VALUES STATEMENT FOR SEASIDE JEWISH COMMUNITY
The Seaside Board of Directors approved the following statement at its meeting on January 16, 2005. The Board recognizes that this is an evolving document and will review any changes from the Values committee as they are brought forward.
1. Community - Seaside serves as a kind of communal home, to find and nurture friendships across generational lines, where the older meet the younger, where we have a sense of "village", a place where we know we belong.
2. Torah - Torah study and practice is of central importance to our community. intellectual inquiry into the nature of our religion is fundamental. We care about and teaching for all.
3. Religious experience - We want Seaside to be a place where we can deepen our spiritual selves through religious experiences of prayer, meditation, ritual, music and art that touch our souls and add beauty to our lives.
4. Tikun Olam (repair of the world) - The pursuit of social justice is a universal obligation; members of Seaside see this as a primary expression of Jewish religious life. The ethical mandate of Judaism is a community responsibility.
5. Open community - We welcome people of all national origins and races; young, old, gay, straight, men, women, married, single, committed, firmly rooted Jewishly or new seekers -- in short, individuals who share our vision of practice of Jewish life.
6. Participation - We seek familiarity with the spectrum of Jewish ritual so there can be a high comfort level with the lived Jewish life. Nothing Jewish should be unknown to us.
7. L'Dor Va Dor - Educating our young is a community responsibility. Including our youth in our community activities is pervasive and ongoing.
8. Support - Supporting each other in the milestones of life, as well as at times of death, illness and other events, is part of what we do because each member of our community matters.
9. Holiness - Our community helps us find the holiness in our lives as we celebrate the holy moments of life's passages.
