For a century and a half, Pittsburgh’s Rodef Shalom Congregation has held a place of prominence in the unfolding history of the Reform Jewish community. In the middle and latter half of the 19th Century, our congregation was at the forefront of the push for modernization of Jewish thought and practice. Our rabbis and lay leaders have made contributions to the understandings of Reform Judaism we today take for granted. Reform Jewish platforms and principles have been debated among our members and ratified within the walls of our sanctuary and building.
Many of our members can trace their relationship with Rodef Shalom back several generations; still others have been with us only a short time. Many of our members were raised in Jewish homes; others, who were raised in homes in which Judaism was not their faith tradition of origin, today locate themselves squarely within our community. The liberal Jewish community that is Rodef Shalom is a place where all people committed to the values we espouse are welcome.
As we move into the first years of the 21st Century, Rodef Shalom Congregation continues to champion the same enduring values to which Reform Judaism has long held fast. One hundred and fifty years after our congregation’s founding, our mission remains the same.
We remain committed to a life based upon a serious and reflective engagement with our sacred texts, meaningful and inclusive worship experiences, and an engagement with the wider Jewish and secular communities so that we might have a hand in repairing our fractured world.
As we build upon the best of Jewish tradition and redouble our commitment to making Rodef Shalom the center of Jewish activity and thought in Pittsburgh, this is an exciting time in the life of our congregation. Working together we will renew the glory of years gone by, work alongside one another to create enduring Jewish memories for our children, and together secure our community’s future.
