A Jewish Tourist in New York City

Traveling to the Big Apple from Atlanta, with numerous reasonably-priced fares and flights of less than two hours means getting to New York City becomes a doable destination for a few days or a long weekend.

Read about a few Jewish destinations to extend your itinerary if you’re planning to attend a family simcha or other occasion, a business conference, a convention or perhaps to vacation in “the city that never sleeps.”

A place with year-round vibrant Jewish cultural offerings, lectures and concerts is the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, 15 W. 16th St. The current exhibit is “The Door Slams Shut: Jews and Immigration in the Face of American Reaction.”

Sung and spoken in Yiddish with English subtitles, the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene production of “Fiddler on the Roof,” the beloved Jewish folk tale inspired by Sholem Aleichem, recently moved to Off Broadway to Stage 42, formerly the Little Shubert Theatre, 422 W. 42nd St. and runs through December 30.

Photo by Victor Nechay/ProperPix // The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene production of “Fiddler on the Roof” recently moved Off Broadway to Stage 42, where it runs through Dec. 30.

Pack a good pair of walking shoes to tour the Lower East Side, today’s “hip” area, where tenements become renovated high-end apartments. Find the Tenement Museum: Immigration Museum NYC visitor and tour center at 103 Orchard St. at the corner of Delancey Street. Experience immigration real-life stories between 1863 and 2011 from more than 20 nations. Purchase tickets from $20 to $25 in advance to reserve a specific tour led by a museum educator. Daily tour schedules posted online six weeks in advance.

A magnificent hidden treasure is the Museum at Eldridge Street, housed in the 1887 Eldridge Street Synagogue at 12 Eldridge Street. Check out the “2019 Egg Rolls, Egg Creams and Empanadas Festival Sunday, June 16, from 12-4 p.m. Celebrate three Lower East Side cultures spilling out from the synagogue into the street with “Jewish, Chinese and Puerto Rican tastes, traditions, sights and sounds.”

The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to The Holocaust in Lower Manhattan presents, “Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away.” Exhibiting more than 700 artifacts and 400 photographs. On view through January 3, 2020; timed tickets are available. The museum is located at Edmond J. Safra Place at 36 Battery Place.

Take in a musically memorable Shabbat service at the Central Synagogue in Midtown.

Near New York University in Greenwich Village, visit the Dr. Bernard Heller Museum at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, at One West Fourth Street, where TERRA inFIRMA, an art exhibition with 65 international artists focusing on “climate change and global warming is seen through the lens of Jewish values and contemporary social action.” Through June 28. Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and some Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Enjoy the musically talented clergy, led by Senior Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, at Central Synagogue in Midtown Manhattan during Friday evening Shabbat services at this Reform synagogue. This Moorish style rendition of Budapest’s Dohany Street Synagogue with its two blue domes make it easy to find on Lexington Avenue at the corner of 55th Street.

Temple Emanu-El is known as the flagship temple for Reform Judaism in the world.

Tour Temple Emanu-El, called the “flagship temple for Reform Judaism in the world.” In 2017, CNN named Temple Emanu-El as one of “eight religious wonders to see in the U.S.” Free admission for tours. Visiting hours: Sunday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visitor entrance at 1 East 65th Street.

The Jewish Museum at 1109 Fifth Avenue and E. 92nd Street is “where visitors can journey through 4,000 years of Jewish culture from around the world.” It is currently showing selections from the museum’s permanent collection of art, Judaica and antiquities. There’s also a kosher café, Russ and Daughters.

These are just a few of the ways to add a Jewish twist to your next visit to NYC. Stay tuned for future stories about where to find the best Jewish food or bakeries, or who has the best sturgeon, corned beef sandwich, or chopped liver in NYC.