About Us
Congregation Rodef Sholom is a kehilla kedosha, a sacred community that welcomes Jews and their families with open arms and open minds. We are linked to our past and actively building our future. We are multi-generational and multi-cultural. Whether you are married, single, with or without kids, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, a Jew by choice or by birth, in an interfaith family, we welcome you. Rodef Sholom is a community that will stand by you through all your life cycle events, from birth and b'nai mitzvah, through illness and death.
Our aim is to help build Jewish lives that are authentic. In doing so, we envision individuals who are enriched and a community that is transformed.
CONGREGATION RODEF SHOLOM -- PURSUERS OF PEACE: WHY THIS NAME?
When Congregation Rodef Sholom was founded in 1956, one of the founders suggested Rodef Sholom because it was the name of his childhood synagogue. In fact, there are synagogues all over the world that bear this name -- in New York, Ohio, Denver and even in India! The term Rodef Sholom derives from the passage in Pirkei Avot, the first section of the Mishnah, written in 250 CE. “Be the disciples of Aaron (the first high priest and brother of Moses and Miriam), loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people and drawing them near to the Torah”. In the time of the temple, the priests were not known for being peaceful, but rather, focused on the minute details of sacrifice, and often considered to be arrogant. Why then, are we asked to be like Aaron as opposed to Moses, his brother? Perhaps it is a reminder to us to keep our hearts open, to overcome any obstacles in our hearts and lives toward finding peace.