Shtiebel
Yiddish · a little room
An experiment in Jewish culture and spirituality.
Still meeting, once or twice a year.
Shtiebel doesn’t gather every month anymore. It hasn’t for a while, and that’s all right.
What started in the Rivertowns ran for years as an experiment in what Jewish community could be when you strip away the building, the dues, and the assigned seats. Music, food, art, movement, argument. People who had given up on synagogues, and people who had never tried one.
The regular calendar wound down. The thing itself didn’t. Once or twice a year we get the band back together and hold a Shtiebel Revival — same spirit, same instruments, same refusal to make it formal.
Once or twice a year
Shtiebel Revival
No fixed schedule. When it happens, it happens, and word goes out to whoever wants to know. If that’s you, say so and you’ll hear about the next one.
Tell me when the next one isWhat happens in the little room
In Yiddish, shtiebel means “little room,” and hearkens back to pre-Modern Jewish communal gathering places. We wanted to return to that idea: a simple place where you can experience Jewish culture and community without a lot of apparatus in the way.
Through music, food, art, movement, and discussion, we set out to inspire, connect, and transform our members and the world. This is not your Zeide’s shtiebel.
Our davenning is part jam session, part salon, part potluck, extracting the creative spirit at the heart of religion.
The Rivertowns Enterprise · June 2017
“For ‘alternative tribe,’ Shabbat shakes, rattles, and raps”
A reporter came to a Saturday evening gathering and wrote up what she found: a circle of thirty-five people from Yonkers to Sleepy Hollow, ukulele and sruti box, kids turning cartwheels, and a conversation about what inspires us.
Where to find me now
rabbibennewman.com
Rabbi Ben Newman
Writing, teaching, music, and everything that doesn’t fit under one roof.
shalompcs.com
Pleasantville Community Synagogue
Where I serve as co-rabbi with Rabbi Shoshana Leis. A large tent, with the music turned up.
52gates.com
52 Gates
The book, the companion guide, and the audiobook.
kaphtziel.com
Kaphtziel Studios
The umbrella over the rest of the creative work.
The rest of the site stays up. The siddur, the manifesto, the ten precepts, and the eco-kosher certification were all made to be used, and they still work whether or not anyone is gathering this month.
