Temple Sinai

CIESJ Book Discussion
2025-11-23 10:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York) | https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/aPOxHvM6QpqTJKoWbGvEnA
Join Congregation Ramot Shalom of Be’er Shevah and Temple Sinai of DC for a virtual discussion of Our Holocaust by Amir Gutfreund, translated by Jessica Cohen.
Register to join via Zoom

Volunteer Info Session: Washington English Center
2025-12-09 19:30 - 20:30 | https://templesinaidc-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/G2GqUxbxQVKyCs9X6IZHag
Want to help immigrants in our community? Learn how you can help local immigrants improve their language skills as a volunteer with Washington English Center. By volunteering just a couple of hours a week, you can make a real impact. There are opportunities to volunteer virtually and with other temple members. Join us on Zoom to learn more!
Register to join via Zoom

Volunteering at A Wider Circle
2025-12-18 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-01-15 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-02-19 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-03-19 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-04-16 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-05-21 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-06-18 10:00 - 12:00 | A Wider Circle – 9159 Brookville Rd, Silver Spring, MD, United States
Volunteer at A Wider Circle with your fellow TS members! Lunch is not included in this program but those interested in going to Parkway Deli afterwards are more than welcome! If you have questions, please contact Jim Jaffe or Ed Cohen.
RSVP

Chanukah Shabbat with Congregation Ramot Shalom
2025-12-19 10:00 - 12:00 | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87007914545?pwd=[REDACTED]
Join us as we celebrate Chanukah Shabbat virtually with our partner congregation, Congregation Ramot Shalom in Be’er Sheva.
Click to join via Zoom (Meeting ID: 870 0791 4545, Passcode: [REDACTED]

MLK Mitzvah Day
2026-01-18 10:00 - 12:00 | DC
Join us for Temple Sinai’s Congregation-Wide Mitzvah Day!
We will honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision by giving back to our community. Together, we’ll take part in hands-on projects that support our neighbors in need throughout the Washington, DC area.
All ages are welcome! Children under high school age should be accompanied by an adult.
We have something for everyone – including projects you can do from home! For the complete list of projects and all the information you need to know, click on the link below!
LEARN MORE HERE
Please register in advance

This program is generously underwritten by the Judy and Peter Blum Kovler Foundation.

CIESJ Presents: Israel at a Crossroads: A Conversation on Security & Peace
2026-01-21 19:00 - 20:30 | DC
Temple Sinai’s Committee for Israel and Social Justice is pleased to invite you to an evening with Maj. Gen. (ret.) Nimrod Sheffer, one of Israel’s most respected military strategists. Sheffer will be in conversation with Natan Guttman, Washington correspondent for Kan public television and columnist for Moment Magazine.
Drawing on decades of senior military leadership, Sheffer will offer a clear-eyed assessment of Israel’s legitimate security needs and the realities it must confront. At the same time, he will present a hopeful, pragmatic vision for a future of peace, grounded in his belief that a two-state solution remains necessary and achievable. The conversation will explore concrete strategies for advancing security alongside diplomacy, rebuilding trust, strengthening Israel’s democracy, and charting a path toward a safer, more just future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
Maj. Gen. (ret.) Nimrod Sheffer has devoted more than 45 years to the security of the State of Israel. Rising through the ranks of the Israeli Air Force, he later served as Deputy Commander of the Air Force. His final role in the IDF was as Head of the Planning Directorate of the General Staff, overseeing political-strategic military planning, international military cooperation, and long-term force development. Following his retirement from active duty, Sheffer was appointed President and CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Alongside his career, Sheffer has long been engaged in civic and social efforts, including partnership initiatives with Bedouin communities in the Negev to foster opportunity, leadership, and shared citizenship.
Register
This is an in-person only event. A reception will follow the discussion.
The event is co-sponsored by J Street, New Israel Fund, New Jewish Narrative, and UnXeptable.

Davis Center Docs: Screening of “Credible Fear”
2026-02-01 15:00 - 17:00 | Temple Sinai – 3100 Military Road NW, Washington, DC, United States
The Davis Center for Social Justice at Temple Sinai is proud to present the latest in our Davis Center Docs series.
Please join us for a sneak preview of several scenes from “Credible Fear”, a work-in-progress documentary about immigrant rights directed by local DC filmmaker Gabrielle Ewing. Through one woman’s harrowing personal account of escaping brutal gang violence in Guatemala, “Credible Fear” reveals a complex, rarely seen portrait of the ongoing immigration crisis in the US and explores how the asylum process consistently fails the people it was designed to protect.
A panel discussion and Q & A will follow this advance screening. Panelists include:

Gabrielle Ewing, documentary filmmaker and director of “Credible Fear”,
Amy C. Roma, Partner, Hogan Lovells, attorney featured in “Credible Fear”,
Sarah Pierce, Director of Social Policy at Third Way,
Yael Schacher, Director for the Americas and Europe, Refugees International, and
Moderated by Royce Murray, Former Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy at the Department of Homeland Security.

