THE 18 PRINCIPLES OF ALEPH
ALEPH at http://www.aleph.com/
is the web site of the Alliance for Jewish Renewal. It is an organization of
those who are dedicated to reclaiming the Jewish people’s sacred purpose of
partnership with the Divine in the inseparable tasks of healing the world
(tikkun olam) and healing our hearts (tikkun halev).
The 18 principles of ALEPH are:
FOUR WORLDS, EIGHTEEN AFFIRMATIONS, ONE COVENANT:
ALEPH STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
We of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal strive to open
ourselves to awareness of the sacred in all of existence. We strive to create
Jewish paths of prayer and meditation, study, communal life--practice, and
public action that embody this outlook.
We see ourselves in a crucial position at these times of
paradigm shift and are committed to help develop a spirituality through which
Judaism can transform itself to continued viability in the service of tikkun
olam -- the healing and balancing of this planet. Together we affirm principles
and values that flow together from the Four Worlds of Being, Knowing, Relating,
and Doing:
In the world of Atzilut, Being:
1. We are committed to the search for a deeper and higher
understanding of the spiritual realities in our lives and of our cosmic
purposes.
2. What/Whom the traditions experienced as transcendent God
we meditate on and worship in ways that honor both the tradition and our
intuition as to how we are addressed by that God in the present.
3. We see the human spirit and the Divine as one evolving
process that calls upon us all for the interaction we call Godwrestling
("Yisrael") and "Gathering the Sparks."
4. We intend to open ourselves to the transformation of
consciousness and action that is resulting from our living in a time when the
Feminine is emerging.
In the world of Briya, Knowing:
5. In the sacred texts of the Jewish people and the writings
of Jewish spiritual teachers of previous generations we find enormous wisdom
and insight that draw on Eternal truth and continue to have great potential to
aid human beings in their quest for personal growth, empowerment, and healing
-- as well as those elements that are historically limited and need to be
transcended. We will study, teach, and make accessible these texts and writings
with all those who wish to encounter them, wrestle with their content and
meaning, and decide what to draw on and what to leave behind.
6. Among our guides to interpretation of Torah are the
Prophetic, Kabbalistic, and Hassidic traditions as they are now being
transformed in the light of contemporary feminist spirituality, process
theology, and our own direct experience of the Divine.
7. We are committed to consult with other spiritual
traditions, sharing with them what we have found in our concerned research and
trying out what we have learned from them, to see whether it enhances the
special truths of the Jewish path.
In the world of Yetzira, Relating --
8. We are committed to foster a safe environment for
spiritual growth in which what we are learning about the human psyche and
spirit is honored, and through which we enable the self to embody the Presence.
9. Our communities strive to be collective and egalitarian
in leadership and decision-making.
10. Women and men are full and equal partners in every
aspect of our communal Jewish life.
11. ALEPH welcomes, includes and recognizes the sanctity of
every individual regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. We
recognize respectful and mutual expressions of adult human sexuality as potentially
sacred expressions of love, and therefore we strive to create communities that
include and welcome a variety of constellations of intimate relationships and
family forms -- -among them gay, lesbian, and heterosexual relationships as
well as single life-paths.
12. We will reach out toward including all who seek but have
not yet found a spiritual home in the Jewish community or a satisfying
connection to the Jewish people and its traditions and teachings.
In the world of Asiyah, Doing:
13. In order to heal the world, we seek to re-balance the
power relationships among human beings and all other species and aspects of the
Earth, as well as among races, peoples, faith-communities, classes, genders,
age groupings, and other human groups so that each can live in shared peace and
dignity. We will ourselves treat with respect and open-mindedness those who
belong to other peoples and walk other paths than our own, even if we feel
compelled to oppose their actions in the world. These efforts we view as integral
to Jewish spirituality and action.
14. We believe that the healthy expression of Jewish people
requires a vital self-governing Jewish community in the Land of Israel (which
in our generation has taken the form of the State of Israel); Jewishly vital, varied,
and creative communities in many places throughout the world; and a continuous
and open-hearted interchange between all these communities. We will try to
embody such connections in our individual lives and in building the networks of
our communities.
15. We welcome with surprise and excitement the discovery
that God's will for our generations of Jews is that we learn to live in what we
understand as the Land of Israel face to face with our cousins the children of
Abraham and Hagar through Ishmael. We support every effort to do so in mutual
recognitions of each other's right to freedom, self-determination, security,
and peace --- as part of our own share in the task that all peoples face in
this generation, of learning to share in peace and freedom the great
unboundaried earth.
16. We intend to treat with respect other Jews and other
Jewish communities whose approaches to Jewish life differ from our own, even if
we feel compelled to oppose their statements or their actions.
17. We are committed to applying all of these values and
principles to the renewal and revitalization of our personal and communal
ceremonies, liturgies, rituals, life-paths, and spiritual practices, and to our
processes for collective decisions-making and collective actions.
18. We will help in the formation of communities based on
these values and principles.
Last updated by
Webmaster Fred Tropp v.2 18/2/04 \eighteen principles