Spirited 5785 Experiences and Learning
Prepare yourself for the High Holy Days with deep and meaningful Torah study, song, story, and experiences. We will gather together as a community to challenge ourselves to think deeply about how to create meaningful change and growth during the Season of Awe.
Preparations Before the High Holy Days
Grief, Loss, and the High Holidays with Mick Neustadt LICSW
Wednesday, Oct 9 7-8pm | Register Here
If you have experienced the loss of a loved one or friend, the High Holidays may prove to be a very emotional time. In this one-hour workshop, Adas Social Worker Mick Neustadt will offer guidance and reflection on navigating your feelings, and remembering your loved one(s).
Hesed Honey Cake Baking Event
Sunday, August 25 @ 1pm, Kay Hall | Register Here
Please join us for our annual Hesed Honey Cake Bake-A-Thon! These delicious cakes will be delivered to our veteran Adas members before Rosh Hashanah! Thank you for helping our community begin their 5785 in a sweet and delicious way!
Rosh Hodesh Elul Rising Song Gathering
In Partnership with Hadar
Will be rescheduled. Please stay tuned for more information.
Welcome the month of Elul in heart-opening song. Join R. Deborah Sacks Mintz and her trio in a participatory gathering of rich harmony, deep groove, and prayerful communal singing - rooted in traditional texts, contemporary melodies, and the meditative power of the nigun.
An Evening with Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt
Co-Sponsored by Or HaLev and the Den Collective
Tuesday, September 10 at 7pm | Click Here to Register
In Partnership with the Wellness Center @ Adas and MakomDC
An update to our September 10th Wellness Center Evening of Meditation & Learning--Rav James of Or HaLev is unable to to be in attendance as planned, due to the ongoing unrest in Israel. We look forward to welcoming Rav James to Adas when he is able to make the journey. We are pleased to share that the evening of Meditation & Learning in preparation for the Yamim Norayim--the High Holidays, will be lead by our very own, Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt. We look forward to seeing you on September 10th at 7pm.
Teshuvah is the practice of returning to ourselves. In this incredibly difficult year, so many of us have felt lost, unbalanced, fearful and confused. Come join the Wellness Center @ Adas to explore how we can once more return to ourselves and find ourselves at home. Come and discover how finding balance and returning to our best and most regulated selves can be a form of teshuva. Through study, exploration and practical accessible meditation techniques, we will ready ourselves for the Yamim Norayim—the High Holidays—focusing inward, breathing, and releasing. We look forward to an evening of coming home, finding safety and being who we are.
Outdoor Selichot Service
Saturday, September 28 at 8:30pm
Join us In Person in the Outdoor HaMakom Tent
Click Here to Download the Selichot Booklet
This tradition invites us to open ourselves up to the essential work of the High Holy Days: the process of repair and return, of acknowledgment and longing. Please join Adas clergy and your community for a one-of-a-kind evening of personal reflection through song and text.
The Elul Chronicles
adasisrael.org/elul
Join Adas Israel clergy and community members as we explore the themes of the season in writing, song, and video, on the meaning of this holy season. We will offer meditations several times a week to inspire, challenge and help us explore our own spiritual work as we approach these sacred days of Awe.
Elul Tisch
Saturdays at 1pm, Biran Beit Midrash
September 21 and 28
Join us for 2 Shabbatot in Elul as we gather around the table to sing and learn together in advance of the High Holiday season. Enter the high holidays uplifted, challenged, and ready for the growth mindset the season offers us.
Wellness Center Yoga and Meditation Series with Tobie Whitman
September 20, November 1 & 22, December 13, from 10:15am-11:15am | Register Here
Bring mindful awareness to the body and the breath with a Wellness Center 4 part vinyasa yoga series rooted in the Jewish calendar. Through slow, deliberate sequences and energetic cues focused on alignment and cultivating interception, Tobie Whitman (RYT-200) helps students achieve embodied presence. Leave this one hour class feeling centered, calm and refreshed. Tobie is a dedicated vipassana meditation practitioner and has practiced yoga for nearly 25 years.
Dip in the Mikvah
Prepare Yourself for the Days of Awe
For millennia the Jewish community has used the Mikvah as a profound spiritual ritual. For moments of deep joy, transition, loss and so much more the living waters of this beautiful space have given people moments of calm, healing, reflection, introspection, peace and wholeness. One of the most sacred times to use the Mikvah is during the Jewish month of Elul , in the 30 days leading up to the High Holidays. This is one way to prepare for the sacred season - take a few moments in these living waters to set the intention for your own spiritual growth and commitment in the New Year ahead. All are welcome.
Feel free to make use of this incredibly beautiful holy space and book an immersion (with or without a guide) in the month of Elul (we have added extra hours to accommodate for additional appointments) - mikvahcalendar.as.me/schedule.php or contact Rabbi Yolkut at rabbi.yolkut@adasisrael.org.
HHD Immersion, Join Us During the High Holy Days
Families with Infants and Toddlers Rosh Hashanah Celebration
Friday, October 4 at 10am, in the Gan Space
Families with infants and toddlers (birth-2years) are invited to a Rosh Hashanah celebration full of song, snacks, and connection. If you would like more information on joining a Havurah, please visit our program calendar, register for the Havurah Program, or email Darci Lewis, for more information—we look forward to welcoming you!
Alternative Musaf Singing Circle
Friday, October 4 at 11:30am, Gewirz Beit Am
Join Rabbi Krinsky, Micah Hendler and Rabbi Daniel Novick for a spiritual musaf anchored by communal song. Sitting in concentric circles, we will move through the musical moments of the liturgy, immersing ourselves in the service’s grounding melodies.
The Gates Are Still Open: A Community Discussion on the Ten Days of Teshuvah
Tuesday, October 8 at 7pm | Click Here To Register
Sponsored by the Adas Israel Wellness Center. Led by Amy Golen and Ellen Winter.
Join us as we gather together for a contemplative High Holiday reflection. With Rabbi Alan Lew z”l as our teacher, we will discuss sections of his 2003 classic book, This Is Real And You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation. This volume follows the spiritual calendar from Tisha B’Av to Sukkot. In past seasons, the Jewish Mindfulness Center of Washington (JMCW) has chosen one chapter for our community discussion. This year, as part of the Adas Israel Wellness Center, we will focus on the ten days of teshuvah between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rabbi Lew continues to be one of the leading voices in Jewish spiritual practice. His insights, consistently relevant, can guide us on the meaning of the High Holiday journey, especially during these challenging times.
The complete book is inspiring and can be easily purchased online; note there is an updated paperback edition. If you would prefer a shorter read, here is a link to related portions for our discussion, including Chapter 7: “What the Soul Does While the Gates Are Still Open: The Ten Days of Teshuvah.”
Yom Kippur Chanting with Susan Barocas and Michelle Buzgon: Preparing Body & Soul through Meditation & Song
October 12, 9:30-10:30 am
Led by Susan Barocas & Michelle Buzgon
Centering our bodies and minds, opening our hearts and awakening our spirits through mindful practices can help us move into this Yom Kippur day meaningfully and with deep intention. Come concentrate on the sounds and rhythms of our breath, guided meditation and melodic singing to deepen our sense of reflection, well-being and ability to accept the joys and sorrows of each year of our lives. Open to all, whether experienced or new to mindful meditation practice.
Susan Barocas is one of the founders of the Jewish Mindfulness Center of Washington at Adas Israel and chaired the Hesed Cooking Committee for its first 10 years. A chef, writer and cooking instructor, she finds the kitchen to be a place of great creativity and mindfulness.
Michelle Buzgon is a longtime Adas Israel member and one of the founders of the Jewish Mindfulness Center of Washington at Adas Israel. She brings many mindful modalities into her work as an ADHD coach, and her own mindful practice often includes chanting in Hebrew.
Susan and Michelle have been leading this annual High Holy Days ritual for more than a decade.
Tashlich Experience
Family Tashlich: Rosh Hashanah Day 2, Friday, October 4 at 12:00pm
Community Tashlich: Rosh Hashanah Day 2, Friday, October 4 at 2:00pm
Click Here for a Self Guided walkthrough of Tashlich
On Rosh Hashanah, there is a special ceremony where we traditionally go to an ocean, stream, or river to pray and throw breadcrumbs into the water. This serves to symbolically release the things we wish to let go of and set our intention for the coming year. Meet on the Connecticut Ave. Plaza
