JRC Covenant of Speech

At JRC, we cherish our diverse expressions of principles and Jewishness. JRC strives to be a safe place to talk about difficult matters with passion and compassion. To that end, we covenant one with the other to discuss matters of importance with Lashon HaShalom, the language of peace, both within the JRC community and beyond it. This Covenant of Speech proposes aspirational behaviors and attitudes to guide, not govern, our discourse.

As members of the sacred community of JRC, in covenant with each other we aspire:

TO LISTEN: Listen for fact and feeling with an open heart and an open mind.
TO INQUIRE: Ask questions to gain understanding.
TO SPEAK: Share your ideas while respecting other ideas and people.
TO PAUSE: Know when to be quiet.
TO DISAGREE: Recognize that wisdom and good policy is built on respectful disagreement.
TO APOLOGIZE: Apologize and accept the apologies of others.