CBE Small Groups are an exciting way for community members to build connections and be a part of each other’s lives.
In these member-led groups, participants come together on a regular basis to find deeper meaning and joy in shared interests, identities, and life stages.
Small groups, which generally consist of a dozen people or less, might engage in activities, discussions, or other shared experiences. You could meet every month, twice a month, seasonally, or whatever the group decides is best. Depending on preference, groups meet in person, online, or a hybrid.
Each group is different, and it’s more art than science, but your group might:
- Begin with snacks and drinks
- Get to know each other through story sharing, check-ins, or a shared activity
- Frame your gathering with a Jewish text
Listed below are the first batch of CBE Small Groups. See one that sparks your interest? Join now! Fill out the Small Groups signup form to get connected with the group leaders and with Rabbi Jason Gitlin, our Small Groups Specialist.
Have an idea for a different small group? Use the same form to let us know, and we’ll help you make it happen!
We’re here to guide you through the process. All new group leaders will be offered training, one-on-one support, and (if relevant) Jewish resources. Have questions? Just reach out!
CBE Small Groups
Play and socialize with others who love a good game. Our Board Gamers Group is for you if you are in your twenties or older, single or a couple, a casual player or gaming geek.
Join us for a discussion of a book or books determined by this lay-led group. All are welcome! If you have any questions or would like a Zoom link, please email cbebookgroup@cbebk.org.
The CBE Book Group has been privileged to welcome several acclaimed authors to speak about their works. To view recordings of some of these talks, including conversations with Jamie Bernstein, Matti Friedman, Yousef Bashir, David Maraniss, Helen Fremont, Julie Metz, Jeremy Eichler, Lauren Young, and Sherry Turkle, click here.
Tuesday September 24: The Lock-Up by John Banville (in-person with a pot luck)
A New York Times Editors’ Choice Booker Prize winner and “Irish master” (The New Yorker) John Banville’s most ambitious crime novel yet brings two detectives together to solve a globe-spanning mystery. In 1950s Dublin, Rosa Jacobs, a young history scholar, is found dead in her car. Renowned pathologist Dr. Quirke and DI St. John Strafford begin to investigate the death as a murder, but it’s the victim’s older sister Molly, an established journalist, who discovers a lead that could crack open the case. One of Rosa’s friends, it turns out, is from a powerful German family that arrived in Ireland under mysterious circumstances shortly after World War II. But as Quirke and Strafford close in, their personal lives may put the case—and everyone involved—in peril, including Quirke’s own daughter. Spanning the mountaintops of Italy, the front lines of World War II Bavaria, the gritty streets of Dublin and other unexpected locales, The Lock-Up is an ambitious and arresting mystery by one of the world’s most celebrated authors.
Prepare dishes with other members who love to cook, bake, and eat Jewish foods, especially around the holiday times.
Join CBEKnits for conversation, camaraderie, and skill sharing, as well as “knit for good” projects.
Join with fellow members to share techniques, stories, and explore challah baking as a spiritual practice or hobby.
>Venture beyond Garfield Place and enjoy our city’s best Jewish-themed cultural offerings — art, plays, music, dance, lectures, walking tours, etc. — as a group!
Share your love, knowledge, questions, or interest in gardening with other community gardeners.
Connect and reflect together with other CBE members who are in this new life stage.
Connect with other members who are from France, Québec, other French-speaking countries, or just fluent in French.
Dig deeper into the messages, themes, and words of Torah that clergy preach in their sermons this year by participating in a High Holy Days Sermon Discussion Small Group. Groups will be provided with a three-meeting guide that will include a sermon for each meeting, some of the traditional and contemporary sources that inform them, and questions for further reflection and discussion.
Join us to share family stories and explore how our connections to the Holocaust hold meaning in our lives.
A supportive space, led by a social worker from the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, to connect with other community members struggling with infertility.
Whether you’re a seasoned player or want to learn from experienced gamers, Mah Jongg is a great way to connect with friends while having fun.
Come together with Members of Mizrachi and Sephardi Background to share your histories and cultures with one another; as well as explore ways to further celebrate and integrate these cultures into the life and practices of CBE.
A space for fellow musicians to play together, get to know one another, and occasionally explore the place of music in Jewish life and practices.
Commune with the trees, and other CBE nature lovers, in a group that regularly explores Prospect Park and other Brooklyn green spaces through walks and contemplative practices.
Many Jews who are active in progressive spaces, including some CBE members, have shared feeling shaken, challenged, or isolated by friends, colleagues, and classmates during this difficult time. Others have articulated a feeling of alienation in conservative spaces. Join members to participate in a safe, supportive and intimate setting to talk about how to navigate the complexity of these relationships.
Being a parent to a child with special needs reverberates through our lives and often carries additional stress from the perception of stigma and silence.
If you’re raising a child with special needs—whether a toddler, pre-schooler, elementary-age, or teen—we’d love to invite you to a supportive space where we can connect and reflect, as well as offer ideas to CBE for rituals and opportunities that can help support our children and families.
It’s time to break the silence around pregnancy loss and support each other with loving kindness. If you’ve experienced a miscarriage at any age and at any stage of pregnancy (including a failed fertility treatment, early miscarriage, or medical termination), come join us to find support, camaraderie, and a safe space to reflect together.
Enhance your circle of Prospect Heights families as we join together in the neighborhood to informally connect and celebrate Jewish holidays together.
Enhance your circle of LGBTQ+ families, by joining the Queer Parents group.
Share ideas, techniques, and inspiration with others who craft ritual items or create art that incorporates Jewish themes.
Join CBE seniors for discussions that examine timely and timeless ideas in cultural, political, and religious life.
Engage with others in the reflection and accounting that helps us fully experience the High Holy Days.
Whether you’re separated, divorced, widowed, or a single/sole parent, find support, camaraderie, and fun with other CBE community members in this phase of life.
Get connected to occasionally share Shabbat dinners with members who live in your neighborhood or share your life stage.
Nicole Colbert, a long time yoga practitioner and dance educator, will guide the group through asanas (yoga postures) and stretching to connect body, mind, and spirit.
Make connections with other CBE techies, designers, “builders”, and enthusiasts as we find ways to apply our combined talents, experiences, and interests for a social good through group-led social impact projects.
Connect with others interested in creative writing (whether in the form of essay, short story, memoir of novel) in order to share and critique our own work in a safe and supportive environment.
Bagels, coffee, and reflective conversations with other Yachad parents on select Shabbat mornings following family services.
Whether you’re fluent or just learning, join with others to practice Yiddish and celebrate Yiddish culture.