The Congregation was started in early 1995 and now has nearly 300 households, our rabbi, and a small congregational staff.

We chose our name as a sign of commitment to Judaism, our community, and the past. The Torah is an Etz Chayim, a "Tree of Life" providing strength to all who hold it tightly.  The symbol of our city is El Palo Alto—"The Tall Tree". Finally, our name remembers Synagogue Wolf Etz Chayim, a German synagogue destroyed on Kristallnacht.

The members of Congregation Etz Chayim ("Etz-niks") are very diverse, reflecting the many backgrounds and traditions of the Jewish community in the Bay Area.  Our congregants are young and old, singles and families.  Some of our congregants are heterosexuals;  some are gay.  In large portion, our congregants moved to the Bay Area as student or adults. In their prior communities, some belonged to synagogues, but for others in our congregation, Etz Chayim is their first affiliation with a shul.  

Our members were raised in in the US and abroad, in families that were mostly Ashkenazi, Sephardi or Mizrahi. Their childhood traditions were Reform, Conservative or Orthodox.  A good number of our congregants are Jews By Choice raised in another faith, and many of our congregant-families are interfaith.   

What unites them is that they all have come together to find community among others who are Jewish, and they enjoy a culture which expects them to be engaged in congregational life: to be participants in services rather than audience members, to be builders of community rather than wall-flowers, and to be questioners and learners about Judaism and Jewish culture rather than passive observers.  Our Mission Statement speaks to the active involvement of our congregants and our passion for lifelong learning.

And our congregants enjoy music.  With no choirs and typically no instruments, voices from both on and off the bimah create the music of Shabbat and the holidays.  

As an independent liberal congregation, our services are a blend.  They are fully egalitarian—women can do everything that men do. Our siddurim (prayerbooks) are "home-grown": we have created (and continue to revise) them, and they are very accessible. They are written in Hebrew, English and transliteration for those who cannot read Hebrew but who wish to participate in the Hebrew parts of the service. The siddur draws from the various traditions across the spectrum of Judaism, and include both traditional and modern prayers, songs, as well as poetry and commentaries designed to provide alternative opportunities to reflect on the themes of the service.

Newcomers to our services sometimes remark they are "Reform-odox", but we like to think of them as "somewhere between" Reform and Conservative -- more Hebrew than you'd expect in a Reform congregation, and much less Hebrew and more communal singing than in an Orthodox synagogue. Also, our services are much shorter (and much less rigorously tied to traditional observance) than in either Conservative or Orthodox synagogues.

The varied  background of our congregants and the cross-denominational approach of our observance and services are some of the reasons for our decision not to affiliate with any of the denominational institutions of American Jewry.  Our rabbi, Ari Cartun, also brings wide experience to the table, as he is schooled and affiliated with the Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist rabbinical assemblies.

For more information, please see our FAQ. Even better, come visit us for Shabbat services. Our building is very easy to find in south Palo Alto. Please also feel free to contact us by phone or email.

Also note that our building's major rooms (social hall, library, classrooms, kitchen) are available for rental to members and non-members. Members can request to reserve space for congregation-related uses by clicking here.