The melodies, not just the words
Baqashot on winter Shabbat mornings, the Moroccan and Syrian pizmonim at a se'udah, and the High Holy Day piyutim sung the way they are sung in Casablanca, Aleppo and Baghdad.
Our congregation
A Sephardic synagogue in Boca Raton
קהילה ספרדית
Congregation Bircat Shalom — the Sephardic minyan of West Boca Raton. 10300A Courtside Ln, Boca Raton, FL 33428. All are welcome, members and visitors alike.
We are a family friendly Sephardic Orthodox congregation on Courtside Lane in West Boca Raton, minutes from the Boca Raton JCC campus, Katz Yeshiva High School and the neighborhoods along Glades Road, Lyons Road and 441. Families come to us from Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Coral Springs, Parkland and Deerfield Beach — often because they want a smaller minyan where the hazan is a neighbor and the children are part of the tefillah.
Our davening follows the Sephardic and Edot HaMizrach nusach of Morocco, Syria, Iraq and Egypt. If you grew up in a Sephardic home, you will recognize the tunes immediately. If you did not, you will find a congregation that sings almost the whole service out loud and is glad to hand you a siddur and a seat.
Honors called by name
Aliyot, petihah and hagbahah are given out loud with the family's name and blessing. It is the oldest part of a Sephardic service and still the warmest.
Children in the room
Our children stand at the tebah, answer amen out loud and lead Anim Zemirot. Nobody is shushed out of the sanctuary.
Shabbat
- Friday — Minha & Kabbalat Shabbat
- Candle lighting time
- Shabbat — Shaharit
- 8:30 AM
- Shabbat — Torah reading
- approx. 9:45 AM
- Shabbat — Kiddush
- following services
- Shabbat — Minha, Se'uda Shelishit & Arbit
- before sunset
Through the week
- Sunday — Shaharit
- 8:00 AM
- Monday & Thursday — Shaharit
- 6:30 AM
- Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday — Shaharit
- 6:45 AM
- Minha & Arbit
- before sunset
Coming for the first time
Park anywhere on Courtside Lane and walk in — there is no ticket, no dress code beyond what you would wear to a nice lunch, and no reason to arrive on time to the minute. What to expect on a first visit covers seating, children and kiddush. This week’s candle lighting and habdala and our daily minyan times are always current.
For Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we move to larger venues so everyone fits — see the High Holy Days page. Visiting for Shabbat and need a meal or a kosher market? Our kosher guide to Boca Raton has the corridor mapped out.
Sephardic davening in Boca Raton — questions we get
- Is there a Sephardic synagogue in Boca Raton?
- Yes. Congregation Bircat Shalom is a Sephardic Orthodox synagogue at 10300A Courtside Ln, Boca Raton, FL 33428, in West Boca Raton. We daven in Sephardic nusach every Shabbat and hold a weekday minyan through the week. There is no membership requirement to attend.
- Which Sephardic nusach do you follow?
- Our tefillah follows the Sephardic and Edot HaMizrach nusach as it is said in the Moroccan, Syrian, Iraqi and Egyptian communities. The Torah reading, the pizmonim and the High Holy Day piyutim are the ones our families grew up with. Ashkenazi and Sephardic families both daven here comfortably.
- What is a service like if I have never been to a Sephardic minyan?
- Shaharit is sung out loud almost end to end, with the congregation answering the hazan rather than reading silently. The Torah scroll is read from a wooden tik, aliyot are called by name, and everything is followed in a siddur with English on the facing page. Nobody will be lost — a gabbai will find you a page and a seat.
- Do I have to be Sephardic to join?
- No. The congregation is a mix of Sephardic, Ashkenazi and Israeli families, along with visitors from out of town. Anyone who wants a warm Orthodox minyan in West Boca is welcome, whatever their background or level of observance.
- Is there a membership fee to attend services?
- No. Attending any service is free and open. Families who want to support the shul can join Bircat Ha Shana, our annual membership, which has their names blessed at every Torah reading through the year — but it is never required to walk in and daven.
Stay in touch
Shabbat times and shul news, by email
Candle lighting, holiday schedules and announcements from Congregation Bircat Shalom. A few emails a month — never your details to anyone else.