Judaism is a civilization, and not primarily a religion.

A civilization is constituted by its history, literature, language, social organizations, folk sanctions, standards of conduct, social and spiritual ideals, esthetics and values. All of these elements form a civilization.

Jewish communities share the content of the civilization and the drive for sustaining it, but they also each bring to the table their unique local perspective and interpretation, which in turn contributes to and enriches the collective global civilization.

The local and global dimensions of Jewish Peoplehood, as perceived through the prism of developing and sustaining Jewish civilization, represent two sides of the same coin.

The work of building and strengthening Jewish civilization at the local Jewish community level is central to the future of Jewish peoplehood.

The contribution of every Jew in every community can be significant to the development of the Jewish People’s collective enterprise.