By Rabbi Josh Beraha A profound duality exists at the heart of the High Holy Day season. On the one hand we’re to consider the entirety of creation. At Rosh Hashanah, the birthday of the universe, we gaze outward toward our community, our nation, the entire global tapestry. We’re to consider society’s most marginalized individuals… Continue Reading FROM THE VINE: Embracing Aspiration and Ancestry
By Rabbi Daniel G. Zemel As a rabbi, one of the most common phrases I hear is, “I’m not really religious.” I rarely respond. Instead, I keep listening— intently—as people struggle to explain why they are sharing this with a rabbi or why they are in a synagogue to begin with. The High Holy Days… Continue Reading FROM THE VINE: Speaking in the Right Register
היום הרת עולם Today the World was Born a daily email series compiled by Kelly Whitehead Hayom harat olam. Today is the birthday of the world. After the sounding of the shofar during the Amidah on Rosh Hashanah, we say, “Hayom harat olam,” or “today is the birthday of the world.” However, hara does not… Continue Reading Elul Project 5783: Today the World was Born
60 years ago, on August 6, 1963, Temple Micah, originally Southwest Hebrew Congregation, was officially incorporated as a religious non-profit in the District of Columbia. We’d like to sincerely thank each and every person who has made us who we are today. We know the next 60 years (and beyond!) will continue to challenge and… Continue Reading Celebrating 60 Years of Temple Micah
July 2023 Dear Friends, Yesterday’s Knesset vote that strips the Israeli Judiciary of some of its authority to override extreme Knesset measures and to keep criminals out of office was a hard blow for those of us who love Israel. I was distraught until a dear friend reminded me that she had learned from a… Continue Reading Israel’s Judicial Overhaul – A Letter from Rabbi Zemel
Hi y’all, I’m Graham. I’m a rising senior at Davidson College in North Carolina, studying English literature. I grew up in DC and went to Temple Micah for Hebrew school up until my bar mitzvah before dropping off the radar for a little while. I plan to come back in full force with my belated… Continue Reading Meet Graham Wilder, 2023 Summer Intern
By Steven R. Weisman Kelly Whitehead, Temple Micah’s rabbinical student intern for the summer of 2023, is no stranger to our community. She taught kindergarten through second grade at Machon Micah while an undergraduate studying history at American University, and some Temple Micah families became acquainted with her at Reform Judaism’s Camp Harlam in the… Continue Reading Meet Kelly Whitehead, 2023 Summer Rabbinic Intern
We are delighted to announce that Healy Slakman, our former rabbinic intern and soon-to-be rabbi, will be joining Temple Micah as assistant rabbi and director of spiritual arts. Starting this summer, Healy will oversee our musical endeavors, designing and leading our music in worship, collaborating with our choirs and musicians, and managing the b’nai mitzvah… Continue Reading Welcoming Healy Slakman, new Assistant Rabbi and Director of Spiritual Arts
By Geoffrey Barron, Barbara Diskin, and Jan W. Greenberg In Spring 2023, a group of us met at Micah to talk about a tough subject: climate change. To examine climate change is to encounter forces that seem overwhelming: our whole society built on fossil fuels, the power and influence of the big oil companies, the… Continue Reading A New Climate Group at Micah
Register The next session of our Adult Conversational Modern Hebrew class will begin on Wednesday, April 19th. Taught by longtime Hebrew teacher Evie Shen-Tal, the class will continue to learn the past tense and build vocabulary. This class is for experienced beginners; familiarity with reading Hebrew in print and conjugating present/past tense verbs in the Paal… Continue Reading Adult Conversational Modern Hebrew Class
