“For the sake of my siblings and friends we pray for peace for all.”
לְמַעַן אַחַי וְרֵעָי אֲדַבְּרָה נָּא שָׁלוֹם בָּךְ

Shocked and heartbroken, we continue to follow the horrific news from Israel and Gaza.

The days and months since October 7th have been some of the most difficult we’ve endured. Lab/Shul stands in solidarity with all who are suffering, mourning, and hurting at this terrible time, as the violence continues in Israel and Gaza, and elsewhere around the world.

As an artist driven Jewish spiritual community, Lab/Shul acknowledges and appreciates that the fabric of our community is woven with diverse threads of perspective, belief, and experience. We are committed to our mission as a sacred space for spiritual connection, bridge-building, learning, healing and growth for all.

Since October 7th we have continued to create opportunities for courageous conversation, spiritual care, political reflection, activism, support, and ritual healing — calling upon all members of our community and those beyond to engage in constructive, compassionate dialogue, fostering understanding and empathy.

We invite you to explore the resources on this page for further learning and engagement, helping us unpack and find solace, donate and support, and show up at this critical time. Please check this page regularly as the situation is continuously evolving and we will be updating information here frequently.

As we remember the shared humanity that unites us all and strive for peace, justice and dignity for every individual we invite you to light a candle and recite the Mother’s Prayer for Peace. We pray that the cycle of violence will end as quickly as possible, so that repair can begin to bring peace.

News

Mother's Prayer for Peace

NY Times Op-Ed: The Pride March Doesn’t Have A Place For Me

5/10-5/16: A Woven Week of Interdependence

Chronicle of Philanthropy: The Israel-Hamas War is tearing nonprofits apart. But some are bridging staff divides.

Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie sign's T'ruah statement calling on President Biden to end the war

Ways to Help

Organizations to Support

This is a small selection of ways to support now. If you have organizations to suggest, please send them to hello@labshul.org

Support grass roots soup kitchen in northern Gaza.

Learn more here >

The HOSTAGES AND MISSING FAMILIES FORUM was formed by the families of the abductees less than 24 hours after the horrific attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7th, in which more than 1300 innocent civilians were murdered and hundreds were taken hostage. The Forum is volunteer-based and laser-focused on bringing the hostages back home to their families, to us.

The forum offers families holistic medical and emotional support as well as professional assistance, and advances the ongoing efforts locally, regionally and globally, to bring the hostages and the missing back home.

Counting thousands of volunteers and supporters, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum includes family members and friends of the hostages alongside top security, law, media and diplomacy experts who are donating their time to the cause.

Donations are directed towards advancing all necessary efforts through diplomatic, medical and legal channels and towards raising public awareness to the hostage crisis by creating campaigns in Israel and abroad.

Learn more & donate here >

Established in 1998, NATAL – the Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center, is an apolitical organization providing multidisciplinary treatment and support to direct and indirect victims of trauma due to terror and war in Israel. Founded by Jude Yovel Recanati, together with the late Dr. Yossi Hadar z”l, NATAL ‘s mission is to lead the way in the field of trauma, and to advance the resiliency of Israeli society through treatment, prevention, public awareness and research. Our services are available across the country and to all Israeli citizens regardless of religion, ethnic background, color, age, gender or socio-economic status. To date, NATAL’s services have touched the lives of over 350,000 men, women and children.

Since October 7th, NATAL has been involved in the following:

  • Answered tens of thousands of calls to date to NATAL’s Helplines – over 85% of our total annual calls.
  • Provided 24/7 assistance & emotional support to survivors of the Nova Music Festival, traumatized citizens, families of the injured, Gaza hostages, and bereaved, and many others.
  • NATAL’s Clinical Unit has seen patient numbers double since the war began – including new patients, as well as existing patients experiencing an escalation in their symptoms. Thousands of therapy hours are also being provided on the ground, including in hotels housing displaced Israelis.
  • To date, we have conducted hundreds of emergency interventions to help organizations – from rescue and health organizations to The Home Front Command, government offices, social organizations and NGOs, and businesses – process and manage trauma.
  • At NATAL’s Multidisciplinary Center for Trauma Studies, we are training hundreds of trauma therapists in Israel and globally and launching specialized trauma therapy courses led by top experts in the field.
  • NATAL is actively engaging in public advocacy efforts to raise awareness and help erase the stigma around mental health, encouraging those who need support to seek help.
  • We’ve compiled resources in multiple languages.

