Welcome to The Village Temple

The Village Temple is a place for kesher – connection.  It is a home for contemporary Reform Jews who are seeking connections to Torah and the search for spiritual fulfillment, links between past and present and one generation to the next, a bridge between the downtown Reform community with Israel and the world. 

We invite all who wish to join us to enter our doors: Jews by birth, Jews by choice, interfaith families. Inside you will find a community of people who are on a quest to reinvigorate Shabbat, holiday worship and Jewish learning, and renew our commitment to tikkun olam through social action and justice.   

From the Rabbi’s Blog – 2019 Women’s March

 During the past few weeks there has been a flurry of articles related to the Women’s March scheduled for January 19th in Washington D.C. and cities across America. The key bone of contention revolves around concern that organizers of the Women’s March are antisemitic. After it was made known that Tamika Mallory, one of the co-presidents of the Women’s March attended a speech delivered by Minister Louis Farrakhan, whose views reflect a visceral antisemitism. Marches in both New Orleans and Chicago have been cancelled. Currently, two marches, organized by two different groups, are scheduled in NYC. Clearly, whether to participate and which march to join, is a sensitive and potentially explosive decision. On the one hand, there is a desire to demonstrate unity over common concerns and issues, and on the other hand, intolerance and antisemitism cannot go unchecked. Surely, there is one viewpoint that condemns Israel as an oppressor of the Palestinians, similar to those who feel that women and people of color have been oppressed. The Jewish Community is divided as to support for the March. The URJ will not endorse or condemn but will leave it to each congregation to determine its participation.
We, at the The Village Temple, are debating the sides as well. To that end, there will be a meeting next Wednesday at 5 pm to discuss our options as a congregation. For the past two years, participation in the Women’s March was supported by the Board. In addition, at services tonight, I will be reviewing the issues and soliciting input from service participants. If this issue is a concern for you, I encourage you to attend either, our Kabbalat Shabbat service tonight at 6:45, or the meeting next Wednesday. We know that many of our congregants marched in previous years under various banners, Planned Parenthood to mention just one. The current controversary now positions us to look at the March through both an ethical and a Jewish lens. For those who have marched with other organization, I’d welcome hearing how you reached your decision to participate or not this year. Shabbat Shalom.

The Village Temple Jazz Shabbat

Friday, February 1st, 6:45PM

Following last year’s romping, rousing Jazz Shabbat, join us once again as Cantor Bach and Anita Hollander join Rabbi Hirsch on the bimah, with Hila Kulik and her awesome jazz combo for an extra musical Shabbat. We’ll snap and sway along to our liturgy set to the jazz standards our community has come to love, as well as to some new jazz arrangements by our Jazz expert Hila Kulik.

Religious School Registration is Open!

Our innovative education program aims to instill in our children a lifelong commitment to Jewish learning, culture and community. In our experiential and flexible camp-inspired and fun Religious School, we engage our students through stories and songs, Hebrew prayers and music, educational and fun games, art and cooking. The Village Temple is known for our excellent Bar/Bat Mitzvah preparation, which enables each student to experience Jewish learning and life in a personal, meaningful way, as a unique educational journey through Torah, ethics, ritual, and the state of Israel.

2018-2019/5779 School year registration is open now! Click here to register online or call Temple office!

Click here for 2018-2019/5779 Religious School Calendar

Learn more about the Religious School curriculum here.

For more information click here or call Alex Tansky, Director of Education at (212) 674-2340 x 308

Yizkor – Thursday, October 12th at 8:00 am