Join Bet Mishpachah, DC's LGBTQ+ Synagogue and GLOE-The Kurlander Program for GLBTQ Outreach & Engagement, and community partners for our annual Pride Happy Hour and Shabbat Service at the Edlavitch Jewish Community Center of Washington, DC! Join us for a joyous celebration of love, unity, and community. This in-person event is a perfect way to kick off Pride weekend with friends old and new. Come together for drinks, snacks, and a warm atmosphere to honor our LGBTQ+ Jewish community.

Following the Happy Hour, we will gather for our Pride Shabbat Serice led by Rabbi Jake Singer-Beilin. Our guest speaker for the evening will be Jessica Stern, Special Envoy Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Persons. Let's raise a glass to inclusivity and acceptance!

We will gather together over a delicious Shabbat lunch for learning and singing. Together we will explore this week’s Torah portion/Parashah and what we can integrate into our daily lives.

We’ll gather outdoors if the weather is nice. Come ready to relax and enjoy Shabbat in community. All are welcome!

We will meet in a location in Bethesda. Specific location details will be shared with registrants for those who sign up by Thursday, May 9th.

Repro Shabbat is an annual Shabbat celebration that honors the Jewish value of reproductive freedom. It takes place annually on Parshat Mishpatim, the reading of which contains the verses commonly referenced as the foundation of Judaism’s approach to reproductive health, rights, and justice. Individuals and communities across the world gather to celebrate Repro Shabbat and the Jewish traditions it honors. Participation can take many forms.

Join Rabbi Jenna for a dining and learning experience dedicated to exploring the Jewish value of reproductive health and freedom for all, and the current issues facing the assurance of reproductive health in the U.S. We will enjoy a delicious bagel brunch, including Kiddush (blessing over grapejuice/wine) and Motzi (blessing over challah).

This gathering will be in Arlington. All are welcome!

Refugee Shabbat is an invitation for us to express our solidarity with the global Jewish movement for refugee protection and welcome. People seeking asylum are being turned away at borders around the world. This is a critical moment for all of us to reaffirm and redouble our support for refugees, asylum seekers, and the forcibly displaced, and an opportunity to step back, reflect, and celebrate the work we have already done.

Join Rabbi Jenna for a dining and learning experience dedicated to exploring the current concerns and statistics for global refugees and why it’s a Jewish value to help the stranger. We will enjoy a vegetarian, Kosher meal including blessings of Kiddush (blessing over grapejuice/wine) and Motzi (blessing over challah).

Location TBD. All are welcome!

It’s been such a difficult week for so many of us. In an effort to respond to the needs we are hearing from so many of you, we’ve put together two opportunities to come together for community connection this weekend.

Join us for a Shabbat check-in tonight. Shabbat is an opportunity to pause, reflect, and to come together - to be with what we are experiencing, to feel the closeness of community, and to be held by the powerful rituals of our Jewish tradition. Everyone is welcome.

If you would like to, please feel free to light candles prior to the gathering. We will recite kiddush, the blessing over wine/grape juice, together during our gathering. No worries if you don’t have either - you’ll recite it over our kiddush cup!

Join us and Makom for a Kabbalat Shabbat gathering! We will welcome Shabbat by singing a few songs from the Friday evening service, as well as discussing what Jewish wisdom has to teach us about creating inclusive, welcoming space, during Shabbat and always. We'll close with candle lighting and kiddish - the blessing for grape juice - to sanctify the day, and wishes for a sweet 24 hours of rest + relaxation. All are welcome!

This gathering will be virtual, and there are a few spots available for in-person attendance at one of the Makom homes. If you are interested in attending in-person, please reach out to Rabbi Jenna.

Shabbat afternoon in the summer is wonderfully long. Shabbat afternoon is a time for learning, singing, hanging out - whatever brings us joy and makes space to soak up the hours of Shabbat!

Join us to create a meaningful, relaxing Shabbat experience together. The Den will bring challah and a bit of this week’s Parashah (Torah portion) to learn; everyone is invited to bring blankets, snacks, board/card games, frisbees, etc. Come ready to relax and enjoy Shabbat in community; All are welcome!

We will meet at a park in Arlington. Please sign up by July 20th.

Shabbat afternoon in the spring + summer is wonderfully long. Shabbat afternoon is a time for learning, singing, hanging out - whatever brings us joy and makes space to soak up the hours of Shabbat!

Join us to create a meaningful, relaxing Shabbat experience together. The Den will bring challah and a bit of this week’s Parashah (Torah portion) to learn; everyone is invited to bring blankets, snacks, board/card games, frisbees, etc. Come ready to relax and enjoy Shabbat in community; All are welcome!

We will meet at a park in Maryland. Sign up below by June 15th.

LGBTQ+ Community and allies alike, kick off Pride Month with Washington Hebrew’s annual Pride Shabbat!

Join in prayer, song, laughter, and commitment as we nosh and toast the strong, growing, WHC LGBTQ+ community!

This evening is not just for those who identify as LGBTQ+. Now, more than ever, we need our allies to come out in force and show your support for our community. Please join us and invite friends who want to celebrate who they are and/or may need a welcoming and inviting space to do so. All are welcome!

Eats and Open Bar begin at 6:00 pm.

