Saturdays, July 1 through September 2 | After Morning Services | 89th Street Community House

During the summer months, we provide a light kiddush of fruit and cookies following Shabbat morning services. If you’re interested in sponsoring a light kiddush (or a full kiddush), please email Davia or call her at x234.

Tuesday, May 30 | 9:30-11:30PM | 88th Street Sanctuary

Following our First Evening Shavuot Service, study with Professor Christine Hayes. Explore the radically different accounts rabbinic tradition offers of Ruth’s life altering decision to join the Israelite people, shedding new light on the many paths into contemporary Jewish community.

Wednesday, May 31 | 10:45AM-12:00PM | 88th Street Frankel Hall
Celebrate Shavuot with a festive holiday service including singing, dancing, and reading from the Torah. Children will assemble and decorate baskets of flowers to bring into the sanctuary. We’ll provide the flowers, and families are invited to bring their own baskets as we honor the holiday tradition of bringing bikkurim, the first fruits, to Jerusalem.

Shavuot 2nd Day Children’s Services
Thursday, June 1 | 10:45AM-12:00PM | 88th Street Frankel Hall

Friday, June 2 | 5:15-7:00PM | 88th Street Sanctuary 

Families enjoy a kid-friendly Kabbalat Shabbat service filled with singing and dancing, followed by a dinner complete with Shabbat blessings and songs. While adults are finishing their meal, children engage in play and exploration with play curator, Linda White. Register here by Wednesday, May 31.

Contact Allison Kapusta with any questions. The cost is $20/members, and $27/non-members. Children eat free.

Friday, June 2 | 7:00PM | 89th Street Reception Room
Rabbi Roly Matalon and musician Dan Nadel will lead an alternative Kabbalat Shabbat service on the first Friday evening of each month. With the help of soulful melodies, verses of Shir haShirim (Song of Songs), liturgical poems, and Psalms, we will transition gently and with full kavannah from hol to kodesh, leaving workweek anxieties behind to enter holy time and welcome Shabbat. Read more about this service here.

Sunday, June 4 | 10:30AM | 55th Street Between Fifth and Sixth Avenue 

Join the BJ rabbis and fellow members of the BJ community as we show our love and support of Israel. Get out your Israeli flag and bring an instrument as we walk/sing/rollerblade/push strollers down Fifth Avenue. Walkers are encouraged to wear the official BJ parade t-shirt (if you do not own one, we will be providing them at the march). Register here.

Sunday, June 4 | 5:00-7:00PM | Bowlmor Times Square
Celebrate the end of the school year with the BJ teens!  Join us as we bowl, hit the arcade, eat pizza, and celebrate our graduating seniors.  Register here

Monday, June 5 | 6:30-8:30PM | R.S.V.P. for Location
Attend a meeting to get involved in the Justice for Farmworkers Campaign with BJ. We are asking questions, having conversations, and educating the community to expand our collective understanding of ethical consumption. In doing so, we aim to acknowledge the predominately immigrant laborers who make New York’s multi-billion dollar agricultural economy possible. Through the passage of the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act, we hope to ensure that laborers who produce the food on which New Yorkers depend can have the dignity and equality they deserve. If you are interested in attending these meetings or have questions, please contact Lisa.

Monday, June 5-Friday, June 16 | JCC Manhattan (334 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10023)

IDNYC is coming to the Upper West Side! For two weeks at JCC Manhattan, you can arrange to get this popular form of ID, which identifies us all the same—as New Yorkers. IDNYC benefits every city resident, including the most vulnerable communities—the homeless, undocumented immigrants, and others who may have difficulty obtaining other government-issued ID. It also provides free one-year membership for many NYC museums and discounts on Citi Bike, Tribeca Film Festival, Broadway tickets, and more.

To make an appointment, call 311 or book online. Click the “Apply for an IDNYC Card” button for instructions on how to apply on line or in person. If are applying online, you must complete the application before making your appointment.

JIBC: A Conversation on Interfaith Marriage and Jewish Identity for College Students
Tuesday, June 6 | 3:00-4:30PM | 89th Street
As part of our community-wide JIBC program, this event invites all college students to share their perspectives on Jewish identity and interfaith marriage in a facilitated conversation with the BJ Rabbis and teen staff. This is a very important and timely topic for our community, and, as college students, you deserve a voice in the dialogue.  R.S.V.P. to Ayala Wasser

Wednesday, June 7 | 7:00-11:00PM | 88th Street Sanctuary

Join us in honoring Rabbi Marcelo Bronstein and celebrating the enormous impact he has had on our community. This event is free for BJ members who register before May 24. Non-members are welcome for a fee of $36. Register now

Fridays, June 9-August 18 | 9:15-10:00AM, 10:15-11:00AM, 11:15AM-12:00PM | 89th Street Middle Room
Children ages 3 and under explore Shabbat through song and story while learning traditions such as lighting candles, saying Kiddush, and giving tzedakah. For sessions that feature both English and Hebrew stories, register for the 9:15AM or 10:15AM class. For full Hebrew immersion, register for the 11:15AM timeslot. The cost is $200/members and $300/non-members per child. After the first registered child, each additional child receives 50% off. New members attend for free. Program is led by BJ educator and musician, Shira Kobren.

*No class on June 30.

