Mission/Core Values
Mission
Shomrei Emunah is the spiritual home of a warm and inviting community of Jews in and around Montclair, New Jersey, a progressive and diverse enclave just 12 miles west of Manhattan. It is a town known for its high concentration of people engaged in the arts, media, politics, and the professions, and combines an urban sensibility with the very best of suburban life.
Like the place in which we live, our synagogue embraces members from an unusually wide range of backgrounds and ways of living Jewish.
With pride in our congregation’s long and proud history, we strive to build a contemporary community that welcomes individuals, couples and families of diverse backgrounds and orientations to join, grow and thrive with us.
Shomrei Emunah weaves us all together in an intimate environment as we observe an egalitarian, vibrant Judaism, balancing openness and traditional practice in a variety of ways; renew and sustain our connections to our heritage through learning and ritual; celebrate and share the cycles of life, and seek to nurture one another, our neighbors, Israel, and the world at large with our energy, time, and acts of loving kindness. We aspire to be a beacon of social consciousness and action.
We welcome all who wish to worship or affiliate with us. We are affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
Core Values
Creating a Sacred Community through Torah, Avodah, and Gemilut Chasadim: Learning, Worship, and Acts of Loving Kindness
Spirituality
Our synagogue is a joyful, sacred space, rooted in traditional Jewish observance, continually refreshed by new and enriching approaches to religious expression. Whether trying to connect with God or with one another, we are bound by a common desire: to live more fully Jewish lives. We are committed to supporting the individual search for spiritual growth and to strengthening our community through meaningful daily, Shabbat, holiday and life-cycle rituals.
Education
We believe Judaism’s wealth of knowledge and culture nurtures us at every age and stage of life. We provide dynamic Jewish education for our children and for all generations, emphasizing Torah, Jewish values and traditions, the Hebrew language, Israel, and a joyful appreciation for the richness of Jewish culture.
Tzedakah and Tikkun Olam
We believe we have a responsibility to “repair the world” and commit ourselves to caring for the homeless, the hungry and those in need of loving kindness in our own congregation and beyond.
Community
We value openness, acceptance, and informality, and we welcome all who seek to participate in a Jewish life. The diversity of our community is our strength, and the engagement of individual members is essential to the vitality of all areas of synagogue life. We create a web of opportunities -- spiritual, educational, social and community -- that connect us to each other. In times of need we comfort each other and together we celebrate life's many joyous moments.