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HEBREW CONGREGATION OF GUADALAJARAPrinciples of Foundation The CHG (HEBREW CONGREGATION OF GUADALAJARA) is a Jewish Congregation based on the Conservative Movement guidelines.
Its foundation responds to two basic purposes: to maintain the conservative trend and put it into practice coherently and also to rebuild the social and cultural life of our Congregation.
The Conservative Judaism bases its belief in revelation, the discovery of an external source of truth emanating from God. Such statement emphasizes that although the truths are transmitted by human beings, they are not a human invention.
Torah’s Truth is both theoretical and practical; therefore, it teaches us about God and our role in HIS world. We reject fundamentalism and literalism, which do not admit a human component in Revelation.
The Halachah, which is the law, consists of the rules taught by the Jewish tradition, that is to say, how one should live as a jew. Most of the Jewish rules are formulated in the Bible’s Laws; some of their interpretations and rabinical developments have acquired the customs, through the centuries, others were derived from ethical ideals which give them life and spread beyond themselves.
The Halachah is a continuous process since every époque requires new interpretations and applications of the rules. Likewise, it is an old tradition, rooted on the texts and experiences of our ancestors, and a new contemporary lifestyle which gives value, form and sense to our lives.
For the Conservative Judaism, the Halachah has responded and it should go on responding to changing conditions, sometimes through changes in the law and some others, staying firm and strict because of temporary fashion and doubtful values.
Dedication to the Halachah flows from the profound conviction of the divine element and the positive values inherent to itself; therefore, maximum effort should be made in order to maintain and increase it. Whenever a change is necessary, it will be made with the purpose of assuring that the Halachah is an effective, viable and moral guide for our lives.
Conservative Judaism has always sustained the importance of keeping the concept of Klal Israel, by this we mean that all the Jews, regardless of their religious or philosophical beliefs, are part of the same people, the Israeli people, Am Israel.
The CHG is a Conservative Jewish Congregation, member of the Central Institutions of the World Conservative Movement. It acknowledges the authority of the Masorti World Rabbinical Movement, represented by the Conservative Rabbi of the Congregation in order to determine the religious practices and rituals in the Congregation, the Synagogue and the Cemetery.
1. The term “Conservative” refers to an intermediate position within the different trends of Judaism 2. Masorti is a Hebrew word which in Spanish means “Traditionalist” and which has been translated as “Conservative”.
Because we understand that the Jewish People are a cultural and spiritual unit. The fact that Israel is united is based not only on the fundamental belief of the Jewish religion but it is also a real basis for the Jewish experience.
Because we understand that God is not merely an intellectual or philosophical notion, or a convenient resource to face fear; the principle of solidarity of the human race is also established in the Unity with God. All men are sons and daughters of God and they deserve to equally share the blessings of the world.
Because we understand that the Torah is more than the text itself; it is the wisdom emanating from God.
Because we understand that our loyalty to Jewish life is entirely free from any kind of discrimination.
Because we understand that Tzedakah (social help) is a commitment based on our social involvement with the intention of contributing to perfect justice and it is not a mere philanthropic action.
Because we understand that pluralism is the opportunity to expose our private thought so as to enrich everybody’s reflection, without imposing our own ideas.
We are a Congregation opposing the condition of isolation and taking part of the historical and cultural process of the contemporary world.
The attempt to build a monolithic society, only one party, only one approach, only one leader and no opposition is considered wrong. We consider religious uniformity as impossible and non desirable.
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Today horizons are wider. No religion is an island; we are all committed to each other. The spiritual tradition of one of us influences on the faith of all of us and the views adopted by a congregation influence on other congregations. Presently, religious isolation is a myth. Despite the profound differences on approach and essence, sooner or later, Judaism is affected by intellectual, moral and spiritual events occurring worldwide.
In order to preserve both our legacy and the common legacy, we should pray for the health of others and help each other, no matter what our beliefs are.
We should clearly see that although there are fundamental disagreements, we also have common commitments, purposes, views and tasks. We should also combat wrong actions together.
The first point of meeting people having different religious convictions, is to be human beings who have different things in common, for instance, a heart, a face, a voice, the presence of a soul, fears, hopes, the ability to trust, the ability of compassion and understanding ourselves. An individual is not only a sample of the species called homo sapiens.
It is the humanity in one being and we should think that if a man is hurt, everybody is hurt. Meeting a human being is the opportunity to perceive the image of God, the presence of God. According to a rabbinical interpretation, the Lord said to Moses: “Wherever you see a man’s track, I am in front of you…”
What is dividing us? What is uniting us? We disagree on the law, on the creed or on the convictions that lay in the heart of our religious existence or in our existence as a people. We say “NO” to each other in some essential and sacred doctrines. What is uniting us? Being responsible before God, being related and having solidarity of existence. The concept of what is our concern may be different, but anxiety is the same. The language, imagination, and materializing our hopes, may be different, but perplexity is the same. We could differ on the way of achieving fear and tremor, but fear and tremor are the same. Demands could be different, but conscience is the same. But above all, while dogmas and ways of praying are different, God is the same.
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Copyright © 2001, 2002 UJCL.
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