Learn more and donate >

The NEW ISRAEL FUND (NIF) helps Israel live up to its founders’ vision of a society that ensures complete equality to all its inhabitants. Their aim is to advance liberal democracy, including freedom of speech and minority rights, and to fight the inequality, injustice and extremism that diminish Israel.

Following the atrocities that Hamas committed against Israeli communities near the Gaza border and the ensuing war, the New Israel Fund (NIF) mobilized resources and staff around the world to meet the immense needs of the moment. They mourn for the innocent lives lost in Israel and Gaza, and are continuing to work toward a better future for all. NIF is providing aid to Israelis, both Jewish and Arab, who have been affected; advocating for the release of the hostages being held captive by Hamas in Gaza; safeguarding human and civil rights in Israel and the occupied West Bank; and working to advance a shared, peaceful future for everyone in Israel.

Their ongoing emergency currently focus on:

1. Humanitarian aid and basic needs – Assisting the weakest and most vulnerable communities in Israel and providing mental health and trauma counseling to NGO staff and affected individuals. Over time, the focus of our work has shifted away from humanitarian aid, which the government and municipalities have taken a greater role in addressing, toward the latter three priorities, as well as advocating for the release of the hostages.

2. Safeguarding human and civil rights – Ensuring that freedom of speech and expression are protected, and raising awareness about escalating violence toward Palestinians and activists in the occupied West Bank. Tracking and identifying incitement online and in digital forums, especially by right-wing groups targeting Palestinian citizens of Israel and left-wing activists, and relaying it to law enforcement; monitoring fake news online.

3. Bolstering Jewish-Arab relations – Preventing escalation in shared Jewish-Arab cities and areas of potential tension; preserving the space for a shared society.

4. Providing an alternative vision for Israel’s future – Formulating policy proposals and developing new ideas and leaders that can advance a peaceful, equitable vision for the future.

Learn more and donate here.

With hundreds of thousands of civilians facing famine in Gaza, we must remember: Food is a fundamental right.

NIF is raising funds to alleviate hunger in Gaza through World Central Kitchen and International Rescue Committee—two organizations which have spent the last six months working at tremendous risk to bring aid into Gaza and feed the starving population—and they need our support.

Donate here >

Through New Jewish Narrative’s Action Network, you can take meaningful steps to advance peace, security, and justice. We focus on educating communities and impacting key institutions ­­– local, state and federal elected officials, Jewish organizations, and international bodies ­– to support actions that further an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

New Jewish Narrative mobilizes grass-roots support.

We demonstrate.
We march.
We work in broad-based coalitions.
We command attention.

By joining our Action Network, you’ll be part of the new narrative, one that stands for dignity, self-determination, and security for all peoples. Be a part of the movement dedicated to ending the occupation and building a future where two states can thrive in peace and security. And take your place in helping to forge an even stronger community of progressive Jews that advocates for these shared values amplifying our narrative in the United States and Israel.

Learn more >

The Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF) is a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization of over 600 families, all of whom have lost an immediate family member to the ongoing conflict. Moreover, the PCFF has concluded that the process of reconciliation between nations is a prerequisite to achieving a sustainable peace. The organization thus utilizes all resources available in education, public meetings and the media, to spread these ideas.

Learn more and donate >

PRJECT HOPE is doing everything we can to help the children and families facing catastrophic violence, deadly hunger and mass displacement in Gaza. Please help provide health care, supplies and other relief for Gaza and communities enduring health crises around the world today.

Our teams are on the ground now caring for people at clinics and medical tents in Deir al Balah and Rafah, risking their own lives to help their communities. We’ve delivered nine tons of medical relief, including essential medicines, medical devices and supplies into Gaza. With our partners, we’re providing mental health and trauma support to children and families.

Your gifts ensure we can respond to the most devastating humanitarian emergencies like this one — while supporting health workers and rebuilding health care infrastructure in the long-term for communities around the world.

Donate here >

In response to the catastrophic hunger crisis in Gaza, REBUILDING ALLIANCE, in partnership with the World Food Program (WFP), is currently serving over 40,000 hot meals in multiple locations in Gaza through our Non-Governmental Org. partners and local community-based cooking teams. WFP is covering 3/4 of the costs of the program. We need your help to continue this vital program. Help us meet our commitment and provide hot meals to displaced families in Gaza.

