Congregation Beit Simchat Torah - CBST

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Celebrating Jewish LGBTQ+ faith and activism in NYC since 1973. Join us for events and religious services at cbst.org. Join us to celebrate Shabbat.

Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST) is a vibrant spiritual community and a progressive voice within Judaism. Founded in 1973, CBST attracts and welcomes gay men, le****ns, bisexuals, transgender, q***r and straight individuals and families who share common values. Passionate, provocative, and deeply Jewish, CBST champions a Judaism that rejoices in diversity, denounces social injustice wherever it exists, and strives for human rights for all people. Passionate, provocative, and deeply Jewish, CBST champions a Judaism that rejoices in diversity, denounces social injustice wherever it exists, and strives for human rights for all people.

• We are a house of prayer, offering both traditional and liberal services and lifecycle events.
• We are a house of learning, continually expanding our knowledge and deepening our understanding of our religious and cultural heritage.
• We are a house of refuge and healing, offering community support and pastoral care.
• We are a house of conscience, fighting for the full equality of LGBTQ people locally, nationally and internationally.
• We are committed to Israel and engaged in supporting efforts to secure peace, justice and equality for all. Kabbalat Shabbat services meet every Friday night at 6:30pm, right here on our page. Shabbat Morning services meet most Saturdays at 10:00am. Check our website calendar at www.cbst.org for details. Everyone is welcome!

10/23/2026

🎶 Tickets and Sponsorships are available for Sounds of CBST! 🎶

Join us on Thursday, November 19 as we open our 2026–27 Music Series with an evening celebrating the extraordinary musical talent within our own community. The evening will feature Adria Benjamin and her ensemble, Simon Dratfield, Marc Molomot, Amanda Miryem-Khaye Seigel, Pierre Vallet, Cantor Sam Rosen, Music Director Joyce Rosenzweig, and more.

This year, we're re-imagining music at CBST, and we'd love for you to be part of it. Become a sponsor of an individual concert, or help make the entire year of music possible by sponsoring the full series. Every sponsorship sustains the music that lifts our community each year.

Click here for tickets: https://cbst.org/SoundsofCBST26

10/21/2026

Our prayers are with beloved colleague Rabbi Marisa James, CBST's Director of Social Justice Programming, who was detained this morning in the West Bank along with dozens of rabbis and activists, Israeli and international, who were accompanying Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest.

Rabbi James went to do what our tradition asks of us: to stand beside people whose safety and livelihoods are at risk. We are in close contact and will share updates as we can. In true RMJ fashion, she's still hoping to make it to Shabbat services at Kol HaNeshamah in Jerusalem.

וַתָּבֹא אֵלָיו הַיּוֹנָה לְעֵת עֶרֶב וְהִנֵּה עֲלֵה־זַיִת טָרָף בְּפִיהָ
“The dove came back to him toward evening, and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf” - Genesis 8:11

After this ordeal, we can now say from RMJ:
We're being released!

Read her message from earlier this week at the link below.

cbst.org/RMJIP2026

10/14/2026

Save the date! 🎶
CBST’s 2026-27 Music Series opens on Thursday, November 19, with “Sounds of CBST” - an evening of music shared by the gifted artists of our own CBST community. Stay tuned for artist spotlights and ticket details!
7:00pm in CBST’s W**e Family Sanctuary at 130 W 30th Street

10/06/2026

As we mark three years since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, we know that members of the broader CBST community mourn for many things.

We mourn the lives that were stolen on that day, adults and children, Israelis and Palestinians and foreign students and workers from Thailand and Nepal and China, artists and soldiers, peace activists and teachers, music lovers and medics, indiscriminately murdered in violent acts of terror.

We mourn for those who were taken into captivity and did not survive, and we mourn for the stolen weeks and months and years from the lives of those who did survive.

We mourn for all whose lives have been cut short since then, including the civilians in Gaza who had nothing to do with the attacks of October 7, who were already living under a terrorist regime, those who never wanted war, those who have lost homes and family members, professions and educations.

This week, there are many memorials and vigils happening. Here are a few that we will be attending.

