News : Central Synagogue

Here’s How You Can Help at the U.S. Border Crisis

Posted July 19, 2019

We have been watching with horror the recent news of the callous and inhumane mistreatment of the “huddled masses” now gathered at our borders. The Talmud teaches us that if we fail to protest the actions of our fellow citizens, we become liable for their wrongs. In this moment, we as a faith community cannot afford to stand idly by while children are denied basic necessities. If you would like to support organizations on the front lines, here are two other actions you can take: Read more

Criminal Justice Reform Passes in NY State

Posted April 19, 2019

We are thrilled to share that the NY State Governor, Senate, and Assembly have enacted historical criminal justice reform in our next State budget. Central Synagogue was proud to be part of a group of NY's largest faith communities that worked to bring the first meaningful reform to criminal justice legislation in 50 years. Click to read our interfaith statement about the reform. Read more

We Stand with our Muslim Neighbors

Posted March 28, 2019

Our Torah commands: “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). Moreover, our tradition teaches us that all of us are created in the image of God. Jews have so often been the target of discrimination and violence. For this reason, we are all the more sensitive to the pain of other communities when they are targeted. Just as we fight for freedoms and values important to our community, we honor and stand up for others who have been attacked. Read more

Mentors Matter: Helping Underserved High School Seniors with Central Congregants

Posted March 14, 2019

400 high school seniors and only 1 college advisor. That’s what these wonderful, talented students are facing just a couple blocks away from our synagogue, at the High School of Art & Design, an extraordinary, state-of-the-art middle school/high school for kids with artistic talents who major in architecture, painting, drawing, cartooning, film, fashion, graphic design, set design. Read more

Faith Communities for Bail Reform Advocacy Day

Posted February 27, 2019

Wednesday, February 27, Central congregants were in Albany as part of a Faith Communities for Bail Reform Advocacy Day. We met with 16 legislators, including Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins and Speaker of the Assembly Carl Heastie, and their staffs, to impress upon them the urgency of this moment and the opportunity to pass meaningful and just bail reform now. Read more

Rabbi Stephanie Kolin at Trinity Church: d’var Torah

Posted February 12, 2019

As a part of our continued conversation about bail reform in New York State, Rabbi Stephanie Kolin spoke to a congregation at Trinity Church about the importance of criminal justice reform. Read more

James Forman Jr. on Ending Mass Incarceration

Posted December 18, 2018

On December 10, 2018, James Forman Jr., a Yale Law School professor, explored the complex relationship between race, class, and the American criminal justice system, and discussed and signed his best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America. Read more

Volunteering as Accompaniers with New Sanctuary Coalition

Posted December 13, 2018

Central members Liz Wagner and Susan Wagner attended the ICE Accompanier Training event here at Central on December 3. In this piece, they reflect on how and why volunteering to help undocumented immigrants in this way has been such a meaningful experience. Read more

Addressing Domestic and Family Violence

Posted February 5, 2018

Central Synagogue is a proud participant in New York City’s Domestic/Family Violence and Faith in Action Weekend. February 9^th-11^th, synagogues, churches, mosques, and temples throughout New York are addressing the subject of domestic and family violence.

Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts

Posted August 30, 2017

As the High Holy Days approach, the Unetanetokef liturgy comes unsettlingly to life…. “Who by fire, who by water.” We will do our part to show up for those who have lost everything.

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