Our Mission Statement was written to provide focus and direction for acting on our principles. Every member – and potential member – of Chicago Sinai is encouraged to read and consider this statement.  

OUR MISSION

CHICAGO SINAI CONGREGATION

From time to time throughout its history, the leaders of Chicago Sinai Congregation have sought to articulate the mission and principles that guide our congregation. With the start of a new century and the movement of our temple to a new location, the congregation's leadership concluded it is again time to examine the relevance of Sinai's historic mission and define a contemporary vision for fulfilling its promise. This initiative was undertaken in the belief that with clarity, consensus and direction, great and important things can be accomplished. The last time we reaffirmed Sinai's mission and updated the congregation's planning, the congregation's leadership determined we needed a new home. A decade later, that vision and commitment has transformed a small, declining congregation again into a vital, growing institution. This document is presented with the hope that it, too, will result in great and important things, enhancing the ways in which members of Sinai worship, learn, serve our community and develop and deepen relationships with one another

OUR MISSION

Our mission is: First, to foster our historic covenant with the God of all humanity. Our founders called this our "inestimable inheritance." Second, to "be a house of prayer for all people." Third, to be a "light unto the nations" for the principles of Classical Reform Judaism.

Our mission is threefold: First, to foster "the inestimable inheritance" of our ancestors -- our historic covenant with the God of all humanity; second, to be a "house of prayer for all people;" and third, to be a "light unto the nations" for the principles of Classical Reform Judaism.

In the best traditions of Reform and its commitment to "simplicity, purity and sublimity" in Judaism and the laws of reason and truth, we preserve and espouse an authentic, relevant Jewish response to the personal spiritual quest of our members and the ethical, intellectual, and social needs and challenges of all people.

Since its founding in 1861, Chicago Sinai Congregation has been a leader of Reform Judaism, proclaiming that Judaism is first and foremost a community of faith, a spiritual and religious commitment, founded on the broad universalism of the Jewish Prophetic tradition, which champions justice, the kinship of all persons, and peace for all. These principles are the foundation of Classical Reform Judaism, whose central focus is the spiritual and ethical challenges of our historic covenant with our God – the God of all humanity. We join together in a congregation to help each other in a personal spiritual quest that responds to our emotional needs, yet is thoroughly grounded in a vigorous commitment to intellectual inquiry and discipline.

This quest is guided by our belief that we must work together, with all men and women of good will, for the Messianic Age when God's rule of justice and love will be established. Achieving the ancient Jewish ideal of "Tikkun Olam," the healing and transformation of our world, is a major goal. Thus, social and civic action always have been Sinai priorities.

The preservation of the Jewish people is also a Sinai priority, because we will fulfill our historic covenant with our God only if we continue to exist as a people. We recognize that acculturation to the societies in which our ancestors have lived has been one of the keys to the survival of our people throughout history. Thus, we embrace the greater society in which we live, and we strive to reflect the best of the American experience in the cultural dimensions of our Jewish identity.

We have evolved at Sinai as a community that embraces all persons of goodwill -- "a house of prayer for all people." At the same time, we are a distinctive community guided by a deep commitment to the "laws of reason and truth," and respectful of, but not bound by ethnic, cultural or ceremonial traditions

THE FOUNDATIONS OF OUR PHILOSOPHY

In its early years, Sinai and its Rabbis forged the essential elements of Classical Reform Judaism -- elements based on concerns that remain remarkably relevant even today. And, as with our times, this required radical and courageous departures from the mainstream of contemporary practices. Our 1861 constitution declared

". . . [T]here appears to exist among Israelites a large degree of indifference in religious matters, threatening to drag life more and more to materialism and degradation, and stifling all nobility of sentiments, all sympathy for higher pursuits, all appreciation of the more sacred boons of humanity, while, on the other hand, Jewish religious life, clinging to obsolete ideas and maintaining antiquated usages, has taken its course in a direction of which we cannot approve

Therefore, a number of Israelites have associated with the avowed intention of fostering the inestimable inheritance of our fathers, of restoring the original spirit of simplicity, purity, and sublimity in Judaism, and thus to perpetuate the same and secure its duration. The means of attaining this sacred object are chiefly as follows:

1. A divine service, which, without divesting the same of its specific Jewish character, shall be in consistence with the laws of reason and truth, and which, in its form, shall be such as will meet the demands of our time . . .

2. A sound religious education for the rising generation, . . . a school inspiring the tender hearts of the children for Judaism, and for everything that is good, just and noble.

3. The removal of usages and ceremonies partly outlived and partly based upon erroneous conceptions and the substitution of others more vital, more truthful..."

THE RELEVANCE OF OUR MISSION TODAY

Throughout our history, we have affirmed as our mission the obligation and privilege of being "a light unto the nations" for our distinctive beliefs and practices, which today define Classical Reform Judaism. Today, after 140 years, the challenges and opportunities of fulfilling that mission have never been greater:

• Many congregations have become more traditional in their observance, disenfranchising those for whom ritual is a barrier to spiritual meaning.
• Emphasis on ethnic and cultural Judaism has resulted in de-emphasis of the broad ethical principles of prophetic Judaism that are the central focus of Classical Reform Judaism.
• Growing numbers of Jews find themselves unable to find meaning in their Jewish faith and congregations. They are unaffiliated and beyond the reach of mainstream practices.
• More Jews find themselves seeking ways to reconcile their Jewish spirituality with the fulfillment they find in interfaith relationships -- and the needs of spouses and partners who too often are made to feel unwelcome or uncomfortable, even in wellintended congregations

Within these changes and needs, we believe Sinai stands as an example of the possibilities of Judaism and the Reform Movement that our founders and rabbis were instrumental in creating. Ours remains an authentic and relevant expression of Reform Judaism.

