Why I love City Congregation for Secular Humanistic Judaism

I love City Congregation because I am surrounded by a community of people who share my values. ‘Love your neighbor as yourself that is the entire Torah’.

I love City Congregation because I have the freedom of doing what I want Jewishly without being judged. I can fast on Yom Kippur or I can eat, both are ok.

I love City Congregation because we think deliberately about our traditions, we publicly debate, and then choose what makes most sense for us as a community. Everyone has a voice. ‘It is not upon you to finish the task, but neither are you free to abstain from the work of making the world a better place’.

I love City Congregation because I get to feel good about what I say in my liturgy. ‘Hear O Israel, our diversity is great, but we are one’

I love being Jewish without being religious, without saying words that I don’t mean. Jews are not the chosen people, they are a people, my people, and I am proud of my identity.

Most of all

I love City Congregation for Secular Humanistic Judaism because of the warm and authentic people I get to interact with everyday. I am very grateful to City Congregation for being the home of secular Jews in New York City. My home.