You don’t want to miss this incredibly moving and timely event!
Note: this event is recommended for age 18+ due to the sensitivity and nature of the material.
Please register in advance

Tu BiSh'vat Seder
2026-02-01 18:00 - 19:30 | DC
Celebrate Tu BiSh’vat, the Jewish “New Year for Trees,” with a meaningful evening honoring nature and spiritual growth. Cantor Rhodes will lead a Tu BiSh’vat Seder followed by a vegetarian potluck dinner and an opportunity to hear from guest speaker Mike Tidwell, Executive Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
6:00 to 6:30: 30-minute Seder led by Cantor Rhodes
Tu B’Shvat is the Jewish “New Year for Trees.” This holiday celebrates nature’s beauty, calls us to our responsibility to care for the earth, and open the journey into our own spiritual growth. During the seder, we eat symbolic fruits and nuts, each representing aspects of the natural and spiritual world: fruits with inedible peels (protection and physicality), fruits with edible peels (balance of inner and outer worlds), nuts (spiritual potential), and dried fruits (wisdom and life’s cycles). We offer blessings of gratitude for the earth’s abundance, reflecting on our connection to creation and our duty to nurture it. As we share this meal, we renew our appreciation for nature’s gifts and commit to planting seeds of kindness, growth, and environmental stewardship.
6:30 to 7:00: Potluck dinner
Attendees are asked to bring a vegetarian side dish or dessert, according to the first letter of the attendee’s last name. (A-P bring side dish; Q-Z bring dessert)
7:00 to 7:30: Guest speaker, Mike Tidwell, Executive Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Tidwell is a journalist, author, and climate activist living in Takoma Park, MD. His most recent book is an exploration of global warming’s impact in his own front yard, called The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue: A story of Climate and Hope on One American Street (St. Martin’s Press, March 2025).
Please register in advance

CIESJ Book Discussion
2026-02-08 10:00 - 11:00 | https://www.templesinaidc.org/event/ciesj-book-discussion-4/
Temple Sinai’s Committee for Israel Engagement and Social Justice hosts a virtual discussion of of Red Hook Road by American Jewish Author Ayelet Waldman, along with our partner congregation, Congregation Ramot Shalom of Be’er Shevah.
Register to join via Zoom

RED HOOK ROAD
A rich and rewarding story of love, loss, and the power of family from the bestselling author of Bad Mother and Love and Other Impossible Pursuits. In the aftermath of a devastating wedding day, two families, the Tetherlys and the Copakens, find their lives unraveled by unthinkable loss. Over the course of the next four summers in Red Hook, Maine, they struggle to bridge differences of class and background to honor the memory of the couple, Becca and John. As Waldman explores the unique and personal ways in which each character responds to the tragedy—from the budding romance between the two surviving children, Ruthie and Matt, to the struggling marriage between Iris, a high strung professor in New York, and her husband Daniel—she creates a powerful family portrait and a beautiful reminder of the joys of life. Elegantly written and emotionally gripping, Red Hook Road affirms Waldman’s place among today’s most talented authors.

Repro/TSWRJ Shabbat Service
2026-02-13 18:30 - 19:30 | Temple Sinai – 3100 Military Road NW, Washington, DC, United States
The Davis Center‘s Reproductive Health & Rights Group and Temple Sinai Women of Reform Judaism will join together in celebrating Repro/TSWRJ Shabbat, honoring the Jewish value of reproductive freedom.
We are delighted to welcome Allison Tombros Korman, Founder and Executive Director of the Red Tent Fund, as our guest speaker. The Red Tent Fund is a national abortion fund rooted in the Jewish teachings that affirm the right to abortion for all. The recent Maj Fun Day raised over $12,000 to support the Red Tent Fund, with whom Temple Sinai is a congregational partner.
At the service we will honor TSWRJ leaders and temple members who provide, advocate for, educate about, and protest for abortion and reproductive health care.
Click here for livestream.
Services will be followed by an oneg, sponsored by the Davis Center, TSWRJ, and the Wolman family in celebration of Juliet Davey Wolman’s baby naming.
During the Oneg following services, attendees will have the opportunity to create handwritten encouragement cards that will accompany the care items we are donating to abortion patients at CARE Reproductive Health Care. Attendees will also be encouraged to write postcards to Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in response to the Administration’s recent actions targeting medication abortion and access to mifepristone.

Celebrate TSWRJ/Repro Shabbat in song by joining the pop-up choir! No prior music training necessary- just come sing with us. We will meet at 6:00 pm to rehearse and will sing during the service. To RSVP, please email Gail Sell at gsell@templesinaidc.org.

Antisemitism on College Campuses: The Current State
2026-02-19 19:00 - 20:30 | DC
Please join Temple Sinai’s Antisemitism Working Group for a thoughtful and timely discussion on antisemitism on college campuses, featuring Washington Post religion reporter Michelle Boorstein, GW political science professor and former provost Forrest Maltzman, and attorney Baruch Weiss. The conversation will be moderated by Mike Abramowitz.
This promises to be a thought-provoking evening. We hope you can join us in person and stay for some snacks and beer after! Please email Pam Kurland with questions.
Please register in advance
Note: This program is in-person only and will not be recorded.

