Days of Celebration and Awe
From the outset, CBST celebrated every traditional Jewish holiday and added some new ones - LGBT Pride, World AIDS Day, and Transgender Day of Remembrance.
The Festivals
For Sukkot the congregation built a sukkah for Kiddush and meals.
Simchat Torah, the synagogue’s namesake holiday, was always a joyful celebration with spirited dancing.
Since 1975 CBST has held a community Passover Seder.
Other Holidays, Traditional and Innovative
There were elaborate skits on Purim; survivors spoke on Yom Hashoah; a donation was made to support an organization or issue in the spirit of the holiday. When many CBST members were closeted, some felt the Family & Friends Shabbat, the week before Pride, was a safe week to invite straight family and friends.
Days of Awe
CBST’s Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services have come to be iconic for the synagogue.
Rosh Hashanah services were first held at Westbeth in 1975, accommodated there for more than twenty years.
The Crowds Assemble
By the 1980s, the Yom Kippur Kol Nidre service at Westbeth was full to overflowing. At the height of the AIDS epidemic, so many attended the Yizkor service, and by the early 1990’s High Holy Days services moved to the Javits Center.
The Javits Center
The need for a new venue for services was considered an opportunity to open the door to all, especially welcoming those who had no synagogue home of their own. The sheer numbers attending was remarkable, but the spirit of an open door was of even deeper significance.
From Shopping Bag to Sanctuary