Media & Press
CBST is a powerful voice in the movement for equality and justice for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and expressions. It is a significant force challenging the radical right’s dominance over religious and political life in the United States and around the world.
For media inquiries, please contact Tasha Calhoun via email or at 212-929-9498, x875.
CBST Videos
Video from Our Dedication Ceremony
Videos from CBST’s archive
Friday Evening Service Livestream
Rabbi Jason Klein is Senior Rabbi at CBST.
Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, D.D., is Senior Rabbi Emerita at CBST. She served as Senior Rabbi and spiritual leader of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah from 1992-2024.
Credit: Harold Levined
CBST in the News
Recent articles about CBST, our leadership and more, in local and global media outlets:
Photo Credit: Erica Snyder
- The Woman in the Rainbow Tallit Was the Actual Rabbi – Autostraddle
- Muslims and Christians Join Jews to Mourn Pittsburgh Shooting Victims and Resist Trump – Ha’aretz
- NYU Muslims Show Solidarity with LGBTQ Jews – Gay City News
- After Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, New York rabbis plan message of healing, resolve – CBST and Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum in AM New York
- U.S. Muslims Raise $190,00 for Burial of Jewish Pittsburgh Victims – CBST and our House of Peace initiative featured in Ha’aretz
Photo Credit: Harold Levine
- An Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi Comes Out for LGBTQ People – Jewish Boston
- Rabbi, transgender ally speaks at HIllel about trans rights – The Tufts Daily
- Rabbi Mike Moskowitz speaks on trans rights – The Williams Record
- Noah’s Arc: A Failed Ally-Ship – Rabbi Mike Moskowitz writes for the Bayit Builders Blog
- Meet the Rainbow of Activists Who Marched at the NYC Pride Parade – W Magazine features CBST and RUSA LGBT
Photo credit: Mayan Toledano for W Magazine
- How Goodly Are Your (Rainbow) Tents – Rabbi Mike Moskowitz writes with Lizzie Stein for the Reform Judaism blog
- This Orthodox rabbi just took a job at an LGBT synagogue – JTA
- Orthodox Jews Start Prayer Protest Outside OU Office in New York, Angered by Its Support for Trump – Ha’aretz
- 7 Ways Straight Jews Can Become Better LGBTQ Allies – Rabbi Yael Rapport and Rabbi Mike Moskowitz write for The Forward
- What the Torah and Talmud Teach Us About Calling Transgender People By Their Names – Rabbi Mike Moskowitz and Seth Marnin for Tablet
- I’m An Orthodox Rabbi Marching With Pride – Rabbi Moskowitz in The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance Blog
- Cisgender Humility And Accepting The Torah – Rabbi Moskowitz in The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance Blog
- The Torah of Action – Rabbi Moskowitz writes for My Jewish Learning
- Rabbinic Responsibility for LGBT Jews – Rabbi Moskowitz
- LGBT Jews show support for Muslims – The Villager
- When Is Our Reichstag Fire Coming, And Will We Be Prepared For It? – Rabbi Kleinbaum writes in Huffington Post
- Neither Trump nor Terror Will Break Our Jewish-Muslim Solidarity – Rabbi Kleinbaum’s Op-Ed for Haaretz
Photo credit: Gili Getz
Celebrities and Activists Urge Congress to Stand Up for the People in New Video – New York Magazine (including Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum)New York Post, JTA, The Independent (UK), Huffington Post, Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, The Forward.
TV coverage: News 4 NY Local Fox Ch. 5 TV, ABC News
Here’s video from the action, in which the rabbis and their allies carried signs, chanted prayers and played songs. The demonstration was organized by T’ruah, a rabbinical human rights organization, and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, among other groups.
“Medium” article by Rabbi Lauren G. Herrmann on her arrest experience
- Celebrity Video to Congress: Obstruct Trump’s Xenophobia, Racism, and Misogyny — Real Clear Politics (including Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum)
- OutFront: Lesbian Rabbi Fights Intolerance with Love – NBC News
- Jews protest major Jewish organizations’ Hanukkah party at Trump’s D.C. hotel – Washington Post
- Let’s Make Gun Control a Gay Issue – The Nation
News Archives
- After 40+ years in ‘desert,’ New York’s biggest LGBTQ synagogue has a fancy new home — Times of Israel, Oct. 20, 2016
- A Progressive Synagogue Finds a Home in a Historic NYC Building — Curbed – May 6, 2016
- CBST – A Place to Call Home: After more than four decades, a congregation finally gets a synagogue tailored to its needs — Architectural Record – May 1, 2016
- Volunteer Rick Landman, and the Legacy of CBST | Food for the Soul — Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen Bulletin – Apr 22, 2016
- Congregation Beit Simchat Torah: Coming Out and Coming Home — Chelsea Now – Apr 6, 2016
- Congregation Beit Simchat Torah Opens New Sanctuary — Apr 3, 2016
- CBST, the World’s Largest LGBT Synagogue, Gets a New Home — Tablet Magazine – Apr 1, 2016
- Gay Synagogue Moves From the West Village, But Takes Its Rich Civil-Rights History with It — New York Magazine – Apr 1, 2016
- Gay Congregation Celebrates Its Identity with New Home in Manhattan — New York Times – Feb 3, 2016
Press Releases
- Aleinu – Facebook
- Day of Interfaith Dialogue, Nov 20
- Pride Shabbat for Kids! Jun 11
- CBST’s New Home Dedication Ceremony, Apr 3