Days of Awe 5785/2024

How special to gather with thousands of you in person and online to welcome the New Year. Many of you have shared your reflections, words of appreciation, and constructive criticism. Thank you! We are heartened that CBST’s services meant so much to so many of you. At the same time, we are already working together to address the concerns that we have heard. Please be in touch with CBST’s President Ivan Zimmerman or Senior Rabbi Jason Klein if you wish to share the most meaningful aspects of your High Holiday experience, as well as any suggestions for improvement.

Rosh Hashanah 5785

Welcoming 5785 surrounded by our rainbow flags and each other was a beautiful way to begin the year. Rabbi Klein focused on the ways that we love and show up for each other, the ways that queer love is essential to the stories of Judaism, and more. 

Watch Rabbi Klein’s Drashah: 

On the second day of Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Yael Werber took a deep look at the Biblical character of Sarah. Watch her drashah here: 

Our musical selection from Rosh Hashanah:

Cantor Rosen, Music Director Joyce Rosenzweig, and the CBST Community Chorus shared much beauty with us; one of their favorites is “Achot Ketana” / Music & Text: Moroccan Piyyut for Rosh Hashanah. Listen here: 

In Between the Holidays

Shabbat Shuvah

Cooperberg-Rittmaster Rabbinical Intern Marques Hollie spoke on Shabbat Shuvah about return, the proximity of the Divine during the High Holidays – starting in a far off place, but coming to join us “in the field,” and moving even into ourselves, redefining how we can see the acts of amends and forgiveness when that divinity lives within us.

Watch Marques’ drashah here: 

October 7: Seven Hours of Reflection

In observing this anniversary, to which each of us responds so uniquely, we aimed to create a space of comfort, to tend to our simple needs (coffee and tea), and to our hearts, to mourn and sing and pray and feel together.

Gay City News’ Matt Tracy covered this special event and spoke with Rabbi Klein. The article, “Marking one year since Oct. 7, CBST acknowledges members ‘in their full humanity,’” quotes Rabbi Jason Klein saying: “Being here is, first and foremost, about showing up for people, showing up for them in their grief, showing up for them with their questions, being able to tap into the wisdom of Jewish tradition, and to create spaces for conversation, spaces for just total realness.”

We are grateful to the CBST community members near and far who read one of the 150 Psalms at any point during October 7: Seven Hours of Psalms and to musicians Music Director Joyce Rosenzweig and Director of Aging Together and clarinetist Judy Ribnick and the entire clergy team.

Kol Nidre/Yom Kippur:

Between the Javits Center and online, over 2,500 people joined us for Kol Nidre services on Friday, October 11. It takes all hands to make this large-scale service happen: the facilities and security teams, the QR Code scanners and help desk workers, the welcomers and ushers, the CBST Community Chorus members, the livestream and audio caretakers, the live captioners making sense of Hebrew phrases during a spirited moment, everyone who chanted Torah or Haftarah or who led a service, the educators who spent their afternoon teaching us, the spirit of each person in the room.

Listen to the “Elohim Hashiveinu” / Music: Salamone Rossi (1570-1630) / Text: from Psalm 80 and “Oseh Shalom” / Music: Yoel Sykes (b.1986) / Text: Amidah Liturgy from Kol Nidre here: 

Here is CRRI Alana Krivo-Kaufman on Yom Kippur romance novels, the essential dream of our struggles being solved on one day:

Seeking Joy!

Sukkot is Z’man Simchateinu – the season of our joy – and Mishpachah took that to heart by visiting the Seeking Joy exhibit at HUC-JIR. Our group viewed works by 50 artists who expressed their vision of joy in a variety of media. It was wonderful to see these manifestations of happiness, serenity, and delight. We topped off our time together with afternoon snacks and shmoozing at a nearby cafe. A lovely afternoon was had by all!

Ancestral Allyship Book Launch Tuesday, Oct. 22

Thanks to all who joined Rabbi Mike Moskowitz, and Central Synagogue’s Senior Rabbi Angela Buchdahl for the launch of Rabbi Moskowitz’s newest book, Ancestral Allyship. We were moved, inspired, and empowered in our own allyship practices, and hope you were too. Big thanks to Rabbi Buchdahl for her openness and thoughtfulness, and to everyone in attendance for their questions and insights.

Watch the event here:

Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, & Simchat Torah

As a staff, we recently had a “what’s your favorite holiday” icebreaker, and many people shared that Sukkot is their favorite. Together we leaned into the joy as a balm, hanging festive decorations made by Earl Anthony Giaquinto, and smelling and shaking the symbolic and fragrant lulavim and etrogim generously donated by Jack Greenberg and Ron Weiss in memory of Jack’s father, Max Greenberg, z”l.

On Shemini Atzeret we began the end of Sukkot with the seasonal prayers for rain. At the Yizkor segment of the service, we offered memorial prayers on the Hebrew yortzeit of October 7, 2023 with a reading of the names of every person in Israel murdered on that day. 

On Simchat Torah, we danced with the Torah and each other in the CBST Wine Sanctuary, in the CBST lobby, and proudly out on the street on 30th Street. Check out our Simchat Torah photo album here

Watch the joyful times here: