One of the major centers of Jewish life and culture in the U.S. With close to 275,000 Jews, 228,000 live in Greater Boston, 20,000 in Lynn, and 10,000 each in Springfield and Worcester. Smaller communities exist in Cape Cod, Fall River, Greenfield, Lowell, Pittsfield, and Taunton.

The zeal of the early Puritans in the state scared away Jews in the 17th century. A few Jewish merchants found their way there before the Revolution, but organized Jewish life did not begin until mid-19th century. In the 20th century, Massachusetts became one of the main centers of Jewish communal and cultural life in the U.S. (See also Boston and Brandeis University.)