Learn more and give >

The Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue is an interreligious organization based in Jerusalem which promotes an inclusive society for all religious, ethnic and national groups. Through education, encounter, research and consulting, the Rossing Center promotes better relations between Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land.

In these distressing and difficult days, full of fear and mourning, civil society has taken the lead on assisting those who are in desperate need of care and support. In East Jerusalem many families are left without minimal food security: livelihood sources are scarcer than ever; many are afraid to leave the neighborhood or travel to work; the supply chain to the neighborhoods has been interrupted; stores are running out of goods; and prices are skyrocketing. The immediate necessity is to provide food and basic supplies to families in need.

As a civil society initiative the Rossing Center is therefore organizing to provide initial assistance to families in need in East Jerusalem. We provide basic food supplies and other essential products, distributed through local social centers in various neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. Needs are high, and expected to grow. The initiative is based entirely on volunteer work, and we need funding assistance to purchase basic food items.

Donate here >

STANDING TOGETHER is a grassroots movement mobilizing Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel in pursuit of peace, equality, and social and climate justice. While the minority who benefit from the status quo of occupation and economic inequality seek to keep us divided, we know that we — the majority — have far more in common than that which sets us apart. When we stand together, we are strong enough to fundamentally alter the existing socio-political reality. The future that we want — peace and independence for Israelis and Palestinians, full equality for all citizens, and true social, economic, and environmental justice — is possible. Because where there is struggle, there is hope.

Donate Here >

The “Sulha Peace Project” is a grassroots Israeli-Palestinian organization actively bringing together people who believe in face to face dialogue to safeguard and keep alive the humanity of all who live in and share this land.

Donate Here

Ongoing Sulha gatherings focus on training people to become peacemakers, to listen, feel with our hearts and support each other– critical for any future solution to this conflict.

During these terrible days of war between Israel and Gaza, while we are heartbroken by the violence and losses, we are inspired by generous and courageous civic voluntary efforts in Israeli society to offer support and relief. Many of us have joined and are active in these initiatives, supporting many critical needs. And yet there is an urgent need today to offer humanitarian aid to those among us who need support, most often overlooked.

The Sulha Peace Project asks you today to help us to provide more opportunities, now and in the days that follow these difficult days, for more dialogue and deep listening that will help us repair this rupture and build bridges for compassion, care and human dignity. Every gift goes directly to support our peacemaking efforts.

We particularly need your help today to help those among us who need critical relief, among the weakest in the Palestinian population, mostly single mothers and families left without a provider because of the restrictions of the war.

We are collecting funds for basic food packages which we will distribute in our communities. Each package costs $100 dollars and lasts a family for a week.

Please help us help those in need, now and in the days ahead.

Watch this video

Direct link to tax-free donations:
Donate Here

Founded in 2016, TZEDEK CENTERS operate with an eye towards Israel’s long-term democratic future through a combination of deep, grassroots work and shorter term, high impact initiatives.

As caring and dedicated citizens who aspire to see a better society here, the challenges posed by inequality, social polarization, and a lack of trust in the government impact our future.

At Tzedek Centers, we firmly believe that local civic organizing is the key to addressing and transforming this situation.

At Tzedek Centers, we bring together city residents to participate in training programs for social change. Through these programs, we provide them with tools, connect them with partners, and together build a shared vision. Graduates of the courses establish groups to improve city policies, lead local campaigns and social initiatives, assume leadership positions, and collectively nurture a local community of changemakers, building across cities a broad national movement.

This national grassroots movement, composed of organized communities in cities across Israel, works to build a vibrant democracy we can be proud of.

Learn more and donate >

Support World Central Kitchen’s efforts towards the humanitarian crisis in Gaza:

In Gaza, there is a critical humanitarian crisis facing families across the territory. Relentless shelling and a ground offensive have killed tens of thousands of civilians and forced more than a million Palestinians from their homes. The conflict has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis caused by a years-long blockade. People are struggling to access water, food, and the means to cook for their families. Despite restrictions on humanitarian aid entering the territory, our teams have been able to establish a Field Kitchen in Rafah, create a network of community kitchens across Gaza, and send hundreds of aid trucks to communities in desperate need of food.

In Israel, WCK teams partnered with local restaurants across the country, serving meals to people who were displaced from their homes as a result of the October attack and ensuing shelling along the border. As Israeli hostages returned home, we delivered fresh, nourishing meals to the hospitals where they received checkups and were reunited with their families. While our response has wound down in Israel since acute food needs have abated, we have a large network of restaurants and local partners who are ready to support families should there be a need again.

