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UPCOMING SERVICES | PAST SERMONS | FRIDAY EVENING | SATURDAY SERVICES
Shabbat brings us closer to what matters – Judaism, God, our families, and each other. Washington Hebrew welcomes you to find that place and sacred space with us, your community.
We gather every Friday to welcome Shabbat. From soulful, joyful, and musical services to those that follow our traditional liturgy with a sermon, Shabbat engages and connects us to each other and our faith.
Learn More
To watch additional sermons, click/tap in the video below.
Friday night with WHC is the place to be. It all begins with food, fun, and community!
If you would like to sponsor a portion of a future Shabbat@WHC to celebrate a milestone or honor a memory, please contact Margaret Cohen, Director of Philanthropy, at mcohen@whctemple.org.
When you join us on a Friday night, you will experience joy. You will experience community. There may be more or fewer musicians, but there will always be music and an opportunity to eat and have a drink.
We’re at Temple every week, and once a month (usually the third Friday, but check the Calendar) we add a service at the Julia Bindeman Suburban Center.
At 6:00 pm and again after the service: Have something to eat (to tide you over or as your dinner), a drink (we offer beer and wine, plus non-alcoholic options), and connect with your community.
Kids are always welcome, and they’ll be able to eat before (and after) the service, play Connect 4, Jenga, and cornhole games, create at a coloring table, and do other arts & crafts activities.
Many weeks at 6:00 pm, you can also participate in a Shot of Torah.
6:30 pm – Our Shabbat service begins.
After the service – Stay for dessert, or more dinner and drinks!
Watch past sermons on our Shabbat@WHC Playlist!
Our clergy make going to Friday night services a fun, fulfilling event for families with young children (or grandchildren)!
Monthly, 5:00 pm at Temple and 5:30 pm at JBSC
Tot Shabbat
Songs, stories, music, and laughter!
Family Dinner
It’s Friday evening. The kids are hungry. You’re hungry. We’ve got food —and a great community to enjoy it with!
At 6:30 pm (note the later start time for the evening) and again after the service: Have something to eat (to tide you over or as your dinner), a drink (we offer a full bar, plus non-alcoholic options), and connect with your community.
Also at 6:30 pm, 2239 folks can join us for a Shot of Torah.
7:00 pm – Our Shabbat service begins.
After the service – Stay for dessert, or more dinner and drinks! For members (or potential new members) of 2239, our Young Professionals group, tonight is when we gather for our monthly dinner.
Whether it’s a chance to celebrate a favorite holiday like Hanukkah or Purim (definitely a “don’t miss” event), invite in special guest speakers and musicians as we do for MLK Shabbat, or recognize and represent the diversity of our community for Pride and Juneteenth, we love taking the opportunity to embrace all elements of Judaism.
We have these events at least once a month, be sure to check the Calendar for updates on what’s happening at WHC.
Accessing spirituality through creative modalities dates to the origins of Rabbinic Judaism and is at the core of our Jewish heritage. Each month we will gather, sing the psalms of Kabbalat Shabbat, then engage in a serenity practice such as meditation, yoga, or niggunim (wordless songs).
No experience is necessary as we delve into these alternative spiritual practices. Our practice will then conclude as we join to remember our loved ones who have died with the words of Kaddish Yatom. The timing, with a pre-neg at 6:00, service at 6:30, and dessert after the service will remain the same as before. The format may initially feel unusual to some and refreshing to others. We are confident this new Shabbat experience will enrich your Jewish practice and deepen your relationships with your WHC family.
8:30 am — Read the weekly Torah portion (in English) with community members
9:00 am — Clergy-led discussion
An opportunity to study and discuss the weekly Torah portion with our rabbis and cantors. No preparation, special training, or advance registration is necessary.
10:30 am
This service, led by our rabbis and cantors, often includes the b’nei mitzvah of our teens as well as the traditional elements of a Shabbat morning service: prayers, responsive readings, music, reading from the Torah, and a d’var Torah (interpretation of the weekly Torah portion). On the mornings when there is no b’nei mitzvah, our rabbi or cantor may use this opportunity to conduct a Learner’s Service and explain different aspects of the service or liturgy.
5:00 pm
We hold this service when there is a b’nei mitzvah. It includes all elements of our Shabbat morning service with the addition of the Havdalah ceremony. Havdalah, which means “to separate,” is a brief but moving ceremony that uses all of our senses to help us honor the separation between Shabbat and the rest of the week.
