A COMMUNITY OF LOVE & SUPPORT IN CHALLENGING TIMES: 
“The CBST community knows what it takes to live through a plague. Love and compassion and support are at the center of survival. Remember to be kind and generous while being cautious and vigilant about staying healthy and keeping others safe. We will continue to be a bold spiritual community of resistance and love. May the Holy One surround you and your loved ones and give you strength and comfort as we face the uncertainty of these times. Be the reason people have faith in the goodness of others.” —Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum

When you CONTRIBUTE to CBST, you make a meaningful statement.

CBST DURING COVID-19:
Shalom! During the COVID-19 crisis, CBST is creating innovative ways to provide opportunities for Jewish religious observance, Torah study, social justice activism,  Jewish cultural education, and pastoral support. Check the listings below for all the ways you can engage with CBST! Most of our programming is conducted online via Zoom, so please be sure to read up on our Zoom Instructions & Etiquette for Participants. If you need immediate tech support to access our online services and programs, just text 646-450-3556.

JEWISH RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE:

Weekly Services 
- Kabbalat Shabbat Services are livestreamed every Friday night at 6:30pm via CBST's Facebook page. (Anyone can participate. You don’t need to have a Facebook account.)
- Shabbat Morning Services are held via Zoom every Saturday morning at 9:30am, as well as livestreamed via Facebook. Check our website calendar for Zoom info and service information. 
- Havdalah is led by a member of our clergy team or lay leadership on Saturday evenings. Join via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/654880356.
Consider Sponsoring Shabbat Livestreaming/Zoom.

HIGH HOLY DAYS 5781 / 2020
The High Holy Days frame a uniquely intimate, yet communal experience of holiness in our lives. This year, given the realities of the COVID-19 world, it will not be safe to hold services in person. We will share the Days of Awe as an international CBST community online, creating beautiful and meaningful spiritual experiences. 
 

SACRED TEXT STUDY, CLASSES, & PROGRAMS

The Month of Elul 5780 at CBST - Psalms Study with Rabbi Kleinbaum, Daily Teachings with Rabbi Moskowitz, Challah Baking & More
The Hebrew month of Elul has always held an essential place in the Jewish calendar, and this year of all years it seems even more necessary. Elul is a month of preparation, of spiritual discernment and direction. 

At CBST, we prepare for the upcoming Days of Awe, the High Holy Days of 5781, with unique opportunities for study, connection, and prayer. Prepare yourself for this season, individually and as part of a community. Fill your home with the smell of fresh baked challah, introduce yourself to our new Machzor with the guidance of our Clergy and Music Team, deepen your understanding of what "repentance" means in Jewish thought, set up your home space to be a house of prayer for S'lichot, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur.

Through classes, workshops, services, and social justice work, you are invited on this journey towards a year of goodness and sweetness that is in our hands to create. Elul brims with possibility; a new year is dawning.

COVID-19 RESOURCES and CBST COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: 

Click here for important resources for physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual health, as well as legal, social, and economic resources. We will regularly update this list. If you have resource suggestions, please share - email Judy Ribnick.

CBST Members' Town Halls: These special programs about life during the pandemic were held via Zoom for CBST members only. The content is so important that we have made the recordings available to all. Learn about Membership. Renew/Join online.  

Mishpachah Mondays with Rabbi James and Sharon Golub (Mondays, 5-6pm; Zoom) 
ZOOM; Meeting ID: 513 521 023; Call-in: +1 646 876 9923. This weekly social gathering is hosted by the Mishpachah group (55+) and open to all! Bring a mocktail and/or a snack and a story to share. No registration required. 

Connecting in Community (Fridays, 3-4 pm) 
ZOOM; Meeting ID: 256 347 787; Call-in: +1 646 876 9923. A combination of text study and support session. In this stressful time, we need to love and listen to one another with open hearts. No registration required. [Rabbi Atara Cohen, Cooperberg-Rittmaster Rabbinical Education & Pastoral Intern, will be leading during the summer.]

ONGOING SPIRITUAL PRACTICE and SUPPORT: 

Let the CBST Office Know of an Illness and Adding Names to the Refuah List  
Our refuah list is for those with acute illness. Any member can submit their name for one-month inclusion. We only print names of members who have consented. If you or a CBST member you know is ill & would like support, please contact us. We’re here for you! 
- A Healing Prayer from Joyce Rosenzweig and Cantorial Intern David Fair 
- Rabbi Kleinbaum's thoughts on "Spiritual Lessons for Today's Plague" 
- A Prayer for Health Care Workers

Music to Soothe Your Soul

• "Beautiful City" performed by Cantorial Intern David Fair, Music Director & Pianist Joyce Rosenzweig, and the CBST Community Chorus at CBST, on Sunday, February 9, 2020. "Beautiful City" was written in 1972 as part of the film Godspell and was re-written in 1993, following the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles.
• "Bless the Lord" (from Godspell) Words and Music by Stephen Schwartz (based on Psalm 103); Cantor Steve Zeidenberg, Cantor David Berger, Galeet Dardashti, The CBST Chorus, Dror Baitel, pianist, Joyce Rosenzweig, conductor; an excerpt from CBST's 2019 Annual Benefit Concert.
• "Somewhere" from West Side Story (1957), written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. This arrangement by Robert Edgerton was performed by the CBST Community Chorus, Joyce Rosenzweig, conductor, at the 2016 Shabbat Shirah Concert.
• “Alei D’vai” or “Leaves of Woe” a painful and hauntingly beautiful song that forms the final movement of a cantata by the great Israeli composer, Marc Lavry (1903-1967). This recording dates from June 2, 2019 at CBST’s 24th Annual Benefit Concert, “Psalm Enchanted Evening” and is performed by Cantor David Berger, Dror Baitel, piano, the CBST Community Chorus, Joyce Rosenzweig, conductor.
• Min Hametzar, as sung at our 2016 Shabbat Shirah concert by the CBST Community Chorus, Joyce Rosenzweig, conductor, with soloists Marc Molomot and Sam Rosen.