Jewish Life
Jewish Life at the 14th Street Y aims to provide experiences for our entire community to engage in activities built on Jewish values.
Our events and experiences across Downtown Manhattan offer something for everyone. Whether you’re a shul regular, seeking to reconnect with your heritage, or exploring Jewish culture for the first time—we welcome you.
The 14th Street Y is a beacon for Jewish life and culture for the East Village and the Lower East Side, the longtime center of American Jewish culture. Our innovative cultural programming features culture makers of all kinds — artists, performers, storytellers, writers. Through our year long Seasoning of Jewish Culture which creates engagement opportunities year round for cultural celebration to our Season of Jewish Culture which specifically honors the holidays and events programmed in the spring, our take on Jewish Culture will always be inspired, artistic and enjoyable.
Upcoming Events from Downtown Jewish Life Partners
High Holy Days with East End Temple
Our High Holy Days are filled with an abundance of joy, reflection, and connection.
Congregational services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – in person by ticket only, online open to all with registration.
Young Family and Family services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – in person and online open to all with registration.
For more information, please visit https://eastendtemple.org/high-holy-days/.
Museum at Eldridge Street
12 Eldridge Street | New York, NY 10002
All upcoming programming, both virtual and in-person, can be found at eldridgestreet.org/events.
Anniversary Building Tour: Celebrate Eldridge at 136!
Monday, September 18 | 1:00 PM, In-person
Learn more | Get Tickets, Pay-As-You-Wish
Join Education and Accessibility Senior Manager Scott Brevda and Curator and Archivist Nancy Johnson to explore what the original congregants would have experienced as they navigated Jewish life on the Lower East Side.
This tour will include rarely-seen objects from the Museum’s permanent collection, such as an original golden embroidered ark curtain and High Holiday Torah mantle.
Virtual Building Tour: Discover Eldridge
Wednesday, September 27 | 6:00 PM, Virtual
Learn more | Get Tickets, Pay-As-You-Wish
Join us on Zoom to learn about the Eldridge Street Synagogue, from its stunning Moorish Revival architecture and its time as a cultural hotspot on the bustling Jewish Lower East Side, to its decades of decay, to its miraculous rebirth as a twenty-first-century Museum in present-day Chinatown. Discover hidden elements such as secret symbols to loved ones, indentations in the woodwork from nervous hands, and unique features meant to cater to the original congregants.
Walking Tour: Jewish Lower East Side
Friday, October 6 | 11:00 AM, In-person
Learn more | Get Tickets, Pay-As-You-Wish
Stroll through the neighborhood’s 100-year-old history!
A century ago, the Lower East Side saw unparalleled growth as waves of immigrants settled, prayed, played, worked, shopped, and attended school in this neighborhood as they built their new lives in a new land. Today, there are signs of the past hidden within the modern streets. Join one of the Museum at Eldridge Street’s Senior Managers of Education as we walk in the footsteps of these immigrants and tell their stories.
Virtual Tour of the Jewish Lower East Side
Tuesday, October 10 | 6:00 PM, Virtual
Learn more | Get Tickets, Pay-As-You-Wish
If you cannot make it down to the Lower East Side in person for one of our signature Jewish Lower East Side Walking Tours, you’re in luck! We are pleased to offer a Zoom tour of the Lower East Side that you can take from the comfort of your home.
Not Tevia’s Shtetl: The Real Story Behind these Ancestral Towns
Sunday, October 15 | 2:00 PM, Virtual
Learn more | Get Tickets, Pay-As-You-Wish
The Eldridge Street Synagogue, which now houses the Museum at Eldridge Street, was built by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe in 1887 to represent their new lives in America, despite their humble origins in the small towns (shtetls) of Eastern Europe. Join us on Zoom with Senior Historian at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Dr. Zachary Mazur, as we explore the truth about shtetl life, and what remains of it today.
“Portico:” Celebrate Rome’s Jewish Kitchen with Leah Koenig, Arthur Schwartz, and Rozanne Gold
Tuesday, October 17 | 6:00 PM, In-person
Learn more | Get Tickets, Pay-As-You-Wish
Celebrate the publication of Leah Koenig’s new book Portico: Cooking and Feasting in Rome’s Jewish Kitchen with New York’s beloved food maven Arthur Schwartz and four-time James Beard award-winning chef and author Rozanne Gold.
