Congregation Beit Simchat Torah ("CBST") is a

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, pluralistic, progressive, and LGBTQ+

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

located at 130 West 30th Street in

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

. The congregation was founded in 1973 by and for LGBTQ people, and is the world's largest

LGBTQ synagogue LGBTQ synagogues (historically known as gay and lesbian synagogues) are synagogues primarily serving LGBTQ Jews. LGBTQ synagogues date to 1970, with the oldest extant one, Beth Chayim Chadashim (BCC) in Los Angeles, established in 1972. Their re ...

as of 2016. CBST serves

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

of all sexual orientations and gender identities and their families and friends. During 1992–2024, the congregation was led by Senior

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Emerita Sharon Kleinbaum. Current clergy include Senior Rabbi Jason Klein, Associate Rabbi Yael Werber, and

Cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

Sam Rosen. CBST is not affiliated with any formal denomination or branch of Judaism.

History

The congregation, founded in 1973 by twelve gay Jewish men and led by Jacob Gubbay, originally met in Chelsea's

Church of the Holy Apostles The Church of the Holy Apostles (, ''Agioi Apostoloi''; ), also known as the Imperial Polyandrion (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The first structure dated to ...

and brought its prayer materials to services each week in a brown paper bag. In 1978, they began renting space in the

West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The West Village is bounded by the Hudson River to the west and 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to ...

at 57 Bethune Street—in the

Westbeth Artists Community Westbeth Artists Housing is a non-profit housing, nonprofit housing and commercial complex dedicated to providing affordable living and working space for artists and New York City arts organizations, arts organizations in New York City. The comp ...

residential-artistic complex—for offices, a

Hebrew school Hebrew school is Jewish education focusing on topics of Jewish history, learning the Hebrew language, and finally learning one's Torah Portion, in preparation for the ceremony in Judaism of entering adulthood, known as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Heb ...

, and a sanctuary. However, the space was not large enough for Friday night services (i.e., Kabbalat Shabbat and

maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'', or ''Arbit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or at night. It consists primarily of the evening '' Shema'' and ''Amidah''. The service will often begin with two ...

), which continued to be held in the church., pp.98–99 The synagogue has also held annual

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

services at the Jacob Javits Convention Center: the only free-to-attend High Holy Day services held in the city. Yom Kippur services have drawn over 4,000 people.

130 West 30th Street

In June 2011, after 16 years of searching, the congregation purchased a large space in

Chelsea, Manhattan Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side (Manhattan), West Side of the Boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. The area's boundaries are roughly 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the south, the Hudson River an ...

, at 130 West 30th Street between

Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue, also known as Avenue of the Americas, is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The avenue is commercial for much of its length, and traffic runs northbound, or uptown. Sixth Avenue begins four blocks b ...

and Seventh Avenue. Built in 1927–28, the landmarked Assyrian Revival-style building was designed by architect

Cass Gilbert Cass Gilbert (November 24, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was an American architect. An early proponent of Early skyscrapers, skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minneso ...

. It underwent renovations between 2013 and 2016. The "Dedication of Our New Home" was marked that year with a celebration on April 3.

Notable members

* Barbara Gaines (born 1956), television producer *

Brad Hoylman Brad Madison Hoylman-Sigal (born October 27, 1965) is an American Democratic politician. First elected in 2012, Hoylman-Sigal represents the 47th District in the New York State Senate, covering much of the west side of Manhattan in New York Cit ...

(born 1965), New York State Senator *Mike Moskowitz,

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

rabbi, LGBTQ ally, and Scholar-in-Residence for Trans and Queer Jewish Studies at CBST *

Cynthia Nixon Cynthia Ellen Nixon (born April 9, 1966) is an American actress, activist, and theater director. For her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supportin ...

(born 1966), actress and activist * David L. Reich (born 1960), president and chief operating officer of Mount Sinai Hospital and president of Mount Sinai Queens * Janet Weinberg (1955–2018), advocate for

people with HIV/AIDS HIV-positive people, seropositive people or people who live with HIV are people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus which if untreated may progress to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). According to estima ...

and

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

Randi Weingarten Rhonda "Randi" Weingarten (born December 18, 1957)''Who's Who in America'', 2007. is an American labor leader, attorney, and educator. She has been president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) since 2008, and is a member of the AFL-CIO ...

(born 1957), president of the

American Federation of Teachers The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second largest teacher's labor union in America (the largest being the National Education Association). The union was founded in Chicago. John Dewey and Margaret Haley were founders. About 60 pe ...

Edith Windsor Edith Windsor (née Schlain; June 20, 1929 – September 12, 2017) was an American LGBT rights in the United States, LGBT rights activist and a technology manager at IBM. She was the lead plaintiff in the 2013 Supreme Court of the United State ...

(1929–2017), successfully brought a federal lawsuit, ''

United States v. Windsor ''United States v. Windsor'', 570 U.S. 744 (2013), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights case concerning same-sex marriage in the United States, same-sex marriage. The Cou ...

'', against the

Defense of Marriage Act The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limitin ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beit Simchat Torah LGBTQ organizations based in New York City LGBTQ synagogues in the United States Jewish organizations established in 1973 Synagogues in Manhattan Transgender topics and religion Unaffiliated synagogues in New York City Midtown Manhattan 1973 establishments in New York City Synagogues completed in 2016 21st-century synagogues in the United States

History

130 West 30th Street

Notable members

See also

References

Further reading

External links