About Migwan

What is MIGWAN?

MIGWAN was established by people with various Jewish backgrounds seeking the creation of a living Jewish community.

As the name MIGWAN ("variety") expresses, Migwan is open to, respects and values all forms of Jewish identity.

MIGWAN wants to safeguard the substance of the Jewish tradition while opening the door to practicing a more progressive form of Judaism, such as respecting the equality of women and men.

MIGWAN regards the matrilineal descent as binding. However, the integration of non-Jewish spouses and children is for Migvan a high priority and we support the wish for Giur or for a Bar/Bat Mizvah to the best of our abilitîes.

MIGWAN's goals:

• The creation of a forum for religious life, for instance, in the form of services and communal celebration of Jewish holidays. We focus on tradition and the creating of a Jewish-spiritual atmosphere – imbued with Kavanah, (intention, concentration, devotion and inward-directedness). The services are child-friendly and are led both by women and men.
• The creation of a forum for education and culture, in the form of religious education for children and young adults, as well as through cultural events. These serve as a vehicle through which knowledge can be passed on and a plurality of thoughts can be expressed and exchanged.
• The creation of a forum for social life, in the form of a vibrant and continually-developing community, which gives its members the possibility to create for themselves and their families a living Jewish environment.

MIGWAN regards as one of its most importants tasks to welcome all people of Jewish descent and everyone interested in Judaism with full respect and to offer them a dynamic platform for exploring and practicing their Jewish roots and traditions.

MIGWAN is a Verein (publicly recognized organization), founded on September 10, 2004 in Basel, Switzerland.