Join us in the Museum at Eldridge Street’s beautiful Main Sanctuary for a lively panel discussion delving into the riveting history and aromatic foodways of Rome’s Jewish community, among the oldest in Europe. Vibrantly portrayed in Leah’s captivating cookbook, published this Fall by W.W. Norton & Company, Leah chronicles a tale of modern-day Roman Jewish food culture, enlivened with anecdotes from the chefs, butchers, and waves of immigrants who helped shape the Jewish cuisine of the Eternal City.
CBST High Holy Days
CBST is an LGBTQ+ synagogue for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Our services are open to all. We have an open door policy, which never requires a fee to join any of our services.
Rosh Hashanah main services will take place at Masonic Hall, Yom Kippur main services will take place in the magnificent River Pavilion at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and Families with Children Services will take place at CBST.
Learn more and register at cbst.org.
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is dedicated to the preservation and study of the history and culture of East European Jewry worldwide.
A Provincial Newspaper and Other Stories
Monday, September 18 | 1:00 PM
Learn more | Book Talk, On Zoom
Jessica Kirzane, in conversation with Anita Norich, discusses her newly published book featuring translations of a collection of stories by Miriam Karpilove originally published in the Forverts in the 1930s.
Heidegger in Ruins
Wednesday, September 20 | 1:00 PM
Learn more | Book Talk, On Zoom
Richard Wolin explores our understanding of Martin Heidegger, arguably the most important philosopher of the twentieth century, and of his ideas—and why his legacy remains radically compromised.
Nusakh Vilne
Wednesday, September 27 | 7:00 PM
Learn more | Film Screening and Concert, In Person
For 2023’s commemoration of the Jewish community of Vilna, join YIVO for a screening of The Secrets of the Great Synagogue of Vilna, a documentary by Loïc Salfati about the 2019 and 2021 excavation campaigns of the Great Synagogue of Vilna. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Salfati and musical performances by Rita Glassman, Maria Krupoves, and Zalmen Mlotek. Co-sponsored by Nusakh Vilne and the Lithuanian Culture Institute.
YIVO Yiddish Club with Shane Baker
Sunday, October 15 | 2:00 PM
Learn more | Yiddish Club, On Zoom
Join YIVO for Yiddish Club with actor, translator, and YIVO Yiddish Club host, Shane Baker, and featuring special guest host, playwright and Tablet Magazine columnist, Rokhl Kafrissen.
Semer Ensemble
Monday, October 9 | 7:00 PM
Learn more | Concert, In Person
Enjoy a concert by the Semer Ensemble, a group dedicated to performing music recorded by Jewish artists during the Nazi period on a little-known record label that was destroyed by Nazis in 1938. Supported by the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Music Studies
Thursday, October 19 | 1:00 PM
Learn more | Panel Discussion, On Zoom
In a panel discussion led by Tina Frühauf, contributors Eléonore Biezunski, Jessica Roda, and Merav Rosenfeld-Hadad discuss a new handbook of Jewish music that addresses the diverse range of sounds, texts, archives, traditions, histories, geographic and political contexts, and critical discourses in the field. Co-sponsored by the Jewish Music Forum, the American Society for Jewish Music, and the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience.
How to Do Research at YIVO
Tuesday, October 24 | 1:00 PM
Learn more | Workshop, On Zoom
YIVO Reference & Outreach Archivist Ruby Landau-Pincus leads a workshop about how to pursue a research project using the YIVO archives.
Mixed-Sex Dancing and Jewish Modernity
Thursday, October 26 | 1:00 PM
Learn more | Book Talk, On Zoom
Sonia Gollance, in conversation with Josh Lambert, explores the significance of dance in 19th and 20th-century Jewish culture, its role in acculturation debates, and its metaphorical representation of community transitions.
High Holy Days 2023/5784 with JCP Downtown
JCP offers a robust High Holy Days schedule for all ages, giving individuals and families opportunities to celebrate, pray, and connect during this sacred time of year.
Explore our services and programs and join us to bring in the New Year together as a community!
The Village Temple
Rosh HaShanah
Saturday, September 16 | 9:30 AM
Tickets
Join us for a celebratory holiday service at City Winery on Saturday, September 16th at 9:30 AM. Tashlich & Shofar at Little Island following services, at 2:00 PM.