Our status as a distinctive Classical Reform congregation is deliberate, purposeful and consistent with our philosophy, heritage and our mission. Indeed, we believe that failure to remain faithful to the principles of our founders and the ideals that gave rise to Reform Judaism would compromise our future as a congregation and its contributions to the Jewish faith and people.

Our religious philosophy and practices are not simply intellectually fulfilling, they provide deep spiritual satisfaction, appealing to both the heart and mind. While Sinai is not for everyone, we believe it offers an important, attractive choice to many Jews and those they love.

We believe it remains our sacred mission to see that this choice remains available in Chicago and the nation. To that end, we aspire to be local and national leaders of Classical Reform Judaism, as well as active participants in the broader Reform Movement, so this crucial choice can be preserved and its message heard in the councils of Reform and the world at large.

OUR VISION AND COMMITMENTS

The organizing elements of our mission

We will organize our efforts to fulfill the mission of Chicago Sinai Congregation around three fundamental congregational activities.

• Worship -- To be a house of prayer for all people. We are committed to provide opportunities for worship that respond to the spiritual, intellectual and emotional needs of our members. We aspire to have worship services that are spiritually uplifting, engaging and thought-provoking. We continue to have high expectations for the quality of our sermons and the involvement of members in our services. We reaffirm the importance of our prayer book, emanating from a lineage established in the Union Prayer Book, and our choral tradition.
• Education -- To be a house of study for all ages. We are committed to a lifetime of Jewish learning, and to developing and supporting programs to teach our children and educate our members about the covenant of our people and the ethical principles of prophetic Judaism. Our religious school offers a special approach to guiding our children – an approach that is consistent with the values and principles of our mission. It focuses on ethics and social issues, and places less emphasis on the study of Hebrew and ritual. We are committed to providing the same special approach to education for adults.
• Socialization -- To be a house of assembly for our people and our community. We are committed to developing opportunities for our members to come together as a community, to develop new relationships, enjoy and deepen friendships, and to establish personal and social bonds beneficial to personal fulfillment and growth. Our need for social programming has grown in recent years with the growth of our congregation. We must dedicate ourselves to providing the resources required to meet this need with imagination and enthusiasm.

The central requirements of our mission

In order to fulfill our mission, the following are required:

• Focus on Mission. We are committed to serving as a "light unto the nations" for the principles of Classical Reform Judaism, and preserving Classical Reform Judaism as a relevant and authentic means of fostering our "inestimable inheritance." Since we have an almost unique mission and limited resources, we must assess all that we do by whether it furthers our mission. As much as possible, our programming must further an understanding of, appreciation for, and adherence to, the principles of Classical Reform. These are the standards by which our activities should be evaluated and decided.
• Managed Growth. We do not seek growth for its own sake and certainly not at the cost of our mission. Rather, we embrace growth in furtherance of our mission, believing that there is a large population for whom our message will resonate. We want to serve all who wish to be members and share our mission and commitment to Classical Reform.
  We recognize that growth represents an opportunity and a challenge for Sinai. We have grown significantly in recent years, resulting in an increasingly diverse membership. For many, joining Sinai has been a simple matter of location. Others travel great distances because of its distinctive philosophy. At the same time, because our society is increasingly mobile, there is a real risk that growing numbers of our members may lack deep community roots or a familiar affinity for Sinai and its philosophy
  If we are to fulfill our historical mission during this important and welcome period of growth, we must guard against dilution of our message as well as of our commitment to Classical Reform -- not through intellectual rigidity, but positively through clarity, advocacy and celebration. To that end, we must develop programs and techniques to encourage appreciation and support for our distinctive philosophy and practices.
• Stewardship. To accomplish its mission, Sinai must be fiscally sound. We were able to build our new Temple, in part, because of the foresight and generosity of our predecessors who left us with a significant endowment. We spent nearly that entire legacy to build the new Temple. Now, we must be as fiscally responsible as prior generations. We have an obligation to future generations to restore the endowment through fund-raising and replenishment from operating surpluses. Our annual budget should be established to generate a surplus.
• Responsiveness to a Changing World. In these fast-paced, rapidly changing times, the members of our congregation are busier than ever. They are living longer, traveling more often, and dealing with families dispersed to all corners of the world. We need to respond creatively to these changes, which provide many opportunities for Sinai to extend its reach. Programming needs to appeal to a broad range of ages, interests, and social strata and needs, while responding to the demands upon our congregants' time. We also need to explore the many opportunities presented by new technologies, which provide an unprecedented opportunity for Sinai to project its message to a far larger audience, providing a Classical Reform experience to a multitude of Jews who have no other opportunity to obtain it.

IN CLOSING
For 140 years, Chicago Sinai Congregation has remained faithful to its mission as a leader of Reform Judaism and a community of worship, study and kinship for its members. Today, our mission remains as relevant and viable as it was in 1861. With fresh perspective and renewed commitment, we offer this document as a testament to the enduring values and principles of Classical Reform Judaism as an authentic expression of our faith and our commitment to preserving and enriching "the inestimable heritage" of our forebears.