Our Mission

Beth David Mission Statement

Beth David Reform Congregation is an intimate, caring and vibrant community for Reform Jewish worship, learning and personal growth. Our aim is to have active participation by all our members and to be an inclusive congregation. Beth David and its Religious School offer a wide range of spiritual and educational programs. We are dedicated to Torah, social action, , tikkun olam (repairing the world), tzedakah (charity), the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Our mission is to inspire a life-long Commitment to Judaism and provide a place to celebrate our Jewish lives together, l’dor v’dor — from generation to generation.

Adopted October 2005

The 10 Point Program

Originally devised by Rabbi Samuel Markowitz some 50 years ago, the 10-Point Program has stood as our guiding principles over the course of Beth David's history:

1. The congregation is an educational institution whose primary purpose is to counsel and instruct its members in leading a Jewish existence.

2. The congregation must be maintained at a size which provides an opportunity for each member to be recognized as an important individual.

3. The role of the Rabbi is primarily to teach Judaism and to serve the spiritual needs of the members.

4. The Jewish education and participation of the family as a whole is a central focus of our synagogue program. Children cannot seriously appreciate a religion that is ignored by their parents.

5. Religious services enable us to have a deeper understanding of ourselves, our faith and our world. During worship we renew the creative powers within ourselves and strengthen our capacity to live a Jewish life in the modern world.

6. A congregation can provide maximum benefits for its members only if they give of themselves as well as render financial support.

7. We learn by doing. Participation in some facet of the congregational program is indispensable to a satisfactory relationship between the individual member and the synagogue.

8. The goals of our educational program are reverence for life, respect for our Jewish heritage and recognition of the ideals and insights of Judaism in our world.

9. We are a democratic organization and all members have equal rights.

10. Beth David is a Reform Jewish congregation. The principle of change as inherent in historic Judaism is the basis for congregational procedures, policies and programs.