Our Mission
We seek to support the Jewish community through providing and facilitating serious Torah projects and community building activities. Our focus emphasizes inculcating critical Torah thinking in the reality a 21st century Jewish community by promoting a synthesis of Torah within all aspects of our lives.​
Advancing a covenantal community, as Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, z"l, put it, Degel HaTorah promotes a holistic approach to education and practice of Jewish life in accordance with our mesorah. We are eager to display and deliver the beauty of all that the Torah has to offer to Jews of all backgrounds. Our projects aim to foster independent critical thinking and analysis in a reflective and meaningful Jewish life culminating in a thriving community.
With this in mind, we seek to strengthen the connection of each person to a Torah-based community, each at his or her own level.
Our Principles
We believe the Torah is designed to reach all Jews within our community and inform, guide, and enrich every aspect of human life. From learning Talmud to exploring art, science or architecture, the Torah supports and encourages meaningful engagement in and appreciation for the beauty of G-d's universe.
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Torah is not a separate and distinct discipline, but is instead a way of life---a way of life that elevates every aspect of the human experience, is quarterbacked by halacha, and blossoms into a remarkable sanctification of G-d's Name.
Its elegance and nuance deeply depend on the totality of its approach. As there are many sections of halacha directing so called religious law (e.g. Shabbos, Kosher), the majority of the halachic corpus in fact guides and informs our optimal engagement in all aspects of our community and the human experience, including science, business, love, and art. The Torah of Orach Chaim is the Torah of Chosen Mishpat, and everything in between.
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Part of the Torah's purpose is to develop a community in which each person is empowered to engage with Torah texts and teachings in active and creative ways. In cultivating a Torah-based community, we each must seek to make the Torah our own by approaching life with an open and honest mind, never afraid to welcome any question. In so doing, the Torah fosters the development of each individual into an independent thinker, and a community brimming with confidence and excitement to chart our personal and collective paths in search of G-d.
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Emphasizing a "Torah BaChaim" philosophy, the Torah presupposed the depth and intricacy what it means---and takes---to be human. Serving as a blueprint, G-d's wisdom as manifest in the Torah shapes and guides the most elegant and beautiful expression of a full-bodied humankind. Our mesorah teaches a deep synthesis of our experience in G-d's created universe with engagement in G-d's Torah. It assumes the Torah is designed to address and cultivate the entirety of the human experience. Stated differently, our mesorah does not shut out, preclude or discourage any aspect of our experience on earth. Precisely the opposite. The Torah guides us along a path it thinks is the best way in which to participate in our world.​
Our Activity
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We are excited to partner with, and provide funding and resources for, any project or institution that works to further our mission.
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Where a need is not clearly met through a partnership, we initiate direct programming to enrich our community with the wholesomeness and beauty of Torah.
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Click here to learn about our current projects.