VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
The BHS community has many ways to get involved and contribute. Below are some of our committees that might be of interest to you. To learn more about any of these committees please contact Lisa Kopel, our Director of Membership Engagement and Programming. We look forward to helping you become part of our special community and welcoming you!
Chesed Committee
The Chesed Committee works along with our clergy to reach out to congregants in both good times and bad. Whether it’s visiting a homebound member, helping to commemorate the death of loved ones through tree planting in Israel and offering a meal, or joyfully congratulating a family on the birth of a baby, committee members are available to offer support in a variety of ways.
College Outreach Committee
The College Outreach Committee seeks opportunities to reach out to undergraduate BHS members who are away at college to make them feel cared for and connected to the Synagogue. In an effort to help them maintain their Jewish identity while away, the committee may send special holiday packages for Chanukah, Passover, and Rosh Hashanah and also organize events at BHS for when they’re back home.
Gift Shop Committee
The Synagogue maintains a gift shop that offers a limited number of Judaica gifts and household items to purchase. The Committee helps buy the items, promotes the shop and its inventory to our members, and assists in the fulfillment process.
Lifelong Learning Committee
Our Lifelong Learning Committee helps select and organize adult classes at BHS. To view the schedule of offerings from this past year click here.
Membership Committee
The Membership Committee welcomes new members and assists in the development of robust programming and special events that appeal to our diverse, intergenerational community. Comprising members from various cohorts, the committee strives to engage the congregation and increase member involvement. Among the many programs and events are the Getting to Know You Dinners, New Member Shabbat, Passover Seders, Israeli dancing, and Mah Jong Mondays. The Membership Committee ensures that there is something for everyone to feel welcome. Contact our Director of Membership to get involved.
Religious School Committee
Working in Working in partnership with the Associate Rabbi and the Director of the Religious School, the Committee helps develop school policy, reviews curriculum, and helps coordinate activities and enrichment and holiday programs for the Religious School families. The Committee meets monthly in the evening and is represented by parents in grades K-12.
Ritual Committee
Working together with our Rabbi, the Ritual Committee fosters attendance and participation in weekly Friday night Shabbat services, Saturday morning Chavurah service and study sessions, Shabbat morning sanctuary services, High Holiday services, festival services, and congregational seders. They examine elements of congregational worship, including worship times, the language of prayer, new ritual forms, music, the configuration of the worship space, and how members are greeted when they enter the sanctuary. They oversee the upkeep and maintenance of the Synagogue’s ritual objects, including prayer books, Sifre Torah, silver ornamentation, tallitot, and kippot.
Shelter Committee
As a founding member of the New York City Emergency Shelter Network, Brooklyn Heights Synagogue has maintained a homeless shelter during the winter months for 40 years, providing a warm, safe place to sleep, along with a hot meal, for up to ten men. The Shelter is an entirely volunteer effort, coordinated by BHS congregants and supported by members and non-members alike, including other synagogues, schools, and community groups. Please see our Shelter Page for more information and how to sign up.
Social Justice Committee
Repairing the world, tikkun olam, social justice, racial, economic, and gender equity – these values have resonated deeply within the BHS community since our founding. The Social Justice Committee’s activities range from the BHS homeless shelter, to congregational involvement in battling racial injustice, to new initiatives suggested by individuals, such as abortion access, the climate crisis, and so much more. Through both advocacy and direct action, the Committee’s members work together and with partners to make real the vision of a fair and just world for all.