The Community Free Synagogue
An open synagogue since 2005
We meet at Unity of Fort Myers, 11120 Ranchette Road
synfree@comcast.net (239) 247-4556 mailing address: 7210 Falcon Crest, Fort Myers FL 33908
How to Donate to the Synagogue Email synfree@comcast.net to receive our weekly update
Meeting Room ID 527 117 7864 passcode 435419 (click on the Zoom icon to get started)
Sabbath Eve dinner at the synagogue starts every Friday evening at 6:30 PM.
Bring a non-dairy dish, side dish, wine or dessert
if you are able.
The meal is free and no reservations are required, however
participants are encouraged to give a generous tip to Lucy who
sets and cleans up for us.
Sabbath Eve qabbalat shabbat worship begins at 7:30 PM with a social hour at its conclusion
Torah Study Sabbath every morning at 9:30 AM on Zoom.
Rabbi Bruce Diamond was among the founders of the Community Free Synagogue in 2005 and has led it ever since. A graduate of the Yeshivah of Flatbush, he holds his 1978 ordination and subsequent Doctor of Divinities honoris causa from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati. He has served our local Jewish community since 1997 and was a visiting scholar for 12 years at Florida Gulf Coast University, where he taught social ethics, critical thinking skills and methods of civic engagement. A retired U.S. Air Force Chaplain (Res.), he is married to the former Melinda Moore. The Rabbi is fully engaged in the life of our congregation and community.
About the Community Free Synagogue
The Community Free Synagogue was founded in 2005 as an "intentional community." The intention was to create a stable new form of synagogue free of the "money and politics" that often stress our congregations. This was accomplished in 2 ways: we do not sell memberships, nor do fundraising or charge for anything.
C.F.S. is a community not-for-profit "open resource" available to all that is comfortably supported by donations and volunteers (including the Rabbi) based on the axiom that, as a rule, people will act the way they are treated. They respond to our generosity with theirs.
While we have the officers and by-laws required for not-for-profit incorporation and maintain the strictest financial accountability, we move forward with the Rabbi's leadership and consensus building among the more engaged participants. Our informality works for us because of our shared values and mutual respect enabling us to consistently achieve remarkable outcomes efficiently and with minimum "friction".
We are a deeply religious community committed to the traditional Jewish values of "prayer, study and benevolence
as found in Pirqe Avot 1. While our worship and observance trend towards the traditional, our values are progressive and inclusive. All are welcome.
