Absolutely amazing community! Very warm and inviting, the building is gorgeous yet very spiritual…read moreand cozy. uplifting prayer and beautiful prayers/tunes. And a great and complimentary Kiddush community lunch following services.

As a casually religious person, I had a really good experience. While the entire liturgy was in…read moreHebrew, the members of the community were very embracing to me. Considering they just met me, I really felt welcomed. Positive experience.

Great synagogue that is progressive and inclusive. Quite big though. Wouldn't mind being a memberread more

Amazing Rabbanim, great services and a huge congregation. Almost every Shabbat service I've…read moreattended there has been a bar mitzvah. Decent parking, particularly for DC and did I mention that the services are beautiful??!!! I love service in general, so it's not like you'll hear me say there was a bad one, however the services here are especially uplifting. Maybe this is because there seems to be a great age mix and they provide options for each one. If I were staying in the DC area, this would probably be the best place to make my Shul home. The ethnicity mix is nice too; it is always uncomfortable when I go and stand out, then all the questions start pouring in about how did I get to be Jewish (wait...you mean I'm black?!?!...kidding). Thankfully, this has NEVER happened here...but that may be because of the reason I deducted one star... I did not go 5 stars because despite all the amazing things about Adas, the congregation itself hasn't been so welcoming. They weren't rude either, but we definitely were not warmly welcomed (except by 1 sweet Rabbi and 1 person at a young adult event) and everyone just kept to their cliques. Aw well, after a year in DC area, I'm headed out next month anyway. Neshikot vehibukim!

I can't say enough good things about Golbarg and how she runs our Persian school. She's an amazing…read moredirector who truly cares about both the students and the staff. She's always open to new ideas to improve our programs, whether it's incorporating cultural activities or integrating new curriculums to make learning more engaging.

I have my 2 sons (2 and 3.5 yrs old) enrolled and this has been our 3rd week attending. They have…read morebeen having a really fun time and we practice our new Persian vocabulary words every week! The classes are theme based, repetition of things we have seen and learned from previous weeks and all so very entertaining. If you have young children and just want to expose them to Farsi, Gandomak is a great start!

I have to pