Or Shalom Jewish Community Mission Statement

Or Shalom Jewish Community is an active community of progressive Jews and non-Jews, diverse yet united in the effort to improve ourselves and mend our world through: limud (Jewish learning),  gemilut chasadim (acts of loving kindness), avodah (Jewish spiritual practice), and tikkun olam (social action).  We share a commitment to deep mutual acceptance, the spirit of questioning, and a dynamic balance between tradition and innovation that makes our Judaism alive and relevant.

To achieve this mission, we have structured our community around four centers of synagogue life:

• The House of Learning (Beit Midrash)

• Gathering Place (Beit Knesset) 

• The House of Prayer (Beit Tefilah)

• Healing the World (Tikkun Olam)

Or Shalom Community Core Values

• Inclusivity

Or Shalom Jewish Community welcomes people of all races, sexual orientations, economic circumstances and religious backgrounds.  

• Accessibility

Our worship services and rituals are easy to understand with a mix of English and Hebrew, and their purpose is always explained and made meaningful.   

• Ritual Flexibility

In crafting rituals, we respect individual family circumstances in order to include all family members and help them to make meaningful spiritual connections.  

• Acts of Loving Kindness

Or Shalom provides support to members in times of trouble, and promotes members’ involvement outside the community in the pursuit of Tikkun Olam through social action and social justice.   

•  Lay Leadership

Or Shalom’s rabbinic leadership and lay leaders collaborate to share and develop our values, rituals, and community culture.  

• Critical Reverence

The Or Shalom community has a tradition of actively questioning traditional interpretations of Torah and other teachings handed down by our ancestors. When questioning our traditions we do so with great reverence for and understanding of the uniqueness, depth, and value of our inherited writings and history as a Jewish people.   

• Valuing Individual Differences and Opinions

We value everyone’s unique opinions, lifestyles, and points of view with the ideal of community that asks “If I am only for myself, what good am I?"

• Voluntary Participation

Children are accepted at our Religious School only if they want and choose to attend. We are all at Or Shalom because we want to be here. 

Or Shalom Jewish Community Statement of

Tikkun Olam in Our Times

 

Or Shalom Condemns Anti-Muslim Bus Ads
 
Or Shalom Jewish Community joins the Jewish Community Relations Council and many others in condemning the anti-Muslim advertisements now appearing on Muni buses in San Francisco.
 
Quoting a religion’s most violent fringe and branding the whole group by association is provocative and hateful. We recognize the First Amendment issues raised by the prospect of banning offensive publicity of this sort, but we are saddened by the thought of San Francisco’s many peace-loving Muslims seeing their faith smeared in public without response from their neighbors.
 
So, we respond by condemning the ads and stating our wish to live in peace based on mutual respect with all San Franciscans, in their diverse faiths, cultures, and backgrounds.
 
March 25, 2013