WCK continues to innovate and adapt our ongoing response in Gaza and Lebanon. Our teams are preparing tens of thousands of daily meals and working alongside local partners to ensure we reach all pockets of need.

Learn more and donate >

Community Events

Sabbath Queen: The Documentary Screening & Talkback

June 5 @ 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm EDT

Sabbath Queen: The Documentary Screening & Talkback Thursday, June 5th 6:30pm EST NYC SABBATH QUEEN, a feature documentary filmed over 21 years, follows Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie’s epic journey as the dynastic heir of 38 generations of Orthodox rabbis including the Chief Rabbis of Israel. He is torn between rejecting and embracing his destiny and becomes a drag-queen rebel, a queer bio-dad and the founder of Lab/Shul—an everybody-friendly, God-optional, artist-driven, pop-up experimental congregation. SABBATH QUEEN joins Amichai on a lifelong quest to creatively and radically reinvent religion and ritual, challenge patriarchy [...]

Gala 2025 Invitation - Wednesday June 18th

Lab/Shul’s 2025 Spring Gala

June 18 @ 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm EDT

Join Lab/Shul community and friends for our annual Spring Gala 2025

View all events >

Read/Watch/Listen

Sermons

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labshul

1,532

🔔 PROGRAM ALERT 🔔
Sabbath Queen Documentary Screening + Talkback with Rabbi @amichailaulavie and @sandidubowski

June 5th at 6:30pm est
NYC

You’ve asked, we’re answering…
NOW is your opportunity to watch or re-watch the critically-acclaimed documentary filmed over 21 years, that follows Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie’s epic journey as the dynastic heir of 38 generations of Orthodox rabbis including the Chief Rabbis of Israel.

Sabbath Queen is now in 65 film festivals, 50 cinemas, received a New York Times Critic’s Pick and was named one of the New York Times’ favorite films of the 21st century, and has won 8 awards including Boston Jewish Film Festival’s Audience Award for Best Documentary and UK Jewish Film Festival’s Best Documentary.

The 6/5/25 screening will be followed by a talkback with Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie and Sandi DuBowski.

A $10 suggested donation enables us to present programs like this one.

#Labshul #Joinus #gather #shabbat #sabbath #ritual #godoptional #everybodyfriendly #artistdriven #experimentaljudaism #queerjudaism #JewishLife #jewishholidays #jewishevents #jewishtradition #jewishcommunity #sabbathqueen #sabbathqueenfilm

Open post by labshul with ID 18055001135008489
🔔 PROGRAM ALERT 🔔 Sabbath Queen Documentary Screening + Talkback with Rabbi @amichailaulavie and @sandidubowski June 5th at 6:30pm est NYC You’ve asked, we’re answering… NOW is your opportunity to watch or re-watch the critically-acclaimed documentary filmed over 21 years, that follows Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie’s epic journey as the dynastic heir of 38 generations of Orthodox rabbis including the Chief Rabbis of Israel. Sabbath Queen is now in 65 film festivals, 50 cinemas, received a New York Times Critic’s Pick and was named one of the New York Times’ favorite films of the 21st century, and has won 8 awards including Boston Jewish Film Festival’s Audience Award for Best Documentary and UK Jewish Film Festival’s Best Documentary. The 6/5/25 screening will be followed by a talkback with Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie and Sandi DuBowski. A $10 suggested donation enables us to present programs like this one. #Labshul #Joinus #gather #shabbat #sabbath #ritual #godoptional #everybodyfriendly #artistdriven #experimentaljudaism #queerjudaism #JewishLife #jewishholidays #jewishevents #jewishtradition #jewishcommunity #sabbathqueen #sabbathqueenfilm

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🔔 PROGRAM ALERT 🔔
Joint The 6th Joint Nakba Remembrance Ceremony:
Holding on to Home, Holding on to Hope
May 15th, 2025
8:00pm Jerusalem | 1:00pm New York
ONLINE

📲 register via the CALENDAR LINK in bio or visit: www.labshul.org/event/joint-nakba-remembrance-ceremony-2025/

Join our friends of @afcfpeace at The Joint Nakba Remembrance Ceremony affirms a vision of peace rooted in equality and justice - a vision in which Palestinians are not defined by displacement, but by their right to live freely and securely. Holding onto home is about more than geography; it is a commitment to reconciliation, not only for individuals, but for the land itself. It is a vision of collective liberation, where the oppressed are free from domination and the oppressors are freed from the systems that bind them to violence.

