About Us
“Agudath Israel is a welcoming Conservative congregation that promotes Judaism and its values through religious, educational and social activities.”
Welcome to Agudath Israel
The synagogue is the embodiment of a spiritual community, built on
three values: the
“I” is sacred, the “You” is sacred, and the relationship between the
“I” and “You” is one of the places in which we find God. Every
person who walks across the threshold of our tent, whether stranger or
intimate friend, ought to be treated as the human being made in the
image of God that she or he is.1
Why the Conservative Way
“Conservative Judaism came into being to create a new synthesis in
Jewish life…(in which) Judaism is a creative force through which
modernity and tradition inform and reshape each other.” 2 “Reform
has asserted the right of interpretation but it has rejected the
authority of the legal tradition. Orthodoxy has clung fast to the
principle of authority, but has in our own and recent generations
rejected the right to any but minor interpretations. Conservative
view is that both are necessary for a living Judaism. Accordingly,
Conservative Judaism holds itself bound by the Jewish legal tradition,
but asserts the right of its rabbinical body, acting as a whole, to
interpret and to apply Jewish law.”3
“What is the Jewish way to God? It is not a way of ascending a ladder of speculation… Our understanding comes by the way of mitzvah. By living as Jews we attain our faith as Jews. We do not have faith in deeds; we attain faith through deeds…A Jew is asked to take a leap of action rather than a leap of thought; to surpass his needs, to do more than he does. In carrying out the word of the Torah, he is ushered into the presence of spiritual meaning. Through the ecstasy of deeds, he learns to be certain of the presence of God.”4
The Ideal Conservative Jew is….
- a Willing Jew, committed to observing mitzvoth & advancing Jewish concerns, who “refracts all aspects of life through the prism of one’s Judaism,” and is dedicated to one’s relationship with God and with other human beings;
- a Learning Jew, who recognizes that to be affected by the depth and beauty of our tradition, one needs to be familiar with that tradition, in both its classical formulations and contemporary expressions; and therefore makes intellectual engagement with the texts and traditions of Judaism a life-long engagement;
- a Striving Jew, who recognizes that “no one can perform all 613 mitzvoth or acquire all Jewish knowledge.” Each of us begins on a different wavelength, and each of us will follow different paths; most important is the openness to deepen one’s practice and knowledge.
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- 1. From the Synagogue 2000 Facilitation guide, Building a Sacred Community.
- 2. Emet Ve-Emunah; Statement of Principles of Conservative Judaism.
- 3. Mordecai Waxman, ed., Tradition and Change: The Development of Conservative Judaism.
- 4. Abraham Joshua Heschel, “Toward An Understanding of Halakhah.”