Jewish Life
At 14Y, we are committed to building an inclusive community where Jews, non-Jews, and interfaith families can come together to celebrate Jewish life.
As a Jewish community center, we provide a variety of opportunities for people to discover, explore, and connect with Jewish life and culture. Along with our partners in the Downtown Jewish Life Network, we curate a wide array of cultural programing, honoring the diverse viewpoints that make up the ever-evolving, multi-faceted perspective of the Jewish people.
We are proud of the Jewish values that have informed and strengthened the Jewish community from generation to generation. Our programs are influenced by a desire to make the world a better place through acts of service, being there for each other in a time of need, and treating one another with compassion and empathy. We also recognize the importance of welcoming the stranger, engaging in lifelong learning, and appreciating the divine spark within us all.
Now more than ever, we openly embrace the joy that is an inherent part of the Jewish communal experience.
Discover 14Y’s Spring Season of Jewish Culture!
Explore and engage in Jewish life from a myriad of perspectives.
Yom HaShoah
Join 14Y and your Downtown Jewish Life community as we mark Holocaust Remembrance Day with musical selections, prayer, and more.
Monday, May 6 | 7:00 PM | Brotherhood Synagogue
Register here
Yom HaZikaron: Lentil Soup and Grief
Come together to create space, mourn, and heal. Guided by classical Jewish text study, music, and traditional mourning foods, including lentil soup, we’ll offer each other support and comfort.
Monday, May 13 | 7:00 PM | 14Y Theater
Register here
Yom HaAtzmaut: 76 Minutes of Hope
Experience 76 minutes of transformation and renewal. A diverse group of international artists and community leaders will share eight stories of hope for these challenging times.
Thursday, May 16 | 7:30 PM | 14Y Theater
Register here
KUMAH: LABA and Kabbalah
Celebrate Lag Ba’Omer by studying kabbalistic text with artistic creative responses by LABA artists. Presented in collaboration with the New Shul.
Saturday, May 18 | 7:30 PM | 14Y Theater
Register here
Broadway at 14Y: Prayer for the French Republic
Broadway star and 14Y LABA alum Ari Brand will host an evening of piano and discussion with Prayer for the French Republic costars, Francis Benhamou (Elodie) and Molly Ranson (Molly). Moderated by New York Times reporter Marc Tracy.
Monday May, 20 | 7:00 PM 14Y Theater
Register here
Upcoming Downtown Jewish Life Events
Museum at Eldridge Street
Concert: Sounds of Freedom with the Eyal Vilner Big Band
Sunday, April 14 | 3:00 PM
12 Eldridge Street, New York, NY 10002
Register here
The Eyal Vilner Big Band is back on Eldridge Street with all the brass swing and jazz tunes to carry us into spring! Join us in the museum’s historic Main Sanctuary for a concert centered around the connections between the Jazz Movement and Jewish music, culture, and values.
Lunar Collective
Seder and Song LUNAR’s Passover Seder, Congregation Beth Elohim
Friday, Apr 26 | 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Register here
Led by our Rabbi in Residence and new Ritual Director, this Passover Seder brings together delectable Asian Jewish fusion food, beautiful music, and the reading of our LUNAR Haggadah.
Lab/Shul
Virtual Mourner’s Kaddish
Every Thursday | 12:00 12:30 PM | Join on Zoom
Register here
A weekly Mourner’s Kaddish phone call to honor loved ones and recite Kaddish with a community of like minded souls.
ReCollect Seasonal Kaddish Gathering
Monday, April 29 | 6:45 PM | Join In-Person on the Upper West Side and on Zoom
Register here
A seasonal gathering to remember our loved ones, share stories, lift memory, and say Kaddish, the ancient memorial prayer, together.
Courageous Conversations on Israel/Palestine
Thursday, May 2 | 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Register here
A series of monthly conversations available that offers communication, skill-building, and a forum for dialogue across disagreement. Available to Lab/Shul partners only and offered free of charge.
Brownstone Brooklyn Community Wide Holocaust Remembrance Service
Friday, May 5 | 7:00 PM | Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, 131 Remsen St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Register here
Join Ritual Leaders Ben Freeman and Naomi Less alongside our Brooklyn friends for a contemporary Yom HaShoah evening service & musical reflections on loss and hope.
929 Below the Bible Belt Monthly Wrap-Up, Psalm 23
Thursday, May 9 | 7:00 PM | Join on Zoom
Register here
Join Co-Founder and Senior Spiritual Leader Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie for a monthly conversation about the Hebrew Bible as he journeys through all 929 chapters to get below the Bible Belt!
Sabbath Queen
Friday, May 10 | 6:30 – 8:00 PM | In-Person at Judson Memorial Church and On Zoom
Register here
Our monthly ritual Sabbath circle of live musical, liturgy, poetic, and contemplative offerings along with great conversation led by the Lab/Shul Ritual team and beloved collaborators.
Learning Lab: PrayLab
Wednesday, May 22 | 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Register here
Drawing inspiration from the Storahtelling methodology, Naomi Less infuses artistic techniques to make meaning of our inherited texts, bridging the gap between ancient tradition and modern expression. You’ll never look at prayers quite the same way again.
Abitah: An Evening with Yosef Goldman
Wednesday, May 29 | 7:00 – 9:00 PM | In-Person at the JCC Manhattan
Register here
A night of sacred Jewish music and song, celebrating the recent release of Abitah, the latest album of renowned composer, singer, and Rabbi Yosef Goldman.
Kehila Kedosha Janina
The Greek Jewish Festival
Sunday, May 19 | 12:00 – 6:00 PM |280 BROOME ST between Allen ST and Eldridge ST.
Learn more here
To celebrate the unique Romaniote and Sephardic heritage of the Jews of Greece! Experience a feast for the senses including authentic kosher Greek foods and homemade Greek pastries, traditional dance performances with live Greek and Sephardic music, an outdoor marketplace full of vendors, arts and educational activities for kids, Sephardic cooking demonstrations, and much more!
Museum of Jewish Heritage
The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust will present New York’s Annual Gathering of Remembrance
Sunday, May 5 | 4:00 PM | Temple Emanu-El of New York City on the Upper East Side
Register here
The Annual Gathering of Remembrance serves to honor the memory of those who were lost during the Holocaust, as well as survivors and their descendants. This memorial serves as a reminder of the dangers of intolerance and envisions a brighter future. The Annual Gathering of Remembrance program will feature music, remarks from Holocaust survivors and public figures, and a moving candle-lighting ceremony.