Welcome to Stephen Wise Free Synagogue!
Join us for Shabbat services!
Fridays 6 p.m. | Saturdays 10 a.m.
Welcome to Stephen Wise Free Synagogue!
Join us for Shabbat services!
Fridays 6 p.m. | Saturdays 10 a.m.
SWFS Spring Benefit Celebrating 20 Years of Rabbi Ammi Hirsch
This May 21, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue will celebrate 20 years of Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch’s leadership. Join our community and support our synagogue at our Spring Benefit!
In These Times with Rabbi Ammi Hirsch
Featured Sermons
I Don’t Know
“How many of us say something and then curate and filter information to support our position – and prove we are right rather than diving into learning about facts and complexities of the situation in…
Dancing with a Broken Heart
Rabbi Tracy Kaplowitz explores a pressing debate in Israel: Should Yom Ha’Atzmaut — a day traditionally filled with fireworks, dancing and barbecues – be celebrated amid the ongoing trauma facing Israel and Jews worldwide? “As…
Campus Chaos
Rabbi Ammi Hirsch has been warning for years that America’s campuses have been devolving into hotbeds of radical and illiberal theories. “The reason that the protests have descended into outrageous anti-Zionism and antisemitism is that…
Climate Change on American Campuses
“Our Sages teach: ‘Fire does not ignite in a lone stick of wood, but in a pile of kindling.’ American campuses have been drying up for a long time,” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. “Some saw…
Ma Nishtanah
People are asking how this year’s Seder will be different, says Rabbi Samantha Natov: “How do we celebrate freedom with so many in captivity? How do we sing of redemption when there is war on…
While Picking Strawberries in Israel
On our recent mission to Israel, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch scheduled time for our congregation to pick strawberries. But he didn’t expect that morning to be among the most moving of his experiences in Israel. Looking…
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch at Rally for the Hostages
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, senior rabbi at New York City’s historic 116-year-old Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and one of America’s foremost Reform Zionist leaders, delivered remarks at a rally on April 7, 2024, marking the six-month…
Reflections on Our Time in Israel
Rabbi Rena Rifkin shares the complex emotions she encountered on her recent trip to Israel. “I notice that there is a sadness and a rawness in the air,” she observed. “The colors of the Israeli…
Breaking Negative Cycles
Sometimes anxiety amplifies our worries and we get caught in negative thought loops “that spin on and on,” says Rabbi Samantha Natov. “What does Judaism teach us about breaking these cycles?” she asks and answers…
A Sacred Call
Throughout the stories of Exodus that re revisit again and again and in this week’s parashah, we find a sacred call to answer, says Rabbi Samantha Natov. “What are we being called to do? Who…
Upcoming Events
SWFS Spring Benefit: Celebrating 20 Years of Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch
Community Mahjong 🙋
In These Times With Rabbi Ammi Hirsch
Tour of New-York Historical Society 🙋
ECC Extended Day Second Semester Ends (3s)
Kabbalat Shabbat Evening Service
Emergency Food Program
In-Person Shabbat Morning Services
Celebrate Tova Samansky Becoming a Bat Mitzvah! 🙋
Havdalah and Melaveh Malkah 🖥
Explore Our Early Childhood Center
Apply Now And Take A Virtual Tour!
Our Early Childhood Center provides children ages 18 months through five years with a nurturing, welcoming, and stimulating environment. Based on the Reggio Emilia approach to education, our philosophy values children as rich with wonder and knowledge — and we infuse our classroom experiences with Jewish values and traditions.
Discover Our Religious School
Looking for an enriching Jewish education? Stephen Wise Free Synagogue’s Religious School is the perfect place for you to deepen your child’s Jewish identity and Hebrew knowledge, engage with core Jewish values and traditions, and become part of a caring synagogue community.