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About Us

Ohav Shalom: "Lover of peace."

Our goal always is to love peace and pursue peace. Like all communities, we will, at times, experience conflict with each other. Conflict in and of itself is not bad. If used wisely, it can lead to an honest airing of views and the building of consensus. We must always be dedicated to the twofold process of pursuing peace while fostering honest debate about our direction as a religious community. Most important, our goal within the larger Jewish community is to build unity with our fellow Jews of all persuasions and affiliations, in a spirit of love and respect.

Conservative Synagogue

Our Conservative movement sees Judaism as a matter of tradition and change. We have always been rooted deeply in the laws and practices of the past, yet we have never been afraid to see change as an authentic part of our tradition. Thus, like many Conservative synagogues, Ohav became egalitarian after many years of study, discussion, and development; we recognize that the advancement of women in all areas of life, including religious life contributes to a new understanding of their participation in congregational worship.

At the same time, we have chosen to preserve the full traditional liturgy in our sanctuary service, rather than truncate it or incorporate a lot of English. The impact of the liturgy and the sacred language of Hebrew upon the Jewish people is great, and we wish to preserve it fully.

Our commitment to our members who do not know the liturgy or Hebrew is to give them the educational tools to participate in worship, rather than to alter these important traditions. (See more in this booklet.) As a congregation, we emphasize in word and deed the critical role that Jewish law can play in our lives, while recognizing that Jewish law is always developing in response to new realities and problems.

Preservation of Judaism

This statement needs almost no explanation, for the preservation of Judaism and the Jewish people is what all Jewish institutions are about. Our congregation must always be vigilant to keep this most sacred task in mind as its highest ideal.

Communal Outreach

We see our synagogue as a spiritual home to Jews of all backgrounds. Ohav Shalom tries to reach a diverse group of Jews, who reflect many different religious backgrounds, personal circumstances, and interests. We are proud of our active membership committee, which has contributed significantly to bringing new members to our congregation and integrating them into the life of the community. We must continue to help newcomers feel welcome in our congregation.

Social Action

Kindness and compassion transcend social class and political boundaries. Our congregation's mission is to unite all of our members in a common commitment to tzedakah (philanthropy) and hesed (kindness), regardless of their political affiliations or social status. We are a community which acts upon the Jewish imperative to serve as God's partner in tikkun olam, repairing our world through acts of goodness. Our Social Action Committee and AIDS Care Team project help to fulfill that imperative.

Our special outreach and service committee, known as Yad Yonatan, continues to offer support services to people with illness, bereaved individuals, and their families during times of crisis.

Religious Education and Worship

The vision of the educational program of the synagogue is that it should operate from "womb to tomb." We are a congregation of learners at every age, from preschool through older adulthood, and we can grow Jewishly no matter how young or old we are.

Great emphasis is being placed on Jewish family education in our preschool, religious school, and adult studies programs. We understand the powerful impact that families learning together can have on a child's spiritual and moral development. We have adopted the "umbrella" model of synagogue worship advocated by the leadership of the Conservative movement. This means that we maintain the traditional service in our sanctuary, yet we recognize the importance of providing a variety of educational modes and worship styles for helping all people to come closer to Jewish study, spirituality, and prayer. Thus, we offer a variety of creative worship services for children and adults parallel to the main service. All of these services are an integral part of our educational program.

We are committed to the principle of Kol Yisrael Areivin Zeh Bazeh: All members of the Jewish community are responsible for each other because we are like one family. This theme, as well as the theme of Conservative Jewish living, will carry us through in so much of what we do within the Jewish community, and by extension, outside of it as well. The sage Hillel taught us, "Be a disciple of the high priest Aaron, loving peace and pursuing it, loving all people and bringing them close to the Torah."

Adult Studies

Congregational Update

Family News

During the winter months it becomes more difficult to get a minyan for morning weekday services. All congregant families received a fridge magnet with a specific day of the month for attendance. Please try to attend a morning minyan on your assigned day monthly. It will be greatly appreciated and it is a mitzvah!