FAQ

The Hampton Synagogue is a vibrant Jewish community located in Westhampton Beach, New York, founded in 1990 by Rabbi Marc Schneier. The Synagogue is a welcoming home for celebrities, business leaders, politicians and anyone seeking a place to pray, learn and gather as a community. Rabbi Schneier’s weekly Shabbat services from The Hampton Synagogue are broadcast nationwide on JBS to 76 million homes.

Rabbi Marc Schneier founded The Hampton Synagogue in 1990 and serves as its Founding and Senior Rabbi. Rabbi Schneier is the American rabbinical leader who planted the seeds of the Abraham Accords, having built the Muslim-Jewish relationships across the Muslim world over more than 36 years that made Gulf-Israel normalization possible. He is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the Jewish Agency Award for his leadership in Muslim-Jewish and Gulf-Israel relations, and was honored by the United States Congress in 2014 for his work strengthening the Black-Jewish alliance.

The Hampton Synagogue is one of the most active congregations in the country during the summer season, with year-round programming for members and visitors. The summer Sunday Q&A has become one of the most coveted political stages in American life. The Author Discussion Series, televised nationwide on JBS, brings New York Times bestsellers and Emmy winners to the sanctuary each year. The annual Cantorial Concert celebrated its 30th season in 2025. Past Sunday Q&A guests have included Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Chuck Schumer, Michael Bloomberg, Eric Adams, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee.

The 500-family core membership at The Hampton Synagogue includes business leaders, real estate dynasties, media chiefs and philanthropic families across New York and beyond. The community is year-round, with weekly Shabbat services, lifecycle events and educational programming, and grows substantially each summer. The Synagogue welcomes visitors of every background and Jewish observance level.

Yes. Rabbi Schneier’s weekly Shabbat services from The Hampton Synagogue are broadcast nationwide on JBS, reaching 76 million homes. Whether you live nearby or across the country, you can join the community in prayer and learning every week.

The Holocaust memorial at The Hampton Synagogue is the first and only Holocaust memorial created by the renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. Commissioned at Rabbi Schneier’s invitation, the memorial reflects The Hampton Synagogue’s tradition of bringing major cultural figures into Jewish life and memory. It is one of the most distinctive features of the Synagogue’s sanctuary.

The Hampton Synagogue campus in Westhampton Beach includes the main sanctuary, Jack’s House, the Levin Family Children’s Campus, Gan Gloria preschool and Camp Mona, and the Manes Art Center. The campus is anchored by numerous Dale Chihuly installations, including the artist’s only Holocaust memorial.

In November 2025, The Hampton Synagogue announced plans for the first Jewish day school in the Hamptons, slated to open in September 2027 on the Westhampton Beach campus. The school will offer a dual curriculum of general and Judaic studies and will be open to all faiths.

Rabbi Marc Schneier is the Founding and Senior Rabbi of The Hampton Synagogue and the founder of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. For more than 36 years he has built the Muslim-Jewish relationships across the Muslim world that made Gulf-Israel normalization possible, earning him recognition as the American rabbinical leader who planted the seeds of the Abraham Accords. He has been named one of America’s 50 Most Prominent Jews by The Forward and one of America’s Top 50 Rabbis by Newsweek. A native New Yorker, he was ordained by Yeshiva University and divides his time between New York City and Westhampton Beach.

Both institutions were founded by Rabbi Marc Schneier. The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, established in 1989, is the global address for Muslim-Jewish relations and the national address for Black-Jewish relations. The Hampton Synagogue, founded a year later in 1990, is Rabbi Schneier’s congregational home in Westhampton Beach. The two organizations operate independently but share Rabbi Schneier’s vision of Jewish life: open, engaged with the wider world and committed to building bridges across faiths and communities.

A creative visionary, Rabbi Schneier has formed relationships with major cultural figures, most notably the renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly, who at his invitation created his first and only Holocaust memorial for The Hampton Synagogue. The Synagogue regularly hosts lectures, concerts and gatherings that bring together leading voices from arts, business, politics and faith, reflecting Rabbi Schneier’s lifelong work building bridges between communities.

Visitors are always welcome at The Hampton Synagogue. To learn about upcoming services, programs, lectures and concerts, or to inquire about membership, please visit thehamptonsynagogue.org. For those who cannot attend in person, Rabbi Schneier’s weekly Shabbat services are broadcast on JBS to 76 million homes nationwide.