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Membership
Members meet for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk at Sherwood Island State Park.
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Community Service
As a member of local community and religious groups whose goals and values we share, we volunteer where help is needed.
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Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur
The shofar is heard at CHJ Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Family Services.
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Social Justice
After Charlotttesville
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Tu B’Shvat
Celebrating nature at the Tu B’Shvat seder is a joyous event filled with music and good food.
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We’re a Cooperative!
Members all play a role in making the congregation work. Read about how CHJ is organized.
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Teen Tzedakah Group
Teen Tzedakah Group shows off backpacks ready for Mercy Center school kids.
Hanukkah
Hanukkah is the eight-day Jewish winter celeration. For Humanistic Jews, Hanukkah is a tribute to human power and courage. Judah Maccabee was a man who was willing to fight for what he believed, although like his enemy Antiochus Epiphanes, he was a religious zealot who denied freedom of worship to those who opposed him. Despite… Read More
Shabbat & Adult Education Continue on ZOOM!
CHJ has adapted to the new reality since the start of the coronavirus pandemic! The celebration of Shabbat is integral to Jewish tradition, too important to let lapse for an undetermined period. And our Adult Ed programs offer another opportunity to listen, learn and discuss topics relevant to Humanistic Judaism. Read more about Adult Education… Read More
Invitation to Join
Families are the future of CHJ. Our inclusive, warm, welcoming Congregation includes families of all stripes coming together to celebrate Judaism and being Jewish. From Baby Naming to Sunday School to Bar & Bat Mitzvah to the Teen Tzedakah Group to Adult Ed, you’ll find a community for families and kids of all ages. Humanistic… Read More
Letter from the President
There is a good chance that you are here because you are seeking to learn more about the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism (CHJ) and about Humanistic Judaism. This site is designed to provide you with that introduction. By navigating on the menu bar at the top of the page you will find a wealth of information.
CHJ is affiliated with the Society for Humanistic Judaism (shj.org) and is part of a movement that celebrates Jewish culture and heritage through a non-theistic, human-centered approach. Our membership reflects a diverse group of people who have enriched our community by collectively representing many different personal and professional backgrounds.
CHJ is very affordable. Membership for a two-adult household is only $450 per year. For a one-adult household it is $300 per year. After a successful initial pilot program, CHJ has continued to offer a 50% reduction for the first year of membership. This means that first year membership is now only $225 for a two-adult household and $150 for a single-adult household. We want to make “trying CHJ on for size” as easy and as affordable for you as possible.
Thank you for visiting our website and please look around. I encourage you to ask questions or obtain additional information by emailing us at info@humanisticjews.org or by calling 203-293-8867. We would be very happy to assist you.
If you have already decided to join simply click onto the Membership Form page to complete and submit your form.
With Kind Regards,
President
Upcoming Events
Jewish Journeys Committee
Our next fall program Sunday morning October 24th at 9:30 AM via Zoom (link to be sent the week before) will be viewing and discussing Paul Golin’s talk on the 2020 Pew Report on Jews in America.
The Report identifies “Jews of No Religion” as a significant proportion of American Jews. What does this category mean and what is its relevance to us as Jewish Humanists? Join us October 24th for a lively discussion on this and related topics.
“U.S. Jews are culturally engaged, increasingly diverse, politically polarized and worried about anti-Semitism.”
https://www.pewforum.org/2021/05/11/jewish-americans-in-2020/
For additional information, contact adulted@humanisticjews.org
SAVE THE DATE!
Join Women’s Rap vis Zoom, to stay connected at a distance. All CHJ women members are welcome. It’s a great way to get to know each other.
The Zoom link will be sent just prior to the meeting date.
In partnership with the Westport Library, CHJ invites you to hear the refugee and author, Mondiant Dogon, tell his story:
“Those We Throw Away Are Diamonds “
WHEN: Tuesday, November 9, 2021
7:00-8:00pm
WHERE: This event is both virtual AND in-person at the Westport Library
WHAT: Hear about life as a refugee from Mondiant Dogon, a Bagogwe Tutsi born in Congo. Rarely do refugees get to tell their own stories. An immersive, riveting look at one man’s singular journey from war in Congo to safety.
Please register to watch the FREE event at home or attend in the Trefz Forum (also free). Signed copies of the book are available for pre-order and at the event.
The refugee aid organization CIRI will be on site; learn how to get involved volunteering to support refugees.
Megha Majumdar’s excellent debut novel begins with a pile-on, the kind of digital public shaming… . A young Muslim woman named Jivan reads on her phone about a terrorist attack at a railway station near the slum in Kolkata where she lives. More than a hundred people were killed in the blaze. She posts a question – simple, pointed, instinctive: “If the police didn’t help ordinary people like you and me, if the police watched them die, doesn’t that mean the government is also a terrorist?” Her question spreads across social media like forest fire. Monstrous accusations are hurled at her. She is alleged to have been spotted at the station carrying a bulky package and, worse, chatting online with someone the local police declare is a known terrorist recruiter. Charged with the heinous crime, she’s sent to jail to await trial.
A Burning isn’t just about Jivan. Her fate lies in the hands of two people who might be able to vouch for her character. One of them is Lovely, a young hijra (a long-established class of intersex and transgender people in India) to whom she has been giving English lessons. The other is a PE teacher, known as PT Sir, who sometimes fed her when she was one of his pupils. Both are set on changing their lives – Lovely is taking acting lessons to become a movie star; PT Sir, earnest and efficient, is courted by a political party that wants to be known for its law and order credentials. The novel is both a crime thriller in which Jivan battles to avoid execution, and a moral drama: will her old acquaintances risk their burgeoning careers to speak up for a vilified Muslim woman?
All members are invited to join the discussion. Please RSVP Irene Blumenthal if you plan to attend. A Zoom link will be sent out closer to the date.
SAVE THE DATE!
Save the Date:
Federation for Jewish Philanthropy of Upper Fairfield County
Mitzvah Heroes Awards
Each year the Federation for Jewish Philanthropy of Upper Fairfield County in conjunction with its member congregations honors one member from each congregation. The prestigious Mitzvah Hero award is given to those who embody the values of tikkun olam and are selected from among the membership of their respective congregations. CHJ has selected Rochelle Green as our congregation’s choice for this year’s Mitzvah Hero Award.
Rochelle’s contributions to our community have been countless and over many years. Among her contributions are serving in the capacities of Ritual Committee chair, a long-standing member of the Board, Mitzvah Coordinator and as Co-coordinator of the Sunday school. However, this award acknowledges not just serving in those roles but importantly, what Rochelle has done in those capacities. Making an impact such as superb High Holiday programs providing CHJ members and guests with a meaningful Humanistic Jewish High Holiday experience and one that reflects so well on CHJ that we frequently see a bump in new membership as a result, the continuation of High Holiday programming despite the recent and historic challenges of the pandemic, the positive and the life-long influence our Mitzvah program has had on our students thanks in part to Rochelle’s involvement. She is a steering committee volunteer for the CHJ oral history project and has been a constant source of thoughtful, well-reasoned leadership as a valued and contributing member of CHJ’s board of directors.
SAVE THE DATE!
Facebook Activity
CHJ is partnering with the Westport Library to present what promises to be a fascinating and thought provaoking presentation:
westportlibrary.org/event/those-we-throw-away-are-diamonds/?fbclid=IwAR1ckFQ0cwJcRAh9auSrm_p7HUqX...
Mondiant Dogon: THOSE WE THROW AWAY ARE DIAMONDS - The Westport Library
westportlibrary.org
"Those We Throw Away Are Diamonds offers an immersive, riveting look at one Bagogwe man’s singular journey from war in Congo to safety, in which good and evil are relative when war offers no good choices to anyone, when safety is an illusion, and when forgiveness is fraught." Jessica Goudeau Hear ...CHJ is partnering with the Westport Library to present this timely and important presentation by Mondiant Dogon, "Those We Throw Away Are Diamonds". Attendees, either in person or online, must register in advance....
westportlibrary.org/event/those-we-throw-away-are-diamonds/
Shalom! Come celebrate Fall's arrival at Congregation for Humanistic Judaism's (CHJ's) outdoor, kid-friendly Sukkot celebration!
Kids can pick apples, help decorate the Sukkah, and learn about the rituals of the holiday. Families can enjoy a picnic lunch outside while socializing with their Jewish neighbors.
Sunday School will meet on September 26th, at 10:30AM, to learn about the holiday of Sukkot.
We welcome new families interested in joining our Sunday School.
A lively service filled with singing and BYO bagged lunch will follow at 11:00AM. Desserts and drinks will be provided.
Members' Private Residence to be announced with your RSVP
Note: This event is "Sunshine only" (will cancel in the event of rain).
CHJ: Who We Are…What We Believe
Humanistic Judaism combines the Jewish values of helping each other (Gemilut Chassadim), charity (Tzedakah) and making the world a better place (Tikkun Olam), with the recognition that the responsibility for putting them in practice lies in our own hands.
Our spirituality comes from nature’s beauty & bounty, music & the arts and gathering together.
We are progressive and social-action oriented; we focus on making a difference in the community.
In our Sunday school, we incorporate and study Jewish history, the holidays, culture, literature, art and music – re-discovering and refreshing the traditional teachings and values, making them even more relevant to our children’s lives.
The CHJ Sunday school might be a perfect fit for your children. Please RSVP to emilybshufrin@gmail.com and visit Humanisticjews.org for more information.
Shalom and have a great Sukkot celebration 🍾!
Happy Sukkot friends:)
Ami Beth Faber ❤️Daniel Faber
Beautiful
I am excited to share this with our Derby Cultural Commission, followers! Will post share and post in next few days. Marking my Calendar! 🙂 :)
