Who We Are
CBST is a powerful voice within Judaism in the world-wide discourse on the nature of religious community and in the movement to secure basic civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in the United States and throughout the world.
Founded in 1973 by forward thinking gay Jews, and currently led by Senior Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum and Rabbi Ayelet S. Cohen, CBST is the largest LGBT synagogue in the world.
CBST’s 800-plus membership includes singles and couples of every sexual orientation and gender identity, young and old, with and without children, from all walks of life, from the most secular to the most observant from every aspect of Judaism — Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, Orthodox. To meet the needs of this extraordinarily diverse congregation, we provide a broad spectrum of ritual observance and liturgy, ranging from traditional to liberal to highly innovative. In order to be as inclusive as possible, CBST is unaffiliated with any Jewish movement.
