For more than 160 years, Congregation B’nai Israel has stood as a cornerstone of Jewish life in the Greater Bridgeport area. While most of our congregants were raised in the Reform movement, our members represent the entire spectrum of the Jewish community. A significant number from more traditional households but find their spiritual home here, while others came to Judaism later in life, either alone or after meeting a Jewish spouse and raising a Jewish family. Many interfaith families are a part of our family.
Congregation B’nai Israel strives to offer all members of our community a range of opportunities to express their Judaism. We are a center for prayer, learning, celebration, and community, as we seek to enrich the lives of our members, contribute to the continuance and vitality of the Jewish people, and commit to tikkun olam (“repairing the world”).
TREAT each person in our community as created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of the Divine.
We strive to be an inclusive congregation that welcomes all into our community and treats each other with the utmost dignity, kindness, warmth, and respect.
DEVELOP, foster and nurture vibrant and meaningful Jewish lives in accordance with the values of our Torah and sacred texts.
Judaism’s sacred texts provide the groundwork for living vibrant and meaningful Jewish lives. Our ultimate goal is for our congregants to live, speak and sing our values and ideals out in the world.
BUILD and deepen sacred relationships both within the synagogue community and the broader Greater Bridgeport community.
Judaism, at its core, is a communal endeavor. We strive to be a community where congregants build and deepen sacred relationships with one another and create lifelong friendships.
ACT justly with a sacred obligation to tikkun olam (“repairing the world”).
Guided by the values of Reform Judaism, we dedicate ourselves to the notion of tikkun olam (“repairing our broken world”) through community organizing, direct service, and advocacy work.
FOSTER and deepen a love, commitment, and connection to the land and people of Israel.
As Reform Jews, we support the foundational aim of Zionism: The establishment of a Jewish State in Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people. We seek to foster a love and connection to the land and people of Israel. We encourage critical thinking about the modern State of Israel, advocating for equality, democracy, and pluralism for all of its inhabitants.