West End Synagogue

T.L.D.R
–Nice congregants, great library
— Rabbi Kullock is awesome
— the female rabbi is rude
— More on the observant and traditional side
I’ve been here a three times and overall I liked it and would come again.
The first was to go to their judica shop. I like the shop a lot. I got a havdalah candle for three dollars, which was the cheapest I’ve seen anywhere.
The second time was for morning Shabbat service. It was my first time I had been to a conservative shul, so I was overwhelmed. Also, there was a bat mitzvah that day, so service was extremely long. However, the people here are very friendly. The Shabbat lunch afterwords was delicious and I loved their library.
The third time I went was for an interfaith event. Rabbi Kullock spoke to the group there and was extremely funny and knowledgeable, however we were pressed for time, so he could not answer a question I had at the end of the talk.
Now speaking of the rabbis. Rabbi Kullock was definitely my favorite. He is Argentinian, so I got to practice my Spanish with him. Also, as I said he is very funny and intelligent the so I like him a lot. But his Hebrew is just as fast as his Spanish, so if you are not that good in Hebrew it can be quite hard to follow.
As for the other male rabbi, I don’t have much to say about him. However I can say he was a lot nicer than the female rabbi was to me. I had met her at the judica shop and she wasn’t that friendly and during the Shabbat service all the rabbis shook hands with the congregants and she didn’t shake mine, and turned abruptly to the other aisle and shook another congregants hand. After the Shabbat service, I asked her about this, and she said she didn’t see me. I was in the front row right in front of the Bihmah, I’m certain she did see me.
There are two things to keep in mind. The first is that conservative Shuls can lean towards orthodox or reform. West end leans towards orthodox. Based on the service, and how observant I found the congregants, the only think separating it from orthodox Shuls was the fact that women were equal in religious practice and that there was mixed seating.
The second is that there is a lot of security there. About a year ago, somebody shot at Rabbi kullock’s office, so since then security is very tight.

What can one say about the only Conservative shul in Nashville? Its a warm place filled with good people. Services are a nice blend of traditional liturgy and some that are only traditional to Nashville.
Its had some ups and some downs over he past few years, but it is still a place that many of us like to call our religious home. Our religious school is one of the best around and does a wonderful job of educating our children and our lay and professional leadership works fairly well together.
We’re currently in another post/​pre rabbi period, so I’m sure that will make some people wonder about us, but we still manage to have twice daily minyan (almost every day) along with Shabbat and holiday services and strong programming.

A few months after my first visit to West End, I went back with a better grasp of the services and became a regular before we moved away from Nashville. I have spent the last year looking for a synagogue like West End without success. Rabbi Rose, who I liked from the beginning, is a lead-​by-​example rabbi — he made it easy to follow along without feeling like he was directing you. He always invited discussion from the congregation during his d’var. The congregants were intelligent, active, and welcoming with a real range of ages.

If you’re in Nashville and identify with Conservative Judaism, look no further.
No really, because it is Nashville’s only Conservative shul.
But all joking aside, when the wife and I first moved to Nashville, we were very happy to have a larger Jewish community. We shopped around at a few different places, but at the end of the day, we felt so welcome here. From the second we made eye contact with the usher, he greeted us warmly, asked if we were kohanim, and when we said ‘no’, was quick to offer an aliyah to us immediately. At one of the Reform shuls we went to, nobody even said ‘hi’ to us the whole time we were there. We were really impressed.
So, we met with the rabbi, who was canned shortly thereafter, but we made quite a few friends our age and discovered a really vibrant, welcoming community. They also have an amazing education program, it is hands-​down the best Hebrew school in town and people from all of the different congregations in town send their kids here. Great facilities, too! And we just got a fantastic new cantor, too! Really devoted to education — truly goes above and beyond. And she has a good set of pipes, too!
The last thing that I will say, is that in addition to the very strong, supportive community here, they also have been very welcoming to families, especially families with young children. It is not uncommon to see lively kids of all ages having fun and playing with friends in the hallways. They always seem to have a great kiddush every Shabbat too, which doesn’t hurt either.
Fantastic, safe, warm welcoming home — that’s how I would describe West End.

Nashville’s best and only conservative synagogue!