I can’t wait for the pandemic to be over so that I can get back to the synagogue. 

Blue Surface

Barry

My membership in the Sons of Zion congregation offers me a way to manifest the following:
-To manifest my Jewish identity and my wrestling relationship with the infinite cosmos
-To follow a family tradition in maintaining a Holyoke institution with a rabbi, leadership, and group of people I admire
-Because of their ability to maintain a balance of faith, ritual, and openness to others that meets our current needs as a congregation.

Blue Surface

Bonnie

To me, SOZ is far more than a synagogue. It is a spiritual home and a community that truly feels more like extended family. Services are consistently both meaningful and inspiring. Rabbi Perlmutter has a very warm, engaging, interactive manner that reaches and touches people in ways that make Judaism more accessible and personally meaningful to all. This is a loving community where people genuinely care about one another and stand together in both celebrations and difficult, painful times. Not to mention that we love to spontaneously sing and laugh together!

Blue Surface

Deborah

Congregation Sons of Zion is a very welcoming, warm community with a big heart.It is a small congregation that allows everyone to know each other well. There is a great spirit of participation whether on Tikkun Olam Projects, renewing the garden and yard ,or producing "award worthy" Purim Shpiels.

Blue Surface

Marjorie

I joined Sons of Zion synagogue several years ago because of the closeknit community I observed. As the pandemic evolved, I decided to live on Cape Cod. 

Thanks to Zoom, I have been able to remain connected to the synagogue community throughout these past many months. Rabbi Perlmutter creates a welcoming service every time we meet and has provided many opportunities for learning about our Torah and the Jewish tenets that have been passed down through the centuries.

Blue Surface

Mady

I joined the synagogue six months before the shut-down and loved the welcome and friendliness of the members; I felt very much at home.  I did not grow up in the Conservative tradition, but have become familiar with the services and the wonderful songs and now feel very comfortable.  I especially love the study group discussions that have been initiated by the rabbi on subjects suggested by the participants.  Zoom is not las good as showing up in the sanctuary, but it has turned out to have many unexpected pluses.

Blue Surface

Paul

My partner (of a different faith) and I joined SOZ over 10 years ago when our son was very young. He attended Hebrew school and became bar mitzvah here. I am an active member of the synagogue. The community is warm, inclusive, and welcoming to LGBTQIA families. Our family experiences unconditional love here and we enjoy celebrating Shabbat, and the other Jewish rituals and holidays in such a friendly, compassionate, and vibrant shul.

Testimonials

Judy

When we moved her from Maryland
"We thought we'd never find a friend"
So we thought we'd join a shul real quick
And that would surely do the trick.


We wandered into SOZ
And both said, "That's the place to be"
The people warm, the rabbi great
With kiddishes that were first rate.

But then one day the Covid hit
And all that we could say was...shoot!
We couldn't gather in a room 
But everything was done on Zoom

It worked out well; it's kind of cute
(Although sometimes we don't unmute)
The congregation coalesced
In this I think we all feel blessed.

So tell me, what else can I say?
I think we ought to shout, "hooray!"
A pace of Torah, prayer, and good
It is "the little shul that could"!

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