Tel Aviv is widely considered Israel’s City of Sin. However, Tel Aviv does contain a good number of small synagogues usually run by a few neighborhood residents but not a rabbi. The older citizens of Tel Aviv usually frequent these small synagogues while the young "chiloni" Israelis (non-religious) would never think of stepping foot into one. There is one new synagogue, however, that is drawing the attention of many Anglos and tourists. The Tel Aviv Synagogue stands apart from all the others in the city for …More

For almost 125 years the Grand Choral Synagogue of Saint Petersburg has served not only as the main house of worship for local Jews but also as the heart and soul of the community, providing hope through all its travails. Despite the restrictions placed on the practice of Judaism from the era of the Tsars when it was built until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, like the Jewish citizenry, it suffered but survived. In recent years, the synagogue has prospered. Finally completed in 1888 after eight years …More

One of the oldest and largest congregations in Massachusetts, Temple Israel of Boston has a rich history serving the spiritual needs of the city’s Jews stretching all the way back to 1854.  What began as an Orthodox shul founded by German immigrants has evolved through the years into a diverse, urban, Reform congregation dedicated to welcoming both members of the faith as well as those of other faiths to a community focused on participatory prayer, learning, personal development and human kindness …More

What defines youth culture at any given moment can be at best nebulous. What can be pinpointed with a greater degree of precision, however, is from where it emanates. In Brooklyn, it’s from hipster-slash-Hasidic Williamsburg, spilling over the neighborhood’s borders into Greenpoint, Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant, the latter two in particular known for their burgeoning artist communities—and the subsequent gentrification. Across the pond is another artist enclave-slash gentrification …More

Kesher Israel, a synagogue about 14 blocks from the White House, might be one of the only things Orthodox in Washington, D.C.   The same handsome three-story building has been home since 1931. Modern Orthodox services take place three times a day, and are congregant-led. Men and women sit apart during prayers, with the women mostly on the balcony level and the men on the ground floor. Yet, the synagogue, whose first name, kesher, is Hebrew for to connect, and is focused on bringing people …More