Rabbi Steve Blane releases Hanukkah EP

Rabbi and Cantor Steven Blane has been busy adding to his prolific slate of songs and will release a new Hanukkah EP as well as a brand new Christmas song on November 5th. The six song EP, entitled “Hanukah” includes five traditional Hanukkah songs with new English adaptations and a song entitled “A Little Light” which he wrote for Hanukkah years ago, when he was a Hebrew School teacher. Blane says, “It seems to me that we need light, joy and inspiration in these dark Continue reading →

Rabbi Steve Blane holds service for Blessing of the Animals

Sim Shalom Online Synagogue and Rabbi Steven Blane are proud to include all members of the family in its services. We are Jewish Universalist and welcome all….pets are no exception. On Friday, November 1st everyone is invited to a Blessing of the Animals service online at 7:00pm EST. You can join online and chat virtually with Rabbi Blane by going to the website or Facebook page at simshalom1. The Blessing of the Animals fosters the loving relationship between all G–d’s creatures. Animals are widely recognized Continue reading →

Pastor Robert Brashear joins Sim Shalom for Yom Kippur 5780

Sim Shalom the Online Synagogue continues to provide innovative services for the Jewish High Holidays. The jazz inspired services are unrivaled and sell out each year. This Yom Kippur, as in the past, Pastor Robert “Bob” Brashear will join Rabbi Steve Blane and his band and will offer a Yom Kippur sermon. Joining Blane and Brashear at the Bitter End in Manhattan are a quintet including Jack Glotman on Piano, Carol Sudhalter on Sax and Flute, Liz Taub on Fiddle, Kevin Hailey on Bass and Continue reading →

Jazz High Holiday Services 5780 at the Bitter End

On Monday, September 30th and Wednesday, October 9th Jews of all denominations searching for a vanguard place to celebrate the High Holidays will be offered a jazz service with vocals led by Rabbi Cantor Steven Blane accompanied by saxophone, piano, flute, drums, bass and fiddle. The participatory service will elate the spiritual uplift of new beginnings, welcoming the Jewish New Year with the raw emotion of jazz arranged from songs of Jewish liturgy. For those who will be in New York City, tickets are available Continue reading →

Sim Shalom Offers Services for Passover and Yom Hashoah

Sim Shalom Online Synagogue offers services during the Festival of Passover and on Yom Hashoah. Are you a firstborn child? Attend Sim Shalom’s “Fast of the Firstborn Service” on Friday, April 19th at 9:00am and skip fasting. To attend all of Sim Shalom’s services free go to our website and click where it says go live. We stream on Facebook and on Ustream, whichever works for you. There is also a live chat option to communicate with Rabbi Steve Blane and other attendees. On Friday Continue reading →

Rabbi Blane Releases “I Walk Alone” Album in time for Passover

Rabbi and Cantor Steven Blane of Sim Shalom Online Synagogue has a brand new album coming. “I Walk Alone,” will be released on April 16, 2019. It’s a collection of songs that Blane wrote and produced. He played all the instruments, recorded, mixed and mastered everything. Blane says, “It’s been cathartic. It’s the closest I’ve come to getting what I really have heard in my head. “I Walk Alone” is an album comprised of 60’s Rock & Roll, Jazz Story Songs” Read his first review Continue reading →

Rabbi Blane and Bet Din Oversee Conversion

Two new Jews by Choice joined the Jewish community on February 3rd at a conversion ceremony overseen by Sim Shalom’s Rabbi Steve Blane and an online Bet Din. Online conversion is a controversial topic in that some Jews tend to disparage the virtual process. However, even some mainstream denominations are now at times providing virtual conversions. Whatever the reason people seek conversion with Sim Shalom they all have a sincere desire to become Jewish. Rabbi Steve Blane of online synagogue Sim Shalom, was approached by Continue reading →

Sim Shalom Online Synagogue Broadcasts from a Little Blue Shed

Rabbi Steve Blane founded Sim Shalom as an option for those unaffiliated or disenfranchised Jews. The innovator developed Sim Shalom as a virtual synagogue. There is no physical building. Services are not videoed from a birds eye view of a congregation worshipping. Services are designed to be interactive and streamed directly to congregants. Sim Shalom has a vibrant community from around the world who watch daily. Not only can the community attend services in their PJs viewing from the comfort of their home, RV or Continue reading →

What is Jewish Universalism and Why Does it Matter?

Rabbi Blane writes: To answer those questions, I need to revisit a bit of personal history. “When I first conceived of Jewish Universalism, it was during a transitional period when I declined my synagogue’s offer of a contract renewal in January, and I had to remain in my position until July. For Rabbis and Cantors, those months are a time of soul searching- and job searching. We tend to just “walk through the motions” and show up and perform our duties but often devoid of Continue reading →

Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute Ordains 6 New Rabbis Trained Untraditionally Online.,

JSLI – Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute, the Online Rabbinical and Cantorial School of Sim Shalom, celebrated freedom in diversity and flexibility on July 4th weekend at the 13th Class Ordination weekend. The six (6) new Rabbis, from a range of backgrounds, four (4) from the United States and two (2) from Canada shared a classroom on the internet and a passion for Jewish Religious studies. They completed traditional Rabbinic studies with a focus on contemporary Jewish issues and problems that a 21st Century Jew faces. Continue reading →