You Belong Here
The more than 600 people who sit, dance, study, serve and otherwise move through our congregation each day include interfaith families, women whose husbands fought in World War II, newborns, LGBTQIA+ singles and couples, BIPOC members, Jews by choice, Jews who pray in Hebrew, and Jews who prefer English. Our original members founded the congregation in 1948. Our members live on our block, on the Lower East and Upper West Side, and in Brooklyn, Queens, and Westchester. Some folks who live as far away as California and Arizona remain members to join us remotely for worship. We sing several songs together, including original compositions, in a typical Shabbat service. Our cantor believes strongly in the transcendent nature of music, and its unparalleled ability to both convey and evoke emotion and spirituality. Our rabbi leads interfaith coalitions into protests, into testimony, and into action. Each service and class we host includes challenging questions, easy smiles, and of course, a nosh.
Visit our Shabbat & Worship pages to learn more about our musical, responsive and topical Shabbat and Holiday services. We offer engaging services and programs for young kids, middle-graders and teens—ways into worship for everyone.
In addition to our streaming options, services take place in our two-story, 200-seat sanctuary. Our historic and award-winning brownstone, designed in 1888 by Richard Morris Hunt, sits about four blocks from Union Square, across from Stuyvesant Square. It feels like home.
Read our East End Temple Brit for a Respectful Community
Community Commitment Membership
During most of our 72-year history, East End Temple relied on fixed dues categories, allowing for individual adjustments as needed. In 2019, East End Temple piloted a new membership model for better alignment with our core values of diversity, accessibility, and appreciation of all giving and receiving. This is what we are calling Community Commitment Membership. Since launching our new membership structure, new members have joined without financial burden; we are so pleased that it has been successful! Please click here to learn more.
Want to learn more?
If you would like more information about becoming a member, please submit this Membership Information Form, and a representative of our membership team will be in touch.
Our Mission
Our mission is to cultivate relevant Jewish life through connected community. We seek to expand avenues into Torah (Jewish learning and practice), God (all forms of spiritual connection) and the Jewish people (locally and globally) to help one another live lives of meaning.
We do this through:
Our Diversity: Betzelem Elohim, In the Image of God
We welcome all in the Jewish community: young and old; single, partnered and married; LGBT and straight; interfaith families; Jewish-born or converted; those with and without mental and physical disabilities; financially struggling or well-off. If you choose us, we choose you.
Our Accessibility: My House Shall be a House of Prayer for All People
We encourage full participation, enfranchisement and leadership through education and relationship-building.
Our Intimacy: Face to Face
We strive to know and care for one another through the cultivation of relationships between and among members.
Our Giving and Receiving: As Your Heart Is So Inclined
We aspire to a high quality of synagogue life, and give of time and resources to create that quality. Our members who derive the most from their East End Temple experience are often those who give the most.