This year’s ceremony will feature testimonials from those displaced by the Nakba, artistic performances, and addresses from visionary thinkers from across Palestine and Israel. Together, we will witness, remember, and call for a future rooted in justice, equality, and the right for all people to live in dignity in the place they call home.

Home is not just a building - it is where memory, identity, and hope reside. It is the emotional anchor of our lives, and without it, there is no stability, no safety, and no future. That is why we come together to remember, grieve, and reflect, but also to insist on hope.

#Labshul #Joinus #gather #shabbat #sabbath #ritual #godoptional #everybodyfriendly #artistdriven #experimentaljudaism #queerjudaism #JewishLife #jewishholidays #jewishevents #jewishtradition #jewishcommunity #nakba

Open post by labshul with ID 18313768414229946
🔔 PROGRAM ALERT 🔔 Joint The 6th Joint Nakba Remembrance Ceremony: Holding on to Home, Holding on to Hope May 15th, 2025 8:00pm Jerusalem | 1:00pm New York ONLINE 📲 register via the CALENDAR LINK in bio or visit: www.labshul.org/event/joint-nakba-remembrance-ceremony-2025/ Join our friends of @afcfpeace at The Joint Nakba Remembrance Ceremony affirms a vision of peace rooted in equality and justice - a vision in which Palestinians are not defined by displacement, but by their right to live freely and securely. Holding onto home is about more than geography; it is a commitment to reconciliation, not only for individuals, but for the land itself. It is a vision of collective liberation, where the oppressed are free from domination and the oppressors are freed from the systems that bind them to violence. This year’s ceremony will feature testimonials from those displaced by the Nakba, artistic performances, and addresses from visionary thinkers from across Palestine and Israel. Together, we will witness, remember, and call for a future rooted in justice, equality, and the right for all people to live in dignity in the place they call home. Home is not just a building - it is where memory, identity, and hope reside. It is the emotional anchor of our lives, and without it, there is no stability, no safety, and no future. That is why we come together to remember, grieve, and reflect, but also to insist on hope. #Labshul #Joinus #gather #shabbat #sabbath #ritual #godoptional #everybodyfriendly #artistdriven #experimentaljudaism #queerjudaism #JewishLife #jewishholidays #jewishevents #jewishtradition #jewishcommunity #nakba

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🔔 PROGRAM ALERT 🔔
THE THRESHOLD: A RITUAL OF HOPE….

Wed, April 30, 2025
6:30pm EST
Park Slope | BROOKLYN

Rabbi @amichailaulavie @shirakline along with Brooklyn rabbis and Ieaders of @rabbis.for.human.rights gather with our collective communities for a ceremony of candle lighting, circle discussions in Hebrew & English, live music and poetry to mark the tender transition as Israel turns 77 during these difficult days.

Between pain & pride, holding sorrow &solidarity, we gather to rise from despair to repair, towards justice, joy, and peace for all who dwell on the land. 

We will be hosted by @psjcbrooklyn with guest speakers Rabbi Ruti Baidatz and Rabbi Michael Marmur and Rabbi @mishashulman1234 of the New Shul.

Register via the CALENDAR LINK in our bio or visit https://www.labshul.org/event/at-the-threshold-a-ritual-of-hope/

#labshul #wovenweek #interdependence #wovenweekofinterdependence

Open post by labshul with ID 18074165146863060
🔔 PROGRAM ALERT 🔔 THE THRESHOLD: A RITUAL OF HOPE…. Wed, April 30, 2025 6:30pm EST Park Slope | BROOKLYN Rabbi @amichailaulavie @shirakline along with Brooklyn rabbis and Ieaders of @rabbis.for.human.rights gather with our collective communities for a ceremony of candle lighting, circle discussions in Hebrew & English, live music and poetry to mark the tender transition as Israel turns 77 during these difficult days. Between pain & pride, holding sorrow &solidarity, we gather to rise from despair to repair, towards justice, joy, and peace for all who dwell on the land.  We will be hosted by @psjcbrooklyn with guest speakers Rabbi Ruti Baidatz and Rabbi Michael Marmur and Rabbi @mishashulman1234 of the New Shul. Register via the CALENDAR LINK in our bio or visit https://www.labshul.org/event/at-the-threshold-a-ritual-of-hope/ #labshul #wovenweek #interdependence #wovenweekofinterdependence

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