Online:

The National Memorial Ceremony – Led by Families of October 7: a live streaming of the National Memorial Ceremony, this broadcast is brought to you with simultaneous interpretation by UnXeptable, DID, and We Democracy.
Wednesday, October 7, 2:15pm
Simultaneous interpretation: English • Spanish
RSVP: https://bit.ly/Oct7KUMUMemorialCeremony2026

In person in NYC:

Israelis for Peace
Wednesday, October 7, 7:00pm
Union Square
Three years since October 7.
Mourn the dead, end the bloodshed.
Candlelit vigil.
Organized by Israeli activists.
All are welcome.
Please do not bring flags or signs.

At CBST:
Shabbat evening, October 9, 6:30pm
CBST, 130 West 30th Street and online
Plan to join us as we memorialize these painful losses as a community, as we did last weekend during Shmini Atzeret morning Yizkor with the reading of the names of those murdered on October 7.

May all of their memories be a blessing.

10/02/2026

How do you heal when the person who hurt you never makes things right?

Rabbi Alana Krivo-Kaufman turns to Isaac after the Akedah to explore what healing can look like when apology, accountability, or reconciliation never come.

Through midrash, teshuvah, chosen family, and the image of Isaac finding his own way down the mountain, she offers a compassionate vision of recovery: we may deserve repair from others, but we cannot force it. Sometimes healing means building new relationships, finding new sources of goodness, and breathing life back into our own souls.

Rabbi Alana Krivo-Kaufman delivered this drashah at Rosh Hashanah Day II services at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah on September 13, 2026.

09/30/2026

Be with us for Simchat Torah at CBST! 🎶✨

We’re thrilled to welcome back two extraordinary guest musicians and prayer leaders: Elana A***n and Iván Barenboim, joining us once again for our namesake holiday.

Drinks. Snacks. Joyous dancing. And incredible music. No registration required!

Come celebrate with us! 💙

09/29/2026

CBST is decked out and ready with our indoor and outdoor sukkot! Come say hello, sit in the Sukkah, and wave the lulav and etrog.

Our 30th Street Sukkah will be open on:

Tuesday, September 29 from 2:00-6:30pm
Thursday, October 1 from 10:00am-6:00pm
Friday, October 2 beginning at 12:00pm through Kabbalat Shabbat services

Want to learn how to say the blessings and wave the lulav? Rabbi Marisa James will offer a short teaching and time together in the Sukkah on Tuesday, September 29 from 2:00-3:00pm, and Rabbi Alana Krivo-Kaufman will offer the same on Thursday, October 1 from 5:00-6:00pm. No registration necessary!

Check our Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah service details at cbst.org/hhd

09/22/2026

This week, leaders from countries around the world are in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly. CBST will join two gatherings at the UN this week, taking advantage of the opportunity to let many of those leaders know that they need to do better!

Join us for either or both:

Wednesday at 5pm (meet at 4:15pm), as we speak out against antisemitism and demand the world leaders commit to taking real action to protect Jews around the world, both in our synagogues and in the community.

Thursday at 12pm (meet at 11:45am), as we speak out against Netanyahu and the extremists in his coalition who condone and even support violence by Jews against Palestinians in the West Bank, and ignore rising attacks on progressive Jewish communities in Israel.

CBST clergy will be present for both of these actions! No banners are allowed, and no national flags on Thursday, but we hope you'll wear a CBST t-shirt if you join us.

Look for CBST clergy at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza (2nd Ave + 47th St.) for both gatherings.

09/17/2026

Q***r love, q***r families, and q***r joy are sacred.

On the first night of Rosh Hashanah, Eric shared his story of becoming a CBST member.

“CBST is a unique intergenerational space where we can be our fullest selves — joyful, spiritual, and proud,” Eric said.

“Together, let’s make sure that we keep this sanctuary open for decades to come, so that whoever walks through our doors sees that q***r love, q***r families, and q***r joy are real, and they are sacred.”

09/15/2026

Be with CBST for Yom Kippur as we come together in community to open our hearts to reflection and return. Guided by our extraordinary service and music leadership, we'll move through prayer, wisdom, and hope. Yom Kippur is a day to pause, look inward, and reconnect with what matters most.

CBST is an Open Door for all — membership is not required to join us. Whoever you are, wherever you are on your journey, you are welcome here.

Address

130 W 30th Street
New York, NY
10001

Telephone

+12129299498

Website

http://www.cbst.org/, http://cbst.org/donate

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