Reform Synagogues in Manhattan

Reform Synagogues in Manhattan

The Village Temple, Congregation B'nai Israel of New York

22 East 12th Street [between University Street and Broadway]
"Make a Torah study a fixed habit."
"If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I?"

A Reform synagogue affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism, The Village Temple blends the beauty of tradition with the creative expression of modern Judaism. Worship at The Village Temple is both participatory and joyful. The Temple sponsors a vibrant religious school, exciting adult education programs, an active community outreach effort and many enjoyable social events. For more information contact us at info@villagetemple.org.

A defining characteristic of The Village Temple is its engagement in social action. This commitment is based on the prophetic vision of Judaism, which demands that we as a community dedicate ourselves to social action and social justice.

Ours is the task to understand the words of the prophet and to teach them by making them meaningful in this day and age. As a community of kindred spirits and seekers, we must ask ourselves again and again " Ayekah - where are you, Eternal One?"

Ours is the responsibility to be able to answer with clarity "Hinenu, here we are."

Our tradition requires that each of us work to feed the hungry and cloth the naked, to give voice against injustice, to help repair this world - letaken et haOlam - and shape it into a more meaningful and peaceful place.

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East End Temple/Congregation El Emet

245 East 17th Street
"A congregation who will feel, think, laugh, cry, care, love, learn, grow, celebrate, sing, study, meet, share, and pray with you."

A growing Reform congregation that supports a wide range of programs and activities for members of all ages. They strive to build a community based on inclusiveness, where everyone is welcome, regardless of age, marital status, sexual orientation, a Jew by birth or by choice.

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Metropolitan Synagogue

40 East 35th Street, Between Park and Madison
212-679-8580

The Metropolitan Synagogue was established in 1959. They are a Reform temple with a cozy, informal, family atmosphere. All are welcome there! Their congregation includes young and old, interfaith families, multiracial families and gay and lesbian families, as well as more "traditional" families.

They do not hold services during the summer months.

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Central Synagogue

652 Lexington Avenue at E 55th Street
212-838-5122
"When we gather together for a sacred purpose, we endure"

The mission of Central Synagogue is to embody and to celebrate the "brit" (covenant) between God and the Jewish people as originally revealed in the Torah and as it has evolved through our history. We are commanded to live as individuals and as a community with sacred purpose, with dedication to the continuity of the Jewish people, and with awareness of God's expectations of us as we pursue tikun olam (repair of the word) and reflect the covenant in our personal and communal life.

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Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York

1 East 65th St
212-744-1400

Message from President Marcia Waxman: We are many individual families, but it is the sanctuary and our worship together that transform us into the "Emanu-El family" - that intangible value that is a source of strength for each of us. As president of Temple Emanu-El, I look forward to greeting you at our services, at study, and at various programs and activities. We will continue to preserve our community just as we have preserved our sanctuary. We have a partnership, and it is your participation that is the lifeblood of our beloved Emanu-El.

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Temple Israel of the City of New York

112 East 75th Street
212-249-5000
"Simon the Righteous used to say, 'Because of three things does the world survive: because of Torah, because of worship, and because of acts of loving kindness'"

A Reform Jewish Synagogue that welcomes all who choose to worship, study and celebrate within the Jewish community. We believe in:

• Affirming the continuity of Jewish history through positive expressions of Jewish identity and ensuring the cultural, intellectual and spiritual future of the Jewish people;
  
• -Building and maintaining a diverse and inclusive congregation united by its commitment to humanitarian values as expressed in our Jewish religious, educational and social activities;
  
• Respecting the individual's struggles with and conceptualizations of a monotheistic God, while honoring, in our services, rituals, and educational activities, the full spectrum of Jewish traditions and teachings;
  
• Creating, in ideal and practice, a form of Judaism that enriches the lives of our congregants and which responds to the demands of modern life, enabling the congregants to contribute to the secular culture and leading the greater Reform Jewish community to support and promote an evolving, living Judaism.

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Temple Shaaray Tefila

250 East 79th Street
212-535-8008
"For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples"

The mission of Temple Shaaray Tefila is to provide the means for our congregational community to nurture and to continue its life-long involvement in Judaism by instilling a love of our heritage, a shared connection within the warmth of worship, a devotion to community, and a renewed strength in our Jewish identity.

