Temple Beth Abraham is affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
Temple Beth Abraham endorses the Committee on Jewish Laws and Standards’ December 6, 2006 decision to allow the ordination of gays and lesbians and permit Conservative rabbis to perform commitment ceremonies. As a member of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, we enthusiastically support the USCJ’s decision to revise its hiring policies and consider applicants for United Synagogue jobs regardless of sexual orientation. TBA looks forward to continuing to create a synagogue community in which all members and visitors feel welcome and included.
Mission
We are an egalitarian Conservative congregation. With God’s guidance, we promote a lifetime of Jewish learning, we create a sacred environment for devotion to God, and we strengthen ourselves and those around us. We are a community.
Vision
We are an egalitarian Conservative congregation.
Our Congregation welcomes all who wish to join us in the practice of Conservative Judaism. We embrace halachah (Jewish law) and our traditions, and allow new traditions to evolve. We encourage full and equal participation in services by both men and women. We are comprised of people who have come to choose Judaism for every kind of reason, some born to it and some not, some returning and some who are finding Judaism for the first time. We respect the challenges faced by interfaith couples and welcome all to share in our rich history. We take great pride in the fact that our congregation has been worshipping in Oakland for close to a century and some of our members are descendants of the original founders.
We promote a lifetime of Jewish learning.
Our goal is to serve as a focal point for Talmud Torah throughout one’s life. Gan Avraham, our preschool, introduces Jewish ritual along with fun, laying the foundation for Jewish worship and general social skills. Bet Sefer Avraham, the religious school, teaches children the ways of doing mitzvot and gives them some skills in the Hebrew language. It prepares them to take their place as participants in ritual practice, as celebrated by a Bar or Bat Mitzvah.
We support and encourage our teens to participate in the Bay Area Midrashot, the Jewish community’s high school program, introducing them to a broader network of Jewish peers. The teens work towards Kabbalat Torah (confirmation) and focus on the study of Jewish ethics, biblical history, Israeli current events, and Israeli culture.
For adults, we recognize the diverse educational needs created by being a welcoming congregation. We offer an adult B’nai Mitzvah program, Hebrew and Talmud study for adults, and other programs. The needs of one group may be vastly different from that of another, and we endeavor to serve them all. We try to provide a broad set of offerings, striving to make each one meaningful.
We create a sacred environment for devotion to God.
Our congregation has been dedicated to coming together to worship God since 1907. We build on what has come before us to create meaning and to share the rituals of our tradition. We are dedicated to t’filah (prayer), mitzvot, and celebration. If walls can resonate, ours do.
We strengthen ourselves and those around us.
Our community needs to foster community within the community. That is, we recognize three levels of community, and dedicate ourselves to tikkun olam (rebuilding the world) at all three levels.
The world as where we all live: We contribute to broad interfaith activities and do not consider ourselves isolated from world events.
The world as the greater Jewish community: We build upon our common heritage, and we support our fellow Jews in their endeavors to live and worship in peace. We hold the mission and existence of the State of Israel as central to this community.
The world as who we are: We recognize our congregation as a community. Every member of it receives respect from the others in the congregation. We are there for each other, in the good times and the bad. No one is a stranger and everyone’s needs are taken seriously.