Our Rabbi’s Report From Israel
2026-03-15 11:00 - 12:15 | DC
Rabbi Jon Roos will share insights and understandings from his recent trip (before the start of the current war with Iran) to Israel with a group of Reform Rabbis and open a conversation with attendees about Israel today, including the current war and anything members would like to discuss.
Questions? Contact Helena Goldstein.

Lafayette Park Clean up Playdate
2026-03-22 10:00 - 11:30 | Lafayette Park – 5900 33rd St NW, Washington, DC, United States
Tikkun Olam! Join us at Lafayette Park by the gazebos for a fun trash pick-up scavenger hunt and time on the playground.
Questions? Email Lisa Resnikoff at lresnikoff@templesinaidc.org.
RSVP

Planting Hope Native Plant Pickup Day
2026-04-26 09:00 - 13:00 | DC
Sacred Grounds: A Community Native Plant Program
Temple Sinai’s Green Team is launching Sacred Grounds, a National Wildlife Federation program supported locally by Interfaith Power & Light and Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake. This initiative focuses on planting native species to support wildlife, protect local water, and care for our community and future generations.
Register to receive free native plants to plant at home. Pick up your plants at Temple Sinai on April 26 and help create habitat for local wildlife.

CIESJ Book Discussion
2026-04-26 10:00 - 11:00 | https://www.templesinaidc.org/event/ciesj-book-discussion-5/
Join Congregation Ramot Shalom of Be’er Shevah and Temple Sinai of DC for a virtual book discussion of The Hilltop by Assaf Gavron. This book should open up a very intense and significant conversation about issues in contemporary Israel.
Register to join via Zoom

A sprawling, daring novel, which dismantles the extreme and absurd reality in the Israeli-occupied West Bank: Catch 22 meets 21st century Israel. Violence, greed, lust for power and the blurring of values, but also a burning ideological passion. As always, Gavron charts a path between styles and genres, between realism and satire, between being earnest and wildly funny. Gavron wrote parts of The Hilltop in a cabin in a settlement in the West Bank.

WTF: Washington's Totally Fine! (Part 3)
2026-05-07 19:00 - 21:00 | DC
We are feeling the weight of these unprecedented times in Washington, DC. Join us to learn about what is happening from experts in our Temple Sinai congregation and spend time with our community. The evening will begin with a panel of Sinai members representing a broad range of perspectives, reflecting on how current events are impacting our community and our city.
Panelists are:

Libby Anker, Professor of American Studies and Political Science at GW University,
Becca Kelly Slaughter, Former Commissioner of the United States Federal Trade Commission,
Sam Stein, Managing Editor for the media company The Bulwark, and a contributor for MSNBC,
Steve Vladeck, Professor at Georgetown Law Center, author of NYT bestseller “The Shadow Docket”
William Wechsler, Senior Director of the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council.

The panel will be followed by pizza, beer and a chance to keep talking to each other. Join us for an evening of learning, networking, and conspiring.
While we hope you can join us in person, the panel portion of the program can be viewed virtually. Please indicate your preference when you register.
REGISTER

Tricia Davis 5K for Sinai House
2026-05-10 07:45 - 10:00 | Rock Creek Park Carter Barron Amphitheater, 4850 Colorado Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20011, United States
Celebrate Mother’s Day with us at the 12th Annual Tricia Davis 5K for Sinai House in Rock Creek Park. Ample, free parking is available, and strollers and dogs are welcome.
Register
We run, walk, and celebrate in honor of the memory of Tricia Davis, who was committed to combating homelessness and turned this commitment towards the establishment and longevity of Sinai House. Proceeds from the event will directly benefit Sinai House, a residential social service program in Washington, DC, founded by Temple Sinai members, in its mission to enable families to move from homelessness to self-sufficiency by providing safe and affordable housing, comprehensive social services and financial support.
To learn more about Sinai House’s mission and what we do, visit www.SinaiHouse.org.

Bodies on the Line: Resisting Settler Violence in the West Bank
2026-06-10 19:00 - 21:00 | DC
Israeli peace activists are on the front lines of resisting the alarming increase in settler violence on the West Bank that is driving out Palestinian villagers from their historic homes. With donations from Temple Sinai members, CIESJ has supported the New Israel Fund’s efforts to coordinate the protective presence that these peace activists provide. Come and hear first-hand accounts of these activists. A reception will follow.
Learn more and register

Food for All Lunch Packing
2026-07-10 10:00 - 11:30 | DC
Food For All (FFA) is one of the few programs in Washington, DC that deliver groceries to homebound individuals citywide. FFA also distributes bagged lunches to unhoused DC residents each Friday. Join us on Friday, July 10 to assemble these bagged lunches at Temple Sinai, alongside your fellow congregants. This program is intended for adult participants; we hope to offer other packing opportunities for families in the future.
Questions? Email Elizabeth Roos
Please REGISTER in advance
