torah given to a "community"
In contemporary American religious congregations many families have chosen to maintain an "inactive-membership" and rarely participate, or attend services. There are many reasons for this. One of the main reasons is that some are turned off by "Organized Religion". We agree, and that is why we are not attempting to organize religion here at Tikvat. We are NOT religious. Some may find this confusing. We believe there is a difference between "Religion" and "RELATIONSHIPS".
Human beings, made in the image of God have a soul and were not created to live in isolation. God created families and gave His Torah to the nation or the "community of Israel". One of the greatest commandments is "LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR" (Leviticus 19:21). You cannot fulfill the Torah when you avoid your neighbors. Torah was never meant to be observed alone, in a vacuum. Instead of trying to observe a "religion", we prefer to build relationships with each other and with God. Therefore at Tikvat, we do not offer "inactive membership".