Congregation Beit Simchat Torah

Gender-Identity Related Programming

In addition to ceremonies marking typical Jewish religious milestones, such as births, conversions, weddings and funerals, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah’s website also lists “Gender Transition & Coming Out” under “Life Cycle,” and refers to Bar and Bat Mitzvahs as “B* Mitzvah.” ³

The congregation has an online platform for “transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming, and gender-expansive people” to create camaraderie and engage in political activism. ⁴

The synagogue hosted “Transgender and Nonbinary Pride Shabbat” in June 2026. ⁵ That month, CBST’s website was also decorated for “Pride Month.” ⁶

Social Advocacy

The Congregation Beit Simchat Torah has several social advocacy teams. ⁷ Its “CBST, the Middle East and Me” team is “committed to advancing human rights…in the state of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories” and collaborates with the New Israel Fund and J Street. ⁸ It also maintains Democracy Action Team/Resistance!; Emet: Trans and Non-binary Team; Ending Mass Incarceration; Ark Immigration Clinic/Sanctuary; Green Team (Environmental Concerns); Chazak for HIV/AIDS Awareness; and Accessibility at CBST. ⁷

The congregation also has an initiative called The Ark, which provides “pro se legal assistance to asylum seekers” in New York City, meaning they can assist with applications but cannot represent the applicants. ⁹ The CBST partners with several Jewish and secular groups in this initiative, including the New York Immigration Coalition, of which CBST is a member; QARAVAN; The Synagogue Coalition; the Downtown Jewish Life Network; and The Alliance for Positive Change. ⁹

The synagogue has a page of Democracy Activism Resources, some of which are nonpartisan, but also includes left-of-center groups such as Swing Left and Indivisible. ¹⁰

Leadership

Sharon Kleinbaum is rabbi emerita of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, having preached at the synagogue for 32 years from 1992 to 2024. Her CBST biography credits her with having “built a rabbinate…on her feminism and her commitment to LGBTQ liberation; and on her determination to erase the bifurcation of spirituality and social justice.” ¹¹ Kleinbaum has identified as a “progressive Zionist, committed to the shared future of Israeli Jews and Palestinians,” which entails “striv[ing] tirelessly for security, safety, peace, and liberation for all dwellers of Israel and Palestine.” ¹¹ Kleinbaum and Ayelet Cohen created a congregation-specific prayer book for the Friday night service that they claim is both traditional and “unabashedly Queer.” ^{11 11}

Kleinbaum married Randi Weingarten, who became president of the left-of-center American Federation of Teachers in 2008. ^{11  12}

Marisa Elana James, who was the director of social justice programming as of June 2026, is a rabbi and one of the co-founders of the advocacy group T’ruah, which has opposed Israel and detention of illegal immigrants by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ^{13  14}

As of June 2026, Yael Weber was the lead rabbi of the CBST. ¹⁵ She is also a graduate of the left-of-center Jewish environmentalist program Adamah. ¹⁵ Sam Rosen was the cantor and Joyce Rosenzweig was the music director, as of June 2026. ^{16  17} From 2025 to 2026, Ivan Zimmerman was the president and Sabrina Farber was the vice president. ¹⁸

Financials

The Congregation Beit Simchat Torah received donations from George Soros’s Open Society Institute nearly every year from 2013 ¹⁹ to 2022, ²⁰ with yearly totals ranging from $1,200 to over $18,000. ^{21  22  23  24  25} In 2024, the congregation received donations from two labor unions: $10,000 from United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) ²⁶ and $10,000 from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). ²⁷ The CBST also received $36,000 from the Massachusetts-based Patriot Foundation the same year. ²⁸ Also in 2024, the New York Immigration Coalition granted the synagogue $240,449 earmarked as “Welcoming NY: Resettlement Campaign Regrant.” ²⁹