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The Temple of Universal Judaism, Congregation Da'at Elohim

1010 Park Avenue at 85th Street
888-590-2791
"Freedom, Tradition, Diversity"

A growing Reform Jewish congregation with members of all ages, backgrounds and sexual orientations. Our community is inclusive and welcomes Jews, non-Jews and Jews by choice; intermarried and intramarried; couples and singles; and all who wish to worship with us in seeking peace, justice, righteousness and a community of concern for "repairing the world" (Tikkun Olam).

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Stephen Wise Free Synagogue

30 West 68th Street
"The Life of the Spirit/The Life of the Mind/Concern for Social Justice/Here and Around the World"

In keeping with the congregation's historical foundations, our commitment to religious exploration and secular equality is reflected in the behavior and ideals of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue's members.

The common interests of cherishing the Jewish faith, traditions, and practice of Reform Judaism and supporting the people and the state of Israel personifies the strength of our highly diverse membership.

Worship, programs, projects and activites demonstrate our members' commitment to the precept of tikkun olam through meaningful social service and social action in the local community and beyond. The clergy, professional staff, and lay leadership collaborate in the conduct of synagogue functions in a constructive and collegial alliance, with respect for varied points of view. The congregation enjoys the vigorous participation of its members. All segments of the synagogue community value comprehensive and open communication.

Our synagogue community welcomes unaffiliated Jews, interfaith partners, and all who choose to be part of our inclusive and spiritually enriching community.

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Congregation Rodelph Sholom

7 West 83rd Street
"Know Before Whom You Stand"

Congregation Rodeph Sholom is a welcoming spiritual community which strives to educate and inspire children, youth and adults to participate actively in worship, Torah study and Jewish life experience, and to put Reform Jewish religious and ethical principles into action. We seek to enrich the lives of our members, contribute to the continuance and vitality of the Jewish people, and Tikkun Olam - to help "repair the world."

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Herbrew Tabernacle Congregation

551 Fort Washington Avenue
[Take the A train uptown to 181st Street. Exit toward the front of the train. After exiting turnstiles, take elevator on right to Ft. Washington Avenue. Turn right after leaving elevator building. Cross Ft. Washington Avenue at next light. Synagogue on corner of West 185th Street and Ft. Washington Avenue.]
"A Reform synagogue serving Washington Heights and Inwood in northern Manhattan."

A Reform congregation, founded in 1906, in residential Washington Heights since 1973. After the Holocaust, German Jews found a new home at the Hebrew Tabernacle and today it is not unusual to find four generations of a family worshipping together for the High Holydays in our beautiful sanctuary.

In 2002, our neighbors at Beth Am, the People's Temple, moved in with us as part of an ongoing consolidation process. We have added their service style to ours, enriching both our traditions in a common home.

Therefore, we now offer various service styles reflecting the diverse makeup of our congregation. A professional choir and organ accompany at least four Shabbat services a month, in the Classical Central European tradition. Beth Am's traditions continue with piano-accompanied services that contain original music and lay-led components.

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Not In Manhattan, but Still Jewish

Wandering Jews of Astoria

I have to check them out, because I am not sure they are actually Reform. Also, it says 20s and 30s. Still, I'm going to take a look.

Astoria Center of Israel

This isn't Reform, but they ARE egalitarian. They say: Astoria Center of Israel is an egalitarian synagogue that maintains a conservative Jewish tradition and is built around a warm, wonderful group of people that embraces a wide variety of perspectives on Judaism in a joyful and inclusive community.

Other Reform Links

Reform Judaism, that is

Union for Reform Judaism

Serving Reform Congregations in North America.

As the congregational arm of the Reform Movement, the Union's primary mission is to create and sustain vibrant Jewish congregations wherever Reform Jews live. The Union provides leadership and vision to Reform Jews on spiritual, ethical, and political issues as well as materials and consultation for programs in the congregation. The Union also provides opportunities for individual growth and identity that congregations and individuals cannot provide by themselves, including camps and Israel programs, study kallot, and North American and regional biennials.
[From their website]

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Greater New York Council

The Greater New York Council is part of the Union. It serves approximately 90 congregations in the five boroughs of New York City, Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island, Westchester County, southern Fairfield County, Connecticut, and (get this!) the Caribbean.

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Religious Action Committee

The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) has been the hub of Jewish social justice and legislative activity in the nation's capital for over 40 years. It has educated and mobilized the American Jewish community on legislative and social concerns as an advocate in the Congress of the United States on issues ranging from Israel and international religious freedom to economic justice and civil rights, to international peace and religious liberty.

The RAC is the Washington office of the Union for Reform Judaism, whose more than 900 congregations across North America encompass 1.5 million Reform Jews, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, whose membership includes more than 1800 Reform rabbis.
[From their website]

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Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

The intellectual, academic, spiritual, and professional leadership development center of Reform Judaism.

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Women of Reform Judaism

AKA: Sisterhood

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Men of Reform Judaism (previously North American Federation of Temple Brotherhoods)

A coalition of over 250 affiliated brotherhoods with 25,000 members across North America, dedicated to tikkun olam, 'repairing the world', through the practice of Brotherhood.

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North American Federation of Temple Youth

Reform Youth Groups!

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Kesher College

KESHER, Hebrew for "connection" is the campus program of the Union for Reform Judaism. KESHER serves Reform Jews and supports Reform chavurot (groups) on campuses through partnerships with all Reform congregations, Hillel, and other campus organizations such as the Israel on Campus Coalition. KESHER also consults with Union congregations and summer camps, as well as campus-based Hillel professionals to help them meet the needs of Reform college students.

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Pardes (Progressive Association of Reform Day Schools)

Not just for the ultra-observant anymore, the Reform movement now has day schools, which is a relatively recent development.

PARDeS is the international day school affiliate of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) that fosters Jewish identity, literacy, and the commitment to a life-long covenant with the heritage of Judaism through the advancement of excellent Jewish and secular education in Reform Day Schools.

PARDeS promotes knowledge sharing and collaboration among member schools and their professional and lay leaders; encourages and supports leaders of emerging schools; represents Reform Jewish day school education in joint ventures with Jewish organizations within and beyond the Reform movement; and fosters greater understanding of the impact of a high quality Jewish Day School education for the advancement of Reform Judaism.
[From their website]

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Reform Judaism Magazine

Reform Judaism (Magazine) is the official voice of the Union for Reform Judaism, linking the institutions and affiliates of Reform Judaism with every Reform Jew. Received quarterly by 310,000 member households (members of more than 900+ Union congregations) as a benefit of their synagogue's Union affiliation, RJ strives to convey the creativity, diversity, and dynamism of Reform Judaism. RJ covers developments within our movement while interpreting world events and Jewish tradition from a Reform perspective.
[From their website]

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Reform Jewish Voice

This is a Jewish advocacy group that deals with government on the state level, which really hasn't been done before.

The Reform Jewish Voice (RJV) of New York State engages congregations as advocates for progressive social and economic policies at the state level. Through conferences and advocacy programs, RJV interacts with more than 100 Reform congregations in New York State with nearly 100,000 members. RJV brings Reform Jewish values and the spirit of tikkun olam to state policy makers through this extensive network of individuals and congregations.

RJV is a project of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, modeled after the nationally renowned Religious Action Center in Washington D.C. It takes positions consistent with those of the North American Reform Jewish Movement as they apply to New York State.

I Want to Know More

What IS Reform Judaism, Anyway?

What Wikipedia Says

[click link for full answer]

"Reform Judaism can refer to (1) the largest denomination of Judaism in America and its sibling movements in other countries, (2) a branch of Judaism in the United Kingdom, and (3) the historical predecessor of the American movement that originated in 19th Century Germany."

Answer from from Soc.Culture.Jewish Newsgroups

[click link for full answer]

"Reform is the most liberal of the major movements within Judaism today. It started in the 1800s in Germany during the emancipation, and encouraged examination of religion with an eye towards rationality and egalitarianism."

Our Friends at Belief.net

No quick answers there, but clicking the link about will take you to their Judaism Page.

Jewish Virtual Library answers this exact question

[click link for full answer]

"If anyone were to attempt to answer these two questions authoritatively for all Reform Jews, that person's answers would have to be false. Why? Because one of the guiding principles of Reform Judaism is the autonomy of the individual. A Reform Jew has the right to decide whether to subscribe to this particular belief or to that particular practice."

See, I told you.

What the Brits Say

[click link for full answer]

Reform Judaism is a journey into the future towards a world transformed. It is both the journey of a people and a myriad of individual journeys - yours and mine - freely engaged in, yet bound up in the collective journey.