The Brotherhood Synagogue’s long history of outreach to our local community and to the greater New York City area continues into our 8th decade.
With the undertaking of activities that can best be identified by the Hebrew expression, Tikkun Olam — forms of action intended to repair and improve the world — we provide multiple entry points for our members to share their time, energy, and good will with the wider community through acts of direct service, organizing and contributing to our drives, tutoring, serving meals, friendly visits, and more:
- We run a homeless shelter during the Winter months each year.
- We serve dinners to asylees in partnership with the Asylum Program at PS 11.
- We run an annual Blood Drive in the Fall.
- We partner with many local and national organizations to run drives or provide direct service throughout the year.
These organizations include City Harvest, Backpacks for the Street, Project Cicero, Wheel it Forward, Bottomless Closet, DOROT, the Hebrew Home in Riverdale, NY Common Pantry, Room to Grow, Reading Partners, and the English Speaking Union.
- We react in the moment to humanitarian crises to try to provide direct relief as needed
Homeless Shelter
The Homeless Shelter was launched in 1982 at Brotherhood Synagogue. We were the first synagogue in New York to open our doors this way. The shelter runs Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings during January, February and March, providing a warm, safe and friendly environment for our guests. Volunteers help make our guests’ stay with us comfortable by preparing, serving, and interacting over dinner with them and also preparing their breakfast and lunch bags for the next morning for the following day. Volunteers speak of the great sense of service they acquire in volunteering at the homeless shelter. It’s an act of tzedakah that can be performed by all members of the synagogue. Please contact Alisha Goodman with any questions, and/or to sign up.
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
But if I am for myself only, what am I?
And if not now, when?
—Hillel
