Mission and Values
Our Sh'ma Statement
Igniting the passion to connect — with Jewish values, with each other, and with our world.
Our V'ahavta Statement
Congregation Rodef Sholom is a kehillah kedosha (sacred community), that welcomes Jews and their families with open arms and open minds. We are linked to our past and actively building our future. We are multi-generational and multi-cultural. Whether you are married, single, with or without kids, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, a Jew by choice or by birth, in an interfaith family, or disabled, we welcome you. Rodef Sholom is a community that will stand by you through all your life cycle events, from birth and b'nai mitzvah, through illness and death.
Our aim is to help build Jewish lives that are authentic. In doing so, we envision individuals who are enriched and a community that is transformed.
Read our Statement of Inclusivity: A Covenant of True Belonging.
Worship: Soul Lifting and Life Changing — The Potential of Prayer
Worship can awaken, animate, challenge and surprise. It can shine a light in dark times and nurture gratitude for the gifts we have been given.
Rodef Sholom services are vibrant, musical, and contemplative, engaging our hearts and minds with the words of Torah. At the center of our communal spiritual life is Shabbat: a chance to unwind and unplug, count the blessings of the past week, and embrace the prospect of the week ahead. Shabbat nourishes us spiritually, communally, and intellectually.
At Rodef Sholom, we actively explore, question, and affirm the holiness in our lives. No matter where you are on the belief spectrum — confirmed in your faith or searching -- there is a welcome place for you at Rodef Sholom.
Social Justice: Repairing the World
Call it justice or social action. At Rodef Sholom, we call it tikkun olam. We believe it is our responsibility to act – boldly and powerfully – to bring healing, dignity, justice and peace to our world.
Repairing the world is central to everything we do, locally and globally. We will cross the street to help plant a school garden or protest an injustice across an ocean. We instigate. We partner. We recognize and stand up for the rights of others. And we believe that our passion and dedication will change the world.
As Rabbi Hillel said in the Talmud, “Love your neighbor, and love yourself. This is the whole Torah. All the rest is commentary.”
Community: Your home away from home
We are a dynamic and compassionate, warm and supportive collection of families and individuals with a mutual belief in the importance of Jewish values in our lives. We share Shabbat dinners. We study together. We work to make a difference in our world.
We are also a diverse community. We celebrate our varying points of connection with Judaism and God, and make sure there is room for discourse and the opportunity to create and innovate. Wherever your passion lies, we encourage you to bring us your ideas to consider how we might collaborate as partners in bringing them to life.
Rodef Sholom is your spiritual home, a place to be comfortable, a place to be challenged, and a place to engage.
Lifelong Learning: Where does learning happen?
Learning can happen almost anywhere: On a hike in the hills, within the synagogue walls, or in the Holy Land itself. And every day holds the potential for discovery.
Our Rodef Sholom community is immersed in lifelong, intergenerational learning. We explore texts and traditions, pushing for ways to see the relevance in our own modern lives. Our children and teens engage in stimulating, interactive learning, adult members tackle issues from many perspectives, stretching minds through the exchange of ideas and drawing on the profound richness of our heritage.
Just as it has throughout our history, Jewish learning today stands as the foundation of meaning and purpose in our lives.
Israel: Our Promised Land
A spiritual homeland. An extraordinary achievement. A model of vitality, progress and hope. At Rodef Sholom, we celebrate Israel’s sacred history and its unparalleled contribution to the modern world.
As we support Jewish communities the world over, we take particular pride in our engagement with Israel. While we acknowledge the mighty challenges that Israel continues to face, we are inspired by a vision of peace, equal rights and security in this thriving nation that embodies our people’s history.
Toward that vision, we encourage a respectful dialogue as we ourselves make sense of the realities of Israeli life today. We believe that through support and thoughtful conversation, rooted in Jewish values, we can help Israel work towards its greatest potential as a light unto the nations.
These words embody our sacred community, enriching us as individuals and as a whole.
They guide us as we deepen our connections to a Jewish way of life.
They are an expression of who we are and who we aspire to be as we build the future of Rodef Sholom.
