At Brooklyn Jews first community meeting in 2003, we asked one guiding question: what do we want out of our Jewish lives?  Answers and ideas – overwhelmingly positive - flowed easily and guided the discussion that eventually launched the group. The following principles emerged, which comprise the core tenets of Brooklyn Jews: we want a positive connection to Jewish life; we want a life of meaning and celebration; we want a way to do good and to change the world rooted in the particular ways of Jewish life and the universal values of American culture; we want to learn the basic texts of Jewish life: Bible, Prayer, and Rabbinic literature; we want Hebrew school for kids to be a source of pride and knowledge for the whole family; we want to understand Israel, its history, the current situation, and the prospects for peace; and finally, no matter how old, we want to recapture the kind of Jewish community we once may have felt in summer camp, or youth group, or semesters abroad—when Judaism and Jewish identity was real, relevant and alive. Contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it