COME TO THE NEW SHUL
Virtually all the services and events at The New Shul are open to the public, and most are free of charge. Please come, enjoy, participate and get to know the community. There are staff and members at every event who will be happy to introduce you around. Feel free to call the office if you'd like to arrange for that in advance.
We hold at least one Friday evening and one Saturday morning service a month (except during summer) and mark all of the major holidays with a service and/or celebration. Our Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services are fairly traditional, but our other holiday programming tends to be more experiemental, and is always highly participatory. Typically, for Sukkot, we revive an ancient ritual called the "Rain Dance"; for Hannukah, we create some kind of light sculpture in Washington Square Park, for Purim, we stage a theatrical extravaganza based on the story of Esther; and for Shavuot, we hold a Hasidic-style tisch (discussion) of the Torah portion. Other holidays get equally interesting treatment. Since we love music, we always have lots of that.
There are also a range of social, cultural and educational events during the year. Past offerings have included:
- seminars with the Rabbi on Jewish poetry and the Talmud
- a Moroccan Jewish cooking class
- film viewings
- a day of hands-on lessons for the family on the art and practice of Passover
- Hebrew classes for adults
- dinner parties
- a Rosh Hodesh group
Members initiate much of the programming to suit their interests. If you join The New Shul, you can do that, too!
We also have a number of community service opportunities during the year, which you are welcome to participate in.