- Congregation Beit Simchat Torah
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Coordinates: 40°44′13″N 74°00′31″W / 40.737047°N 74.008652°W
The entrance to 130 West 30th Street, designed by Cass Gilbert, where the synagogue has purchased space to become their first permanent home.
Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST) is a Jewish synagogue located in Manhattan, New York City.[1] It was founded in 1973 and describes itself as the world's largest LGBT synagogue.[2] CBST serves Jews of all sexual orientations and gender identities, their families, and their friends. It is led by Senior Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum and Associate Rabbi Rachel Weiss. It is not affiliated with any denomination or branch of Judaism.
The congregation, founded in 1973 by twelve gay Jewish men, originally met in Chelsea's Church of the Holy Apostles and brought its prayer materials to services each week. In 1978 they began renting space in the West Village at 57 Bethune Street, in the Westbeth Artists Community residential-artistic complex, for offices, a Hebrew school, and a sanctuary with a capacity of 300 which they use for Saturday morning services, while continuing to hold Friday night services in the church.[3] In addition, the synagogue rents the Jacob Javits Convention Center for Yom Kippur services, which draw over 4,000 people.
In June 2011, after 16 years of searching for a home, the congregation purchased a large space in midtown Manhattan, in a commercial condominium at 130 West 30th Street between the Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) and Seventh Avenue. They will be located in the landmarked SJM Building designed by noted architect Cass Gilbert and built in 1927-28, and expect to move into the space in 2013.[2]
References
- Notes
- ^ Berrin, Danielle (October 8, 2010). "Breathless but not broken-hearted: Jean-Luc Godard’s casual anti-Semitism". Jewish Journal. http://www.jewishjournal.com/hollywoodjew/2010/10/. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
- ^ a b Chandler, Doug (July 26, 2011). "In A Move Freighted With Symbolism, CBST Purchases First Home". The Jewish Week. http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/move_freighted_symbolism_cbst_purchases_first_home.
- ^ Dunlap, David W. From Abyssinian to Zion. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-231-12543-7, pp.98-99
External links
- Official website
- http://religionandpluralism.org/SharonKleinbaum.htm
- http://manhattan.about.com/od/glbtscene/a/lgbt-rosh-hashanah-new-york.htm
- http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9418.2010.00579.x/full
- http://www.amazon.com/Gay-Synagogue-New-York/dp/0231084617
- http://www.thejewishweek.com/special_sections/jewish_family_now/cbst's_'gay_by_boom'
- http://blogs.jta.org/telegraph/article/2009/06/02/1005563/gay-synagogues-new-siddur-arrives
- http://newyorktorch.jrn.columbia.edu/?p=504
- http://www.glbtjews.org/article.php3?id_article=568
Categories:- LGBT stubs
- United States synagogue stubs
- Synagogues in Manhattan
- Transgender topics and religion
- Religious organizations established in 1973
- LGBT synagogues in the United States
- Unaffiliated synagogues in New York City
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