It’s Shavuot again in New York City, so you know what that means — cheesecake, all-night study and revelry, and the suspension of alternate side parking rules.
Shavuot, the holiday that celebrates the Jewish people receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, begins this year at sunset on Sunday, June 1, and concludes at nightfall on Tuesday, June 3.
Here is how the Jewish community across New York City will be celebrating the holiday, from low-key flower arranging classes and study sessions to all-night ragers.
Is your synagogue or Jewish organization hosting a Shavuot event open to the public? Send us an email with the details and we can add it to our list!
How is New York celebrating Shavuot?
Pre-Shavuot women’s “Cheesecake Factory” with Chabad of Midtown
Learn about the origins of why Jews eat dairy on Shavuot — and how to make no-bake cheesecake from scratch — with other young Jewish women at the Chabad of Midtown (509 Fifth Ave.) on Wednesday, May 28, at 7:30 p.m.
The best part? You get to bring your cheesecake home. Grab your ticket here for $36.
Pre-Shavuot women’s flower arranging workshop with Chabad of the Upper West Side
Create a bouquet of seasonal flowers and learn about the Jewish significance of flowers and their connection to the holiday of Shavuot at this young women’s workshop at Chabad of the Upper West Side (location upon RSVP). Wine and light bites will be served. Event begins at 8 p.m. on May 28.
(Chabad of the Upper West Side is also hosting an ice cream bar and Ten Commandments reading event in Central Park on June 2.) Tickets are $55.
JVibe’s Shavuot Layla Lavan Party at 230 Fifth Penthouse
Dance with hundreds of young professionals a a “layla lavan” — Hebrew for a “white night” or dusk-to-dawn party. DJs will spin top 40 hits, Hebrew and house music, Afro and international beats from one of Manhattan’s best rooftop views at 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar (entrance at 1150 Broadway, Manhattan). Get tickets at the early bird rate of $23 (up to $40 at the door) for this party on Saturday, May 31, where doors open at 10 p.m. Per Jewish events promoter and host JVibe, this event is recommended for young professionals ages 21-39.
Shavuot with Manhattan Jewish Experience and Olami Manhattan
Celebrate Shavuot on June 1 from 8:15 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. at Manhattan Jewish Experience (131 W 86th St.) with rabbis from MJE and Olami Manhattan, two Orthodox outfits aimed at young adults. with beginner-friendly classes on Judaism and dairy dinner and dessert. Learning theme for the evening is “Us and Them: Texts and conversations on how Jewish identity is shaped in relation to non-Jews and other Jews.”
Stay until the end for rooftop sunrise services, followed by a breakfast buffet and mimosas. Learning and dessert ticket is free; for the 20s and 30s dinner, tickets are $60.
“Rise Up” at The New Shul’s Fifth Annual Kumah Festival
This year’s Kumah Festival, held by the progressive, independent New Shul, is themed “Rise Up,” and celebrates artists, musicians, dancers, thinkers and poets from different backgrounds and religious experiences. Featuring performances from more than 50 musicians, including Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars, Latin Grammy Award-winner Mireya Ramos, and Basya Schechter and Shaul Magid’s Kabbalachia, this one-night festival celebrates diversity and “collective oneness.”
The fifth annual version of this festival will be held at the Theater for the New City (155 1st Ave., Manhattan) and begins at 7 p.m on June 1. General admission tickets start at $36; late night guests can enter for $12.
Paul Feig Tikkun Leil Shavuot at the Marlene Meyerson JCC
This annual all-night event hosted by the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan (334 Amsterdam Ave.) will feature more than 70 sessions and a full night of study, cheesecake, film, music, dance and conversation, in celebration of Shavuot. The program begins Sunday, Jun. 1, and runs from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Highlights from the program include a keynote address from TikTok Talmudist Miriam Anzovin; “mini-musical and Broadway backstage banter” by Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller; sessions featuring Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and our own New York Jewish Week editor-at-large, Andrew Silow-Carroll; a sip and paint; silent disco, and even a labneh-making session. Get your free tickets here.
Shavuot Dinner and “Torah Party to the Break of Dawn” with Greenpoint Shul
Join Greenpoint Shul (108 Noble Street, Brooklyn) on June 1 from 8 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. for an all-night Shavuot celebration with food fire, and Torah. Expect s’mores, paired study, a waffle bar, soulful prayer and an open mic “sermon slam” throughout the night and into the morning. Grab your tickets here for $25.
Shavuot Across Brooklyn in Park Slope
Sixteen synagogues, independent minyans and Jewish institutions are coming together for an all-night festival held annually at Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope (274 Garfield Place). The evening starts with prayer services at 9 p.m. on June 1 and continues with learning sessions led by a range of local community members until 4:30 a.m. before a sunrise service to end the night. Attendance is free; find all the details here.
Upscale Layla Lavan at Laissez Faire with Mazal Memories
Missed your chance to dance ahead of Shavuot? Don your upscale whites and head to cocktail lounge Laissez Faire (10 Theatre Alley, Manhattan) for a post-holiday Layla Lavan on June 7 from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Listen and dance to beats by DJs Akhy, Elso, Ry Gy, and Allaël. Get tickets, starting at $25, here.