Yom Kippur
Monday, September 25 | 9:30 AM
Tickets
Join us for the Yom Kippur morning service followed by Yizkor at City Winery on Monday, September 25th at 9:30 AM. Then meet us back at The Village Temple at 4:30 PM for the afternoon service. Rabbi Fersko will teach the Book of Jonah, lead the afternoon Torah service and the Ne’ilah, conclusion of Yom Kippur.
High Holiday Children’s Services: Rosh HaShanah & Yom Kippur
RSVP here
Celebrate the High Holidays Together with music, stories and friends: Rosh HaShanah on Saturday, September 16 from 1:00 – 2:00 PM at City Winery and Yom Kippur on Monday, September 25 from 1:00 – 2:00 PM at City Winery.
Kabbalat Shabbat + Festive Sukkot Oneg
Friday, September 29 | 6:00 PM
Join us for Shabbat and Sukkot services on Friday, September 29th at 6:00 PM. Celebration and festive oneg following services, at 7:00 PM at The Village Temple.
Family Sukkot Party
Sunday, October 1 | 10:00 AM
Celebrate Sukkot and get to know The Village Temple Religious School. Open house at 10:00 AM at The Village Temple.
The New Shul
Year of Improvisation
Our theme for these High Holy Days is the Year of Improvisation.
As we journey from the storytelling of 18th century Ukraine, to the mystical courts of 12th century Cairo, and into the music scene of 21st century New York City, we will search for ways to live life with a sense of lightness and play.
For a full list of High Holy Days events, click here.
Museum of Jewish Heritage
Courage to Act: A Rescue in Denmark Exhibition Opening and Family Day
Explore your relationship with courage and community at the Museum’s first exhibition for visitors aged 9 and up, Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark.
The Danish Rescue is a a remarkable story of civics, resistance, and escape. The exhibition opens on Sunday, October 15; plan your visit at mjhnyc.org/visit and join us on Sunday, October 22 for a full day of books, music, and creative activities in conjunction with the exhibition.
5784 High Holy Day Services at Brotherhood Synagogue
As has always been the tradition at Brotherhood Synagogue, non-members are welcome to join us for High Holy Days services.
They are welcome to participate in the main sanctuary on Erev Rosh Hashanah at 6:30 OM, on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, on Erev Yom Kippur (Kol Nidre) at 8:45 PM, and at Yom Kippur Community Yizkor at 3:45 PM.
Non-members are welcome to all our Children’s Services. At all other services there will be limited space available to watch in the lower level classrooms on closed-circuit television.
In addition, one can also watch all our holiday services on the Brotherhood LIVESTREAM. The synagogue will be requiring all those attending to show picture identification.
Shana tova u’metukah to all!
SELICHOT PENITENTIAL PRAYERS
Saturday, September 9 | 9:00 – 10:00 PM
ROSH HASHANAH
Erev Rosh Hashanah, Friday, September 15
Evening Services | 6:30 – 7:30 PM
1st Day Rosh Hashanah, Saturday, September 16
Morning Service | 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Children’s Services | 1:30 – 2:30 PM
Mincha/Ma’ariv | 6:30 – 7:30 PM
2nd Day Rosh Hashanah, Sunday, September 17
Morning Service | 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Children’s Services | 1:30 – 2:30 PM
YOM KIPPUR
Kol Nidre, Sunday, September 24
Community Service | 8:45 – 10:15 PM
Yom Kippur Day, Monday, September 25
Morning Service | 9:15 – 11:30 AM
Musaf | 12:30 – 1:45 PM
Children’s Services | 2:15 – 3:15 PM
Community Yizkor | 3:45 – 4:15 PM
Mincha | 5:30 – 6:30 PM
Neilah | 6:30 – 7:30 PM
Town and Village Synagogue
Shabbat in the Garden
Friday, September 22 | 5:30 PM
Learn more and register here
An evening of song, friends, and food at StuyTown.
Join us as we start the year off right.
Challah Tots
Various Dates Starting October 5
Learn more and register here
Challah tots is a fun and interactive Jewish experience for infants through 5 year olds and their grown ups.
We spend the afternoon singing songs, playing, and baking challah!
T&V Community Services – High Holidays
Learn more and register here
Join T&V for our 75th year of high holiday services, in person or on zoom!
LAB/SHUL
High Holy Days of Awe 2023
Join us for this sacred season, at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center in NYC and online, to co-create community and activate a new year with renewed focus on what matters most.
Join us in whatever way works for you, in person or online.
All ages. All faiths. All welcome.