“Congregation Eitz Or is a Jewish Renewal community.” What does that mean, anyway? Well, one important thing is that you can't tell Jewish Renewal by labels or customs. Some Renewalists closely follow traditional halakha (Jewish law), using Orthodox prayer forms, observing Shabbat and holidays in traditional ways, keeping kosher homes, covering their heads, and so on. Others prefer new approaches, experimenting with new liturgy, keeping Shabbat and holidays in their own ways, discovering their own relationships to halakha.

There is no Jewish Renewal orthodoxy, but certain key values unite the diverse community of Jewish Renewal advocates:

• Egalitarian communities, welcoming men and women, gay and straight, all ages, all conditions of life to take part fully in the spiritual life and leadership of the community.
  
• A focus on Divine connection that derives from Hasidism and other ecstatic and contemplative traditions; Renewal communities practice ecstatic chant, meditation, sacred movement, and other activities that are undertaken with the intention of truly connecting to the Source of Being rather than merely going through the motions.
  
• Commitment to tikkun olam (healing the world) and tikkun halev (healing the heart), recognizing the human task of repairing the world as we join to heal our own hearts.
  
• A respect for and willingness to learn from other spiritual paths, and a desire to join with renewalists in other faiths to bring healing to the world.