Congregation Rodeph Shalom dates its founding to 1795 with the coalescing of the first Ashkenazic congregation in the Western Hemisphere. On its website the congregation proclaims it is: 

Guided by enduring values

The timeless wisdom of our tradition inspires our intentional quest for truth, righteousness, and purpose amid the uncertainties we face in our world. We dedicate ourselves to Judaism’s ethical messages to treat each other with loving-kindness. The faithful, the skeptic—and those who perceive God in different ways—wrestle to renew the teachings of Torah for our present and the future of the Jewish people.

Compelled to moral action

In a broken world, we commit to be a voice of conscience and to engage in the work of social justice. From our doorstep to our neighborhood and beyond, we welcome the stranger and embrace our responsibility to connect with and learn from others.

We create profound connections

We seek meaning in shared experiences and cherish our diverse perspectives. We who are new to synagogue life or have extensive Jewish backgrounds; we who are Jewish or who share our lives with Jews; we who live within different family constellations, who are of all abilities, gender identities, sexual orientations, races, and generations: we enter the synagogue to celebrate, to learn, to laugh, to heal, to pray, to challenge ourselves, and to connect with others about the deepest questions of our lives.