Services are at 6:30 pm followed by a Super-sized Pride-ful Oneg Shabbat catered by Little Sesame, where you will get to chat with leaders and members of the WHC LGBTQ+ Affinity Group, as well as representatives from DCJCC’s GLOE, Capital Qvellers, and more.

Sign up below for detail by June 1st.

Shabbat afternoon in the spring + summer is wonderfully long. Shabbat afternoon is a time for learning, singing, hanging out - whatever brings us joy and makes space to soak up the hours of Shabbat!

Join us to create a meaningful, relaxing Shabbat experience together. The Den will bring challah and a bit of this week’s Parashah (Torah portion) to learn; everyone is invited to bring blankets, snacks, board/card games, frisbees, etc. Come ready to relax and enjoy Shabbat in community!

We will meet at a park in Maryland. Sign up below by May 11th.

JCADA created Teal Shabbat as an opportunity to recognize Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and let folks know that our communities are safe spaces. By taking a moment on a Shabbat in April, we hope to educate ourselves, raise awareness, and shine a light on this dark topic. Together, we can make a real difference in the lives of victims and survivors in our midst by showing them we care, and that they are not alone. All are welcome.

We will gather virtually to learn + share, and bring in Shabbat together with blessings over candle-lighting and grapejuice/wine. Register for the zoom below.

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History is filled with incredible exhibits and insights, some of which includes notable Jewish contributions to American History.

Come on this Shabbat-friendly learning adventure to find hidden gems, Jewish and beyond, throughout the museum. To accommodate halakhic observance of Shabbat, we will have printed scavenger hunt sheets + stickers to track our findings. Entrance to the museum is free.

This gathering is intended for folks who identify as single/unpartnered.

SIGN UPS ARE CLOSED; THANK YOU ALL!

Reproductive freedom is a Jewish value. In partnership with the National Council of Jewish Women, the Den is gathering to honor Repro Shabbat. Through ritual, learning, and connection with each other, we will create an open and safe space for exploring how this topic is relevant in all of our lives.

We’ll check in, set some Shabbat intentions, recite kiddush (blessing over wine) and honor the critical importance of reproductive health access and reproductive rights in partnership with the National Council of Jewish Women.

Everyone is welcome. This gathering will be virtual; register for the zoom below.

HIAS Refugee Shabbat is an opportunity for the Jewish community to communicate our strong, shared support for refugees and asylum seekers. Welcoming the stranger is a central Jewish value – one repeated more than any other commandment in the Torah. This year, Refugee Shabbat coincides with when we read the parashah, the Torah portion, of Beshalach. This is the week when we tell the story of the Israelites leaving Egypt and crossing the sea to freedom.

Join us for a bagel brunch us as we discover how the stories of the Torah lay the foundation for this Jewish value, learn more about current refugee + asylum issues, and explore ways to support the cause + get more involved.

This gathering will be in Arlington. Please sign up by February 2nd.

Shabbat afternoon in the summer is wonderfully long. Shabbat afternoon is a time for learning, singing, hanging out - whatever brings us joy and makes space to soak up the final hours of Shabbat. Join us to create a meaningful, relaxing Shabbat experience together. We’ll bring challah and a bit of this week’s Parashah (Torah portion); you bring blankets, snacks, board/card games, etc. Come ready to relax and enjoy Shabbat in community!

We will meet at a park in Arlington. Sign up below by July 21st.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month!

Shabbat is an opportunity to remove ourselves from the constant motion of our daily lives—to pause, breathe and reflect on that which is most important to us. Pauses like these go a long way in helping us to connect with our friends, families, selves, and God. But Shabbat can also be a powerful tool in cultivating mental wellness. The Blue Dove Foundation has a new Mental Health Shabbat gathering this week, so you can bring in Shabbat with mental wellness in mind. Join their team for a short and intimate entrance into Shabbat, with some ideas about mental health and Shabbat, and a short activity that will surely bring rest and wellness to your weekend.

The Shabbat evening gathering is on zoom, and you can also sign up to host your own Mental Wellness Shabbat dinner.

Refugee Shabbat 2022 is a moment for congregations, organizations, and individuals in the United States and around the world to dedicate a Shabbat experience to refugees and asylum seekers. In partnership with HIAS, we will gather together to learn about and discuss the global refugee crisis in a Jewish context, as well as learn about ways we can help locally.

We’ll bring the challah and the learning; you bring yourselves and a picnic lunch! We’ll be meeting at a park centrally located in DC. Sign up to join us below.

With so much going on in our world and news cycle, many of us are seeking ways to feel connected in community. Join us the Friday night following the election, where we can unplug and reunite meaningfully, together. Shabbat provides us a with a “palace in time” to pause, count our blessings, connect with new and familiar faces, and just be.

These are tense times, and it is for this very reason why coming together like this with community is so needed. We’ll gather together to make kiddush as a community, to take a breath, and reflect on the week in this safe and sacred space we’ll build together.

To set the mood and get ready for our Shabbat gathering:

1) Feel free to pour yourself wine or grape juice for kiddush.

2) If you have challah bread or a roll, put it out on the table with a cover over it.

3) Candle lighting is at 4:43pm (Feel free to light Shabbat candles in advance if you’d like.)

4) Invite friends and family to join. There is always enough room around our virtual Shabbat table!