Friday, June 9 | 7:00PM | 89th Street Gym
Led by Rabbi Marcelo Bronstein, Rabbi Rachel Cowan and Karina Zilberman, this service involves meditation, reflection, deep listening and personal engagement with the parashah. Please contact Beth with any questions.

Sunday, June 11 | 7:00-8:30PM | 89th Street Community House

Within days in June 1967, Jerusalem was transformed. It turned from a small, divided, and threatened town with an international border running through it into a large, booming metropolis. The unification of Jerusalem radically changed the city’s character. The residents, regardless of their religious or ethnic composition, were now sharing a new city that was fully under Israeli control; this was one of the city’s most euphoric and triumphant moments. How have Jerusalemites in both East and West Jerusalem adapted to this new reality? What are the underlying social, political, and religious rifts that still shape this fascinating city? Dr. Elan Ezrachi, a native of Jerusalem and the author of a new book (in Hebrew) covering the history Jerusalem since 1967, will address these questions and more during this in-depth discussion.  Read more »

Thursday, June 15 | 7:00PM-9:00PM | 88th Street Sanctuary

Tuesday, June 20 | 6:30-8:30PM | 89th Street Reception Room

Join the BJ Environmental Justice Hevra for a stimulating discussion about renewable energy in Israel with Amit Bracha and Leehee Goldenberg from the Israeli environmental advocacy organization, Adam Teva V’din. All are welcome but please register in advance. Refreshments will be served. R.S.V.P. to Les Judd at lesjudd@aol.com by Sunday, June 18.

Wednesday, June 21 | 6:30-8:00PM | Location upon R.S.V.P.
The Israeli Book Club is more than just a typical reading group: it is an intimate encounter with Israeli culture, society, and politics. The next book we will discuss is Waking Lions by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen, which centers on the African asylum-seeker community in Israel today. Register here  Read more »

Monday, June 26 | 6:30PM | 89th Street Reception Room

We stand in solidarity with non-citizens and other targeted members of our community. In response to the increasing expressions of hate in our society today, join this continuing multi-congregation effort as we distribute multi-language “Hate Has No Home Signs” signs for display in local shops and offices.  Meeting attendance not necessary for participation. For more information, or to R.S.V.P., contact Nora Gaines.

The following meeting will take place on Tuesday, July 18 at 6:30PM.

Thursdays, December 1, 8, and 15, January 5, 12, 19, and 26, February 2, 9, 16, and 23, March 2, 9, and 16 | 12:30-1:30PM | Location Provided Upon Registration
Through the close reading of short stories about the lives, struggles, and concerns of the Talmudic rabbis, we uncover deeper layers of our own selves and we become better equipped to wrestle with our human nature. No knowledge of Hebrew is required. Please bring your own lunch to the midtown location. Specific location information will be provided upon registration. Free of charge. BJ members only. To register, please click here or email Beth.

Every other Saturday (January 7, 21, February 4, 18, March 4, 18, April 1, 15, 19, May 13, 27) | 8:45-9:25AM | 86th Street Chapel
Please join Rabbi Roly Matalon to prepare the soul and open the heart for Shabbat morning prayers through the singing of piyutim and reflections on kavannah.

Business hours | 89th Street

We are pleased to announce that our Human Resources and Administrative Associate, Shakeara Hatchett, is now authorized to provide notary services (for personal or business purposes) to all BJ members. Email Shakeara to set up a notary appointment.

Saturdays, October 8, 2016 – May 13, 2017 | 10:20AM – 12:00PM |  86th Street Social Hall

Join Rabbinic Fellow Arielle Rosenberg, the BJ rabbis, and a team of teen musicians in a family-friendly celebration of Shabbat. Previously known as Junior Congregation, Kulanu is a participatory prayer space in which 3rd-6th graders and their families will use song, games, prayer, and art to make Shabbat morning come alive. Upon meeting in the main sanctuary, we will take the Torah out of the ark and dance our way to the Kulanu space downstairs. For more information, contact Arielle Rosenberg.

 *On the second Saturday of every month, Kulanu is kids only.

Monday and Tuesday | 88th Street Frankel Hall
Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday | 86th Street Social Hall
Our shelter is always looking for new set up and sleepover volunteers and food donors. Getting involved is easy. For food donors: families, individuals or groups can get together to prepare a light meal for 10-12 people at the synagogue, the church, at home, or even order in a light meal for our guests. Set up shifts are from 7:00-9:00PM and sleepover shifts  from 9:00PM-7:00AM. Perform a mitzvah all while sleeping through the night! To sign up or learn more, contact Larissa or call x272.

Our community is strongest when we care for each other in times of need. Do a deed of lovingkindness by connecting with members of the BJ community who are homebound, lonely, or in need of some extra care. With regular and consistent phone calls we can brighten the days and warm the hearts of those who need it most. Please contact Joni Brenner at ShabbatConnections@bj.org for more information on how you can help.

Thursdays | 11:30AM-1:00PM | 88th Street Frankel Hall
Every Thursday at BJ we welcome guests into our synagogue for a delicious lunch, friendly companionship, and music performed by a BJ member every other week. Join our lunch program by volunteering and taking part in the warm and welcoming atmosphere we offer to our guests. To learn more about this opportunity or to volunteer contact Larissa Wohl or call x272.