Lab/Shul

Lab/Shul is an everybody-friendly, artist-driven, God- optional, experimental community for sacred Jewish gatherings based in New York City. Lab/Shul debuted in 2013 as an evolution of the Jewish ritual theater company Storahtelling—a community of educators, artists, and friends who experimented with alternative and creative worship events for Shabbat and holidays. With many creative thinkers at the helm, the group started a radically new congregational model for representing all walks of life and faiths. Lab/Shul invites a diverse, interfaith membership to transform ancient legacies into contemporary conversations that address humanity and advance Jewish literacy and engagement. There’s a lot of experimentation and exploration at this organization with the word lab in its name. 

Lab/Shul is constantly testing programming and throwing it at the wall to see what sticks. (This might be a good time to mention that Lab/Shul doesn’t have permanent walls—it utilizes spaces around the city that serve its needs. Think of it like a roving food truck: You never know where it will pop up next.) This year’s new group of experimental programming includes a web-based educational series about upcoming holidays; SoulSpa, a soulful Shabbat afternoon including all-ages worship; FamilyLab, an experiment in home-based learning for young families; and Talk Our Talk, evening lounges with Lab/Shul leaders. In response to the community’s desire for more action, Lab/ Shul will focus on community organizing and partnerships that nourish communal needs and standing up for justice for their neighbors. In 2017, Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie revealed his research-based response to intermarriage for the Lab/Shul community and beyond, which includes models of fluidity, inclusion, and participation in Jewish life that transcend the limitation of binaries and transform our contemporary views of what it means to belong. It’s more proof that Lab/Shul is everybody-friendly, and as a member of the Jewish Emergent Network, is one of seven communities committed to revitalizing the field of Jewish engagement in both traditionally rooted and creative ways. From its radical inclusivity to innovative programming, Lab/Shul is an experiment that is working.