Our Principles as a Community
Our Welcoming - B'ruchim Ha-Ba'im
Shir Chadash is an inclusive, warm and nurturing community. Our doors are open to all Jews and their families: unaffiliated Jews, Jews by choice, Jews of color, LGBTQ Jews, Jews of all abilities, and Jews with non-Jewish partners. We recognize and respect that each of us is uniquely created b'tzelem Elohim, in the image of God, and we welcome everyone as part of our diverse community.
Our Spirituality - Ruach Ve-Shirah
We are a holy community thar supports individual spiritual journeys, providing opportunities for development and leadership. Our egalitarian, lay-led prayer is anchored by intention and infused with great spirit. As we join our voices together - rooted in the ways of our ancestors yet open to innovation - the tradition
Our Conscience - Tikkun Olam
We are a community of conscience and sacred action guided by and grounded in the teachings of our tradition. We work to grow individually and as a community in order to repair breaches in our connections - to each ocher, to our fellow metropolitan New Orleanians, to our country, to all of humankind, and to our planet. Together we identify opportunities for service and action, mobilizing our strengths to address suffering and injustice.
Our Education - Limmud Lishma
We uphold lifelong learning as a central Jewish practice. Our wide variety of educational programming is delivered in a number of formats, from the more traditional to the most innovative, led by the rabbi, the professional staff, and learned members of our community. We provide opportunities at every stage of Jewish Learning to develop an understanding of our place in the world and our relationships with, and responsibilities to, God and each other.
Our Children - Am Yisrael Chai
We embrace our children as the future of Am Yisrael, the Jewish People. Our child - and family - centered spiritual, educational, and social programming provides our young people with rich opportunities for the development of strong Jewish identities rooted in learning and community. Meanwhile, we welcome children everywhere, enjoying their participation in our prayer and our intergenerational environment.
Our Relationships - Kavod Va-Chased
We turn to our community to challenge the isolation of our everyday lives and to express our care for each other. Together we celebrate our joys and share the burden of our sorrows. We respect each other. Our views do not always converge, and , in other contexts might set us apart. However, because we undertake to be a holy community, we foster a culture of honest discussion, honorable disagreement, and lashon tov, appropriate speech and reasoned discourse.
Our Space - Makom Kadosh
We recognize that our physical space helps to shape our community. Our facility, therefore, should be an inviting and safe environment for all to enjoy prayer, learning, and life cycle events and should be designed and used to serve the community's needs. We aspire to create holy, beautiful welcoming, inclusive, and accessible spaces as an expression of our Jewish values.
