Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
VISION STATEMENT
What is Nehar Shalom – River of Peace?
An old model made new. A shtibel is a small shul, a Chassidic prayer room in origin, often
in the rabbi’s house. It is a place of unpretentious warmth, of joyful simplicity, a gathering
place in simcha and sorrow, laughter and tears, pulsating with life, a place of fervent
prayer and learning, engagement of people with one another, with God and with one’s
own soul.
Nehar Shalom draws on the warmth of the traditional shtibel, but strives to be more, more
inclusive and more responsive to the world. Committed to social justice, Nehar Shalom is
a place from which Jews can respond as Jews to the needs of the wider community and of
the world in which we live. Building bridges with people of other faiths and communities,
Nehar Shalom values learning about and from each other, while pursuing together tikkun
olam, repair of the world.
Why the name Nehar Shalom?
From the book of Bereshit/Genesis…, A river goes forth from Eden, Nahar yotzei me’
aiden. This primordial river waters the Garden, and then, branching into four riverheads,
it flows out into the world. Flowing from a place of wholeness and peace, the river carries
with it the spirit of its source. As Shabbos offers not a retreat from the world, but a respite
in time from which to return to the world with vision renewed, so too, a place of Eden in
our lives. The shtibel Nehar Shalom is a place of Eden. We are the rivers, flowing from a
common source, each carrying from the place of our gathering a spirit of wholeness and
peace out into the world. Nehar Shalom is the name of a work by an 18th century
Jerusalem kabbalist, Rabbi Shalom Sharabi, who teaches of the healing powers of the
four rivers of Eden. The prophet Isaiah
consoles Jerusalem, offering God’s comfort
that shall flow unto her k’nahar shalom, as
a river of peace.
In the Hebrew letters, nun and shin, the first
letters of each of the words, Nehar Shalom,
is a reminder of the sacredness to be
sought in our way of relationship with each
other -- within our own community, within
the world community, and within the worlds
of our own lives. The letters nun and shin
form the Aramaic word, NaSh, which means
human being. The holiness of a community
is built upon the holiness of each person, upon the recognition of God’s image in each
other.
What does it mean to be inclusive, traditional and egalitarian?
It means to be a participatory community that is in love with the beauty of Jewish tradition,
whose collective heart beat throbs with the cadence of Jewish life, celebrating together
the sacred weave of time as marked by the Jewish calendar. It means to be strong
enough in our love for Jewish tradition that we can yet question, challenge, and wrestle
with tradition, even as our father Jacob wrestled with God. It means to draw on the depths
of Jewish wisdom and teaching, honoring the challenge and the requirements of Jewish
law, while breathing new life into its spirit, so that none of our people are excluded. Nehar
Shalom is a non-judgmental community in which all are welcome, all Jews seeking a place
among their people, those who are not Jewish but who have a Jewish partner, or who in
their own seeking are drawn to learn more about Judaism and the Jewish people. It
means that male and female, each representing part of God’s image, are equal in
responsibility to serve and in worthiness to be honored. It means that all are empowered
to represent the community before God, to be leaders of prayer and readers of Torah,
each person recognized as having unique gifts to share with others. The rabbi invites all
to give of themselves, receiving back in due measure, and in joining together, to create a
holy community.
Two Hebrew letters appear traditionally before the name of a Jewish community. The
letters are kuf kuf , standing for Kehilla Kedosha, The Holy Community of…. These letters
do not endow a community with holiness, but serve to challenge its members to create a
community worthy of being called holy.
What does Nehar Shalom offer?
It offers the opportunity to be part of creating a new Jewish community that, with God’s
help, shall be worthy of being called holy. Nehar Shalom offers a place of Torah, of
learning, of prayer and spiritual seeking, of service to others and to the world itself, for
adults and for children. It is a place where differences are not feared and unity not
posited on avoidance of what is difficult, where all manner of issues can be brought
forward for the sake of respectful dialogue and debate, talking with each other for the
sake of Heaven. Nehar Shalom is a place
where the basic skills for living Jewish life
can be learned at any stage without shame
or embarrassment, where all are
encouraged and accomplishment
celebrated in the embrace of community.
Nehar Shalom offers Jewish community that
is readily accessible to all. It offers the
richness of Jewish living for people of all ages and
backgrounds, where generations can learn one from the other, and where those with
much Jewish learning and those with little can each find a home. Every person has
something to learn and to teach. At Nehar Shalom the opportunity to do both shall be
there for all. Nehar Shalom offers traditional davenning in Chassidic style, prayer rising
on wings of song. Heeding the teaching of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov that melody has
the great power to draw a person to the Holy One, all shall be helped to find their voice.
Nehar Shalom offers the gathering place of a
community through which to celebrate together Jewish cycles of time. We gather to mark
the holy days of the year, the monthly renewal of the moon and of ourselves, the cycle of
days, which each week brings us home to Shabbos, and the cycle of each day marked
through times of prayerful pause. The Jewish cycle of life unfolds through community.
Nehar Shalom is a place to sing for joy upon the birth of a child, a place to share the
nachas of Bar and Bas Mitzvah and to celebrate the union of two people in love. When a
loved one is gathered to her or his people, Nehar Shalom is a place to find comfort as a
mourner, and in the cycle of memory, a place to say kaddish on a yahrzeit, the
anniversary of a death. Nehar Shalom is a place to receive the care and counsel and
teaching of a rabbi with many years of experience in all facets of the congregational
rabbinate.
What is Nehar Shalom – River of Peace?
An old model made new. A shtibel is a small shul, a Chassidic prayer room in origin, often
in the rabbi’s house. It is a place of unpretentious warmth, of joyful simplicity, a gathering
place in simcha and sorrow, laughter and tears, pulsating with life, a place of fervent
prayer and learning, engagement of people with one another, with God and with one’s
own soul.
Nehar Shalom draws on the warmth of the traditional shtibel, but strives to be more, more
inclusive and more responsive to the world. Committed to social justice, Nehar Shalom is
a place from which Jews can respond as Jews to the needs of the wider community and of
the world in which we live. Building bridges with people of other faiths and communities,
Nehar Shalom values learning about and from each other, while pursuing together tikkun
olam, repair of the world.
Why the name Nehar Shalom?
From the book of Bereshit/Genesis…, A river goes forth from Eden, Nahar yotzei me’
aiden. This primordial river waters the Garden, and then, branching into four riverheads,
it flows out into the world. Flowing from a place of wholeness and peace, the river carries
with it the spirit of its source. As Shabbos offers not a retreat from the world, but a respite
in time from which to return to the world with vision renewed, so too, a place of Eden in
our lives. The shtibel Nehar Shalom is a place of Eden. We are the rivers, flowing from a
common source, each carrying from the place of our gathering a spirit of wholeness and
peace out into the world. Nehar Shalom is the name of a work by an 18th century
Jerusalem kabbalist, Rabbi Shalom Sharabi, who teaches of the healing powers of the
four rivers of Eden. The prophet Isaiah
consoles Jerusalem, offering God’s comfort
that shall flow unto her k’nahar shalom, as
a river of peace.
In the Hebrew letters, nun and shin, the first
letters of each of the words, Nehar Shalom,
is a reminder of the sacredness to be
sought in our way of relationship with each
other -- within our own community, within
the world community, and within the worlds
of our own lives. The letters nun and shin
form the Aramaic word, NaSh, which means
human being. The holiness of a community
is built upon the holiness of each person, upon the recognition of God’s image in each
other.
What does it mean to be inclusive, traditional and egalitarian?
It means to be a participatory community that is in love with the beauty of Jewish tradition,
whose collective heart beat throbs with the cadence of Jewish life, celebrating together
the sacred weave of time as marked by the Jewish calendar. It means to be strong
enough in our love for Jewish tradition that we can yet question, challenge, and wrestle
with tradition, even as our father Jacob wrestled with God. It means to draw on the depths
of Jewish wisdom and teaching, honoring the challenge and the requirements of Jewish
law, while breathing new life into its spirit, so that none of our people are excluded. Nehar
Shalom is a non-judgmental community in which all are welcome, all Jews seeking a place
among their people, those who are not Jewish but who have a Jewish partner, or who in
their own seeking are drawn to learn more about Judaism and the Jewish people. It
means that male and female, each representing part of God’s image, are equal in
responsibility to serve and in worthiness to be honored. It means that all are empowered
to represent the community before God, to be leaders of prayer and readers of Torah,
each person recognized as having unique gifts to share with others. The rabbi invites all
to give of themselves, receiving back in due measure, and in joining together, to create a
holy community.
Two Hebrew letters appear traditionally before the name of a Jewish community. The
letters are kuf kuf , standing for Kehilla Kedosha, The Holy Community of…. These letters
do not endow a community with holiness, but serve to challenge its members to create a
community worthy of being called holy.
What does Nehar Shalom offer?
It offers the opportunity to be part of creating a new Jewish community that, with God’s
help, shall be worthy of being called holy. Nehar Shalom offers a place of Torah, of
learning, of prayer and spiritual seeking, of service to others and to the world itself, for
adults and for children. It is a place where differences are not feared and unity not
posited on avoidance of what is difficult, where all manner of issues can be brought
forward for the sake of respectful dialogue and debate, talking with each other for the
sake of Heaven. Nehar Shalom is a place
where the basic skills for living Jewish life
can be learned at any stage without shame
or embarrassment, where all are
encouraged and accomplishment
celebrated in the embrace of community.
Nehar Shalom offers Jewish community that
is readily accessible to all. It offers the
richness of Jewish living for people of all ages and
backgrounds, where generations can learn one from the other, and where those with
much Jewish learning and those with little can each find a home. Every person has
something to learn and to teach. At Nehar Shalom the opportunity to do both shall be
there for all. Nehar Shalom offers traditional davenning in Chassidic style, prayer rising
on wings of song. Heeding the teaching of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov that melody has
the great power to draw a person to the Holy One, all shall be helped to find their voice.
Nehar Shalom offers the gathering place of a
community through which to celebrate together Jewish cycles of time. We gather to mark
the holy days of the year, the monthly renewal of the moon and of ourselves, the cycle of
days, which each week brings us home to Shabbos, and the cycle of each day marked
through times of prayerful pause. The Jewish cycle of life unfolds through community.
Nehar Shalom is a place to sing for joy upon the birth of a child, a place to share the
nachas of Bar and Bas Mitzvah and to celebrate the union of two people in love. When a
loved one is gathered to her or his people, Nehar Shalom is a place to find comfort as a
mourner, and in the cycle of memory, a place to say kaddish on a yahrzeit, the
anniversary of a death. Nehar Shalom is a place to receive the care and counsel and
teaching of a rabbi with many years of experience in all facets of the congregational
rabbinate.
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| Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue 43 Lochstead Avenue, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 |
