The New Shul

The New Shul Top Ten Reasons I'll Never Ever Ever Join a Synagogue
(But why you might want to join The New Shul)

1. I don't like services. I hated Hebrew School.

"I come to show you a new way that is ancient."
-- Nachman of Bratslav

The New Shul is a progressive synagogue located in Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, NYC. I don't want to be a member of a synagogue, I just want it to be there when I need it. The New Shul is a grassroots community (with lots of anti-institutional, non-joiner types!). Without your membership support, we simply won't be he

re.

2. The New Shul is about lots more than services! Our calendar is packed with many different kinds of events, programs, classes and spiritual experiences. We're also exploring ways to redefine ‘services.'

3. Many of us were also turned off by Hebrew School. That’s why we have partnered with the School for Creative Judaism. Kids actually like it! Come for a visit and you'll see why.

4. I don't believe in God. At The New Shul we're constantly questioning, grappling, doubting and exploring. That's what keeps it interesting.

5. I only go once a year anyway. Once you become a member, you might be surprised to find that you come more often.

6. My wife/husband/partner isn't Jewish. The New Shul welcomes everyone. We're proud of the diversity within our membership – interfaith, single, gay, couples, straight, families, reform, conservative, orthodox, reconstructionist, atheist...

7. I don't like organized religion. We're not that organized.

8. I don't want my level of observance/non-observance to be judged by others. We're not your parents' shul. We don't follow any particular party line – we draw from many sources of Jewish tradition and create some pretty compelling ones of our own.

9. I'm spiritual but not religious... actually I'm culturally Jewish, but not into ritual... actually, I'm just not sure what being a Jew means in the 21st century....
You'll feel right at home.

10. I'm just not interested. Are you so sure? You're reading this, aren't you? For more information, call 212-284-6773, write [email protected] or just explore our website. If you have children, you might want to look at our Hebrew School. Use the membership form to sign up.

New York Times columnist and New Shul member Michelle Goldberg has emerged as a leading expert on the current landscape ...
05/14/2026

New York Times columnist and New Shul member Michelle Goldberg has emerged as a leading expert on the current landscape of antisemitism. She has written extensively about the manipulation of antisemitism, its relationship with Zionism and anti Zionism and which forms Jewish scapegoating is taking these days. This year at the Kumah Festival Michelle joins us for a conversation to unpack how anti Jewish hatred has shifted in the US over the last few years, what it looks like today on the right and the left and where it seems to be heading. Join us for an evening of music, prayer and intellectual inquiry.

Register through the link in bio (newshul.org)

Introducing Rabbi Misha, one of the spiritual leaders who will be guiding us into a mind-opening evening of ritual and t...
05/13/2026

Introducing Rabbi Misha, one of the spiritual leaders who will be guiding us into a mind-opening evening of ritual and transformation during Night Shift: The Shavuot Show! ✨
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Tickets for Night Shift: The Shavuot Show are available now at the link in bio!
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Actor, educator, playwright, activist, Rabbi Misha is the founding director of the School for Creative Judaism, where he leads a team of artist-teachers instilling a Judaism driven by kindness and questioning into the hearts and minds of children and teens. His teachings explore the borders and overlap between faith, art and activism.

Now introducing Shira Kline, one of the spiritual leaders who will be guiding us into a mind-opening evening of ritual a...
05/13/2026

Now introducing Shira Kline, one of the spiritual leaders who will be guiding us into a mind-opening evening of ritual and transformation during Night Shift: The Shavuot Show! ✨
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Tickets for Night Shift: The Shavuot Show are available now at the link in bio!
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Shira Kline is an internationally acclaimed performance and ritual artist, recognized as a revolutionary educator and named one of the new re-engineers of Jewish life today. She is a Co-Founder and serves as Spiritual Leader at God-optional Lab/Shul NYC.

Introducing Rav Jericho Vincent, one of the spiritual leaders who will be guiding us into a mind-opening evening of ritu...
05/13/2026

Introducing Rav Jericho Vincent, one of the spiritual leaders who will be guiding us into a mind-opening evening of ritual and transformation during Night Shift: The Shavuot Show! ✨
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Tickets for Night Shift: The Shavuot Show are available now at the link in bio!
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Rav Jericho Vincent is the founding rabbi of Temple of the Stranger, a flourishing Ivri community in Brooklyn, New York. Rav Jericho has been named to the Forward 50, and in 2025 they received the Young History Maker Award from the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network. Their inclusive Kabbalistic teachings can be found on Instagram, .

AM ShabbatSeptember 13 @ 10:30 AM South Oxford Space, (138 S. Oxford Street, Brooklyn)Our first Shabbat of the year will...
09/06/2025

AM Shabbat
September 13 @ 10:30 AM
South Oxford Space, (138 S. Oxford Street, Brooklyn)

Our first Shabbat of the year will be a musical celebration of the awesome vibe we created in our Brooklyn Shabbatot. Come enjoy the music led by School for Creative Judaism teachers, the Torah chanted by Bat Mitzvah Kika Cohen, the food and the company.

08/23/2025
07/18/2025

The Runaway Prophet

Dear friends,

I was in Jaffa this week, at the very port where the prophet Jonah found a boat going as far as possible to run away from facing God. And another Jonah was there, except he couldn’t find a boat that sails further than Tel Aviv. That didn’t seem far enough to him, so instead he sat around chatting people up and comparing stories of escape.

“Where are you from,” he asked me.

“Jerusalem,” I answered, “but I live in Brooklyn.”

“Ah,” he smiled, “Which fault did your ancestors find in me that they went so far away from me?”

“That’s what Jeremiah spoke,” I retorted, “But I follow King Solomon:

‘Like a bird wanders from its nest, so a person wanders from his place.”

“It’s that simple,” he cried, and broke into a happy laugh. “He’s just w-a-n-d-e-r-i-n-g away!”

“What’s so funny,” I asked.

“It’s not you,” he said, suddenly staring at me with his piercing blue eyes, “it’s me!”

The next day I thought I saw him at the demonstration. But it may have been some other runaway prophet.

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Misha

07/14/2025
Some more images of our beautiful community at the Kumah festival
07/02/2025

Some more images of our beautiful community at the Kumah festival

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