Hello to our English speakers !

Should you find yourself in the east of the Netherlands, especially on a Sabbath when we hold a service, then we offer a warm welcome to our congregation.

Congregation ‘Or Chadasj’ is an open congregation. Our services are held in the attractive and intimate village synagogue in the town of Haaksbergen. This shul, which dates from 1828, is almost totally preserved in its original state.

We hold services approximately every 14 days, usually on shabbat morning, followed by kiddush and an enjoyable social time. In addition, we regularly hold services on the High Holy Days and other feast days in the Jewish calendar.

We are a close-knit Jewish community. Many of our members come from the nearby region of Hengelo-Enschede, but we also have members living throughout the province of Overijssel and adjoining regions in nearby other provinces, and across the border in Germany.

We offer a recognizable Dutch Judaism, where men and women are equal, and can carry out similar positions both in the service and the life of the community. Visitors from America typify our congregation’s worship as somewhere between Conservative and Reform traditions.

Aside from synagogue services we also offer Jewish education for all ages, and offer other opportunities to live and experience Jewish communal life. Within the community, each individual is encouraged to live out and experience his/her Jewish identity in a personal way. In addition, the importance of home and family traditions are a vital part of our life. Not only are non-Jewish partners and children welcomed, but we also offer creative ways for partners and family to draw closer to a Jewish experience of life. Our congregation continually works on ways to be a living welcome, rather than a barrier.

Enjoyment of life and one another, and respect for the individual, are hallmarks of our congregation. Some of our members hold to kashrut (kosher food traditions), while for others this is less important. Thus each person finds ways to enhance and build on their Jewish experiences, in an individual way.

Our congregation has two major points as basis:
1. Each person, from traditional to secular, needs to have the ability to feel at home among us, and
2. Women need to be able to function in, and fulfil the same roles in service, as men do.

In many aspects, we encompass both the traditional and the modern. Some members experience the Sabbath in more traditional ways. For others, Judaism is a connection to former generations and traditions. Each person fills in his or her experience of Judaism so that it has personal meaning. Yet every person has the ability within our synagogue community.
Jewish communities exist out of personal donations and member contributions. In our case, we are fortunate to be able to hold our costs at a low level, and thus are able to also offer membership at lower rates.

Our congregation is extremely self-sufficient. Several of our members lead as chazzan, or in cantillating a portion of the Torah passage for the day, while others volunteer as educators for young and old. Almost all members also share the tea and coffee duties for after worship and at other activities, so that we might share a positive social time together before we leave.
One of our agreements is that, when we eat together as a community, we do our best to keep kashrut.

Please come and join us for one of our services. We would love to see you and get to know you! You will find dates for various services and events in the column marker “agenda” in our website. You will also find contact information, should you wish to call someone or email.

Please take time to look around our website, especially at our history and the various photos, both of events and the building. We would love to get to know you, so feel free to contact us. You’ll find a warm welcome.

Congregation ‘Or Chadasj’ – your Liberal Jewish home in the east of the Netherlands!

For questions and inquieries you can email us at secretaris@ljgtwente.nl