Congregation Netivot Shalom

Peter Strauss

With all the dancing, singing, pomp and joy attendant on the arrival of an honored notable, as appropriate, Netivot Shalom's new Aron Kodesh was welcomed into the sanctuary on this festive Sunday.

A labor of love for its designer and builder, Blair Prentice, and its weaver of fabric and magic, Cathy Bolding, those who gathered on Sunday to witness this truly blessed event were stunned, awed and amazed by the Aron's beauty, elegance and truly Biblical simplicity and verisimilitude. Yes, it is a simple tent, as described in the Tanach, but such a tent!

Congregation Netivot Shalom

Honoring the Weissman/Steinbaugh Family

For the Aron dedication program, including details on design,
construction and materials, credits and acknowledgments, Click here. (2 pages)

Congregation Netivot Shalom is a spiritual home for many different people, Jewish and not.  We are proud to share with each other life moments, Jewish learning, and so much more!  While we affirm the traditional definition that Jewish identity is either inherited from a person's mother or through a process of conversion, we have room in our tent for you and your family! We have taken part in the creation of the Tiferet Project, a multi-synagogue effort to find ways of including interfaith families within our spiritual homes.

1316 University Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94702

(510) 549-9447
Fax (510) 549-9448

Directions from the Freeway (I-80/I-580):

From the University Avenue exit off of I-80/I-580, go east (towards the hills) one mile and Netivot Shalom will be on your right, sharing a driveway with the Berkeley Montessori School.

Who We Are

A description of the Congregation.

Rabbi Menachem Creditor

Rabbi Menachem Creditor is founder of ShefaNetwork: The Conservative Movement Dreaming from Within, co-founder of KeshetRabbis: The Alliance of Gay-Friendly Conservative and Masorti Rabbis, and author of TheTisch, an electronic commentary on Jewish Spirituality.

History: Netivot Shalom began in 1989 and grew out of our founding members' collective commitment to create an egalitarian spiritual home for Conservative Jews in Berkeley, California. We began with meetings in people's homes, around kitchen and dining room tables and monthly Shabbat services. We now have a beautiful sanctuary on University Avenue, where we offer weekly Shabbat, ongoing holiday, and other regularly-scheduled services.

Congregation Netivot Shalom is a proud part of the Conservative Movement, a dynamic blend of inclusiveness, egalitarianism, and commitment to Jewish Tradition. We believe that Judaism is a Tree of Life, able to bend, yet with deep roots that touch both the human soul and beyond.

To learn more about Conservative Judaism, please visit: