The BHA Vision

Beacon Hebrew Alliance (BHA) welcomes all Jewish people and their loved ones into our vibrant, compassionate, egalitarian community. Through learning, worship and play, both indoors and out, we build a creative context in which to ask questions and deepen our understanding of what it means to lead a Jewish life. As we explore Judaism’s rich texts and traditions, we see them not only as our heritage, but as a spiritual and moral path towards a healthy society and planet. To this end, we seek to empower leadership in the community, with a particular focus on educating our children, who will lead us tomorrow. And so, for those seeking a home that can nurture their souls for a lifetime, we extend the invitation to join our community of doers and dreamers, of all generations, abilities, and identities, to imagine a world rooted in justice and built on love.

Here are some ways we strive to fulfill our mission:

Spirit: We believe that religion’s purpose is to enliven our spirits through study, prayer, music, art, and nature, and to ground us as we celebrate together the full cycle of our lives. In our shared quest to open our hearts, we build upon tradition to find new meaning in the present.

Community: We build relationships through communal events––meals, music, and mah jongg––and through congregant-led initiatives, like our community chavurah, Ruach. It is our goal to make BHA a safe and inclusive space for all who wish to join us.

Learning: We expand horizons with our nature-based preschool; with Masa, our vibrant program for children five and up; as well as with a variety of learning opportunities for adults of all ages and backgrounds.

Compassion: We enable members to care for one another and the greater community through our Hesed  and Tikkun Olam programs, our Chevrah Kadisha, and through developing connections to the wider interfaith and social justice communities.

Questioning: As an essential part of all that we do, we seek to follow the words of Abraham Joshua Heschel, believing that “we are closer to God when we are asking questions than when we think we have the answers.”