Lab/Shul

Lab/Shul is a Jewish nondenominational congregation in New York City. It was founded by Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie in 2012 when he was a rabbinical student as an experimental, pop-up synagogue[1] with support from the UJA-Federation, Jewish foundations, and private donors.[2] The intent of the congregation is to experiment with various forms of Jewish practice, hence "Lab" in its name.[2] It now has approximately 300 families as members.[3]

The organization does not have a permanent location, but rather uses a variety of locations around New York City. Lau-Lavie was originally inspired to found Lab/Shul after serving as a arts educator at B'nai Jeshurun in Manhattan, where he felt that religious services lacked the theatrical aspects necessary to enable participants, particularly children, to connect with the service; he founded a theater group, Storahtelling, that ultimately grew into Lab/Shul.[1]

The organization describes itself as "everybody friendly" and is prominent among LGBTQ Jews, and Lau-Lavie identifies as gay;[4][5] it also controversially supported intermarriage as early as 2017 despite Lau-Lavie's ordination as a conservative rabbi, at which time Lau-Lavie left the Conservative Jewish movement.[5]

Lab/Shul frequently holds its events in the round.[6]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lab/Shul has experimented with a range of virtual services, including a "Shabbat ShaMorning" service over Zoom in partnership with the Union for Reform Judaism.[7]

Lab/Shul is a member of the Jewish Emergent Network.

References
  1. Leland, John (2014-03-14). "Synagogue, Rebooted". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  2. "Experimenting With The Synagogue". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2013-07-30. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  3. "As Jewish movements struggle, independent rabbinical schools gain a toehold". Religion News Service. 2022-04-04. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  4. "This Purim, Jews in NYC are ready to party like it's 2019". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  5. "Maverick Rabbi Breaks Ranks Over Intermarriage". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2017-06-14. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  6. "Kol Nidrei In A Red-Sauce Joint?". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2018-09-13. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  7. "Worshipers found religious homes near and far thanks to virtual services". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-04-26.

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