Oraynu Congregation for Humanistic Judaism

I have been with Oraynu for about 15 years. My kids went to the school and liked it. I love the people and I have been teaching at the school as well for many years. It is a friendly, open space with very liberal views and is welcoming of everyone. I highly recommend the congregation and the school program.

Our family has been a member or Oraynu for 30+ years and both our children attended the Oraynu Sunday School and both had their B'nai Mitzvah when they graduated. Oraynu has filled us we wonderful memories and friends. Oraynu offers us the ideal congregation to be members of.

Oraynu is an inclusive congregation that meets my spiritual needs. It's a warm, caring environment where I can celebrate my Jewish history and culture. Their services are reflective, thought provoking and have great singers and musicians. Their Tikkun Olam projects create the opportunity to work together with like minded people and they make me feel like I am an important part of the community. I cannot imagine my Jewish life without Oraynu.

Oraynu has been a wonderful place for our family to grow and make meaningful connections to our Jewish roots. The community is warm, dedicated and one that celebrates diversity. Highly recommend getting involved in the high holiday services and children’s school.

No matter what your age, Oraynu will touch your mind and your heart. I searched for so long to find a place that lived the values that I was taught were important to Judaism. This incredibly welcoming, warm community continues to impress me with their social action, stand against injustice and teaching all those who come in contact with them, that making the world a better place is a life long goal. The school fostered the desire for social justice in my child and for that I can not thank them enough.

After searching for an accepting and affirming congregation, that treated all members with equal respect and acceptance, and focused on Tikkun olam, rather than rules and dogma, Oraynu was the perfect fit for our family. I'm grateful, as part of a mixed-marriage family, to have found a place to combine Jewish culture and values for our children, in such a welcoming, tolerant environment.

Oraynu changed my life profoundly and has positively affected my children and grandchildren. It is a warm and open community, accepting of diversity in gender, sexual orientation, religion and ethnicity, and very importantly it's integrity regarding consistency between its secular and humanistic beliefs and it's behaviour/practices is comforting and reliable. Their services and ceremonies are welcoming and meaningful. Their rabbi is respectful, the music is beautiful, the programing is varied and intellectually stimulating, the Sunday School is fun and amazing and I love that they support ethical practices that protect our environment and planet. Thank you Oraynu.

We have been members of Oraynu for about 20 years. Oraynu has been with us through so many life events, in joy and sadness, supportive and warm. We feel very fortunate to be members of Oraynu all these many years.

Rabbi Eva officiated our wedding, it was personalized, egalitarian, and wholesome. Little did I know I would want to convert/adopt Humanistic Judaism nearly 7 years later. This process is on-going and I’m excited to incorporate my learnings into new family traditions.

I love being a member of ORAYNU, thankful for its excellent education programs for 5 to 95 year-olds on humanistic Judaism.