A bereavement support series for BHS members on Thursdays, 6-7pm, on March 5, 12, 19, & 26 and April 9, 16, 23, & 30 (eight sessions).

We will create a non-judgmental, safe space in which to share the grief of losing partners, sustaining memories, and the legacies that endure. Participants are invited to find comfort, support, and hope in community. The group is facilitated by Rabbi Chaplain Miriam Herscher, BCC — a rabbi and board-certified chaplain with over 11 years of experience leading bereavement groups in person and on Zoom. She spent 10 years working at the Jewish Board and currently serves as a rabbi chaplain at NY-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Hospital.

Learn with Cantor Ayelet Porzecanski in the first class of a three-part music series, presented by renowned musician and educator, Robert Cohen, at BHS. In this course, we’ll explore the rich contributions of women to American Jewish music, from early 20th-century hazzantes to today’s synagogue cantors. Together we’ll listen to a wide range of music, including settings of Biblical texts, new spiritual melodies (niggunim) for prayer, Yiddish and Ladino folk songs, and vibrant a cappella, klezmer, and fusion ensembles. How are the voices of Jewish women shaping Jewish music today? Join us to find out!

About Robert Cohen: Robert has been lecturing on Jewish music and American folk and popular music for some 30 years — including at the Fifth Avenue New York Public Library (Jewish Division Lectures), the New England Conservatory of Music, New School University in New York and Hebrew College in Boston, the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Cantors Assembly, and Boston College's Center for Christian-Jewish Learning and School of Theology & Ministry, and at numerous libraries, JCCs. and synagogues — including, numerous times, at this Synagogue! (For some fifteen years, he was also one of the most sought-after presenters in the Speakers in the Humanities and Speakers in the Schools programs of the New York Council for the Humanities.)  He has produced and hosted over 100 radio programs on Jewish identity and culture; wrote the NPR documentary "One People, Many Voices: American-Jewish Music Comes of Age" (now in the permanent collection of the Paley Center for Media in New York); and produced the compilation CD Open the Gates! New American-Jewish Music for Prayer.

Click below to learn more about the class and register.

Co-facilitated by Dana Dorfman and Ruth Gerson, the Women's Group is a monthly Sunday meeting of women and non-binary individuals to discuss and learn about social issues, relationships, and ideas in the context of shared Jewish values. Our goal is to build community and connection and to hold space for deeper conversations, intergenerational sharing of ideas and wisdom, and exploration of our Jewish identity.

The group is for BHS members of all ages and is now a closed group. For inquiries, please reach out to ruthgerson@gmail.com.

At our next Book Group meeting we will discuss The Henna House by Nomi Eve.

Please note this group is for BHS members only. No RSVP required.

Learn with Cantor Ayelet Porzecanski in the second class of a three-part music series, presented by renowned musician and educator, Robert Cohen, at BHS. “In the highest heavens, there is a certain Temple with gates that can be opened only by the power of song” — So goes a characteristic Hasidic teaching about music. We'll learn and sing Hasidic melodies from various traditions, along with contemporary spiritual melodies (niggunim) — for prayer, meditation, and healing — inspired by Hasidic tradition. Devotional melodies, with and without words, in Hasidic philosophy and spiritual practice — and how such melodies can empower us spiritually. 

About Robert Cohen: Robert has been lecturing on Jewish music and American folk and popular music for some 30 years — including at the Fifth Avenue New York Public Library (Jewish Division Lectures), the New England Conservatory of Music, New School University in New York and Hebrew College in Boston, the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Cantors Assembly, and Boston College's Center for Christian-Jewish Learning and School of Theology & Ministry, and at numerous libraries, JCCs. and synagogues — including, numerous times, at this Synagogue! (For some fifteen years, he was also one of the most sought-after presenters in the Speakers in the Humanities and Speakers in the Schools programs of the New York Council for the Humanities.)  He has produced and hosted over 100 radio programs on Jewish identity and culture; wrote the NPR documentary "One People, Many Voices: American-Jewish Music Comes of Age" (now in the permanent collection of the Paley Center for Media in New York); and produced the compilation CD Open the Gates! New American-Jewish Music for Prayer.

Next film title TBA. Please note this group is for BHS members only. No RSVP required.

Join us for an evening of spirit, music and prayer Shabbat Services with the BHS Band! Led by our clergy and BHS Choir Members. This service is open to all and includes Simcha Blessings.

Men’s group, facilitated by Congregant Jeff Gold, meets together monthly to support one another and hold thoughtful discussions. Please note this group is for BHS members only. For questions or interest in joining, please reach out to Jeff at jeffreygold12@gmail.com.

Miriam’s Seder is a gathering for women & non-binary folks, inspired by Miriam’s role in Passover. It’s an annual event at BHS for members and friends to come together in community and celebration. Join us for delicious food, dancing, and heartfelt conversation as we explore the stories, strength, and shared experiences of women, and reflect on the issues that continue to shape our lives today. All ages from tweens to adults are welcome.

This event is open to the wider community.
$36 for members; $54 non-members

Please click here to register.

The Haggadot of Hope exhibition includes 13 thematic panels and presents original Haggadah pages and texts from the 1930s to the present, including new materials created after October 7.

The exhibition brings forward historic and contemporary voices from Gaza border kibbutzim and explores how communities retell the story of freedom, resilience, and renewal.

The program offers an interactive, guided educational experience focused on reflection, learning, and personal engagement, in collaboration with educators from the Shitim Institute in Israel.

The Social Justice Committee presents Criminal Justice Shabbat, featuring guest speaker, Zachary Katznelson.  

Zachary has been a key figure in the Independent Rikers Commission, serving as it's Executive Director. Sometimes called the Lippman Commission (after its chair Jonathan Lippman the former Chief Judge of NYS), its main thrust is to help NYC close Rikers and improve the functioning of the criminal justice system (including the treatment of the incarcerated) in NYC. Zachary is also co-chair of the NYC Jewish Coalition for Criminal Justice Reform. 

Zachary has two dozen years of experience achieving change at Rikers and other jails and prisons throughout the United States. He has represented people on death row with the Equal Justice Initiative, men in Guantanamo Bay with the British charity Reprieve, and women convicted of killing their abusers with the California Habeas Project. He helped found and formerly co-chaired Congregation Beth Elohim's (Brooklyn, New York) racial justice team, which uses faith-based organizing to reform the criminal system. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Isabel Burton and their three sons.   

Learn with Cantor Ayelet Porzecanski in the third class of a three-part music series, presented by renowned musician and educator, Robert Cohen, at BHS. Do songs have the power to change the world? Or do people — from participants in social change movements to people in power — believe they can? We’ll consider these questions as we listen to songs from Colonial America, the Abolition movement, and the Civil Rights struggle; anti- (and pro-) war songs; and songs from the labor and environmental movements — and, perhaps, songs from a few unexpected sources as well.  Along the way:  What makes a protest song "effective" — and what do we mean by that, anyway?

About Robert Cohen: Robert has been lecturing on Jewish music and American folk and popular music for some 30 years — including at the Fifth Avenue New York Public Library (Jewish Division Lectures), the New England Conservatory of Music, New School University in New York and Hebrew College in Boston, the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Cantors Assembly, and Boston College's Center for Christian-Jewish Learning and School of Theology & Ministry, and at numerous libraries, JCCs. and synagogues — including, numerous times, at this Synagogue! (For some fifteen years, he was also one of the most sought-after presenters in the Speakers in the Humanities and Speakers in the Schools programs of the New York Council for the Humanities.)  He has produced and hosted over 100 radio programs on Jewish identity and culture; wrote the NPR documentary "One People, Many Voices: American-Jewish Music Comes of Age" (now in the permanent collection of the Paley Center for Media in New York); and produced the compilation CD Open the Gates! New American-Jewish Music for Prayer.