From Shopping Bag to Sanctuary

On a cold February evening in 1973, a small group of gay men gathered in New York City to celebrate Shabbat. They came together in the belief that it was possible to be both deeply Jewish and proudly gay.

In the Beginning

With an ad in the Village Voice newspaper, 2 shopping bags containing candlesticks, kippot, Kiddush wine, and challah, the first Shabbat is celebrated in the Church of the Holy Apostles annex – the temporary home for CBST.

"THE GAY SYNAGOGUE"

Early CBST Flyer c. 1974

The Institutional Landscape

The climate for gay men and lesbians in the Jewish community during the early 1970s mirrored that of secular society: at best silence, but frequently outright derision and discrimination. In the wake of the Stonewall riots of 1969, change was in the air.

In 1970s New York, the existence of a gay synagogue was newsworthy as reported in the New York Times, December 23, 1973.

The Church of the Holy Apostles on Ninth Avenue and 28^th Street, 1975

Becoming CBST

The name was formalized as Congregation Beit (f. Beth) Simchat Torah.

CBST’s certificate of incorporation, dated December 5, 1973

Ad in the inaugural issue of Gay Synagogue News, November 1974, for a loft to accommodate the expanding membership

Moving to Westbeth

Almost from its inception, CBST began to search for a permanent home.

In 1977, CBST and its 400 folding chairs moved to 57 Bethune Street in Westbeth, its home until 2016.

The rainbow entrance to CBST’s first home in Westbeth, 1975

CBST’s first 400 folding chairs for the move into Westbet

Many members recall their first walk up the ramp to CBST’s 57 Bethune Street sanctuary.

The First Women

As more women attended and participated in life at CBST, a women’s outreach committee was formed.

A Women’s Outreach Committee

The Friday Night Service

The Friday night service remains CBST’s central experience of prayer and community.

Members gathered for a Rosh Hashanah dinner, mid 1970s

CBST's Religious Sensibility

Members varied in their personal religious observance. The combination of traditionalism and flexibility, Yiddishkeit, and out gayness created a distinct sensibility.

Carrying the Torah on Hoshanah Rabbah, 1975

Diversity and Contradiction

At first, the commitment to egalitarianism existed more in theory than in practice, but soon gave way to inclusion, noting the core message of Psalm 118, Verse 22 “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”

The Religious Committee

Shared decision-making among an educated laity became a fierce point of pride for those involved, as did the democratization of service leadership.

A New Chapter

The Religious Committee ably led the ritual life of the synagogue. They carried the synagogue through crucial years of development, growth, and tragedy, until the community determined the time had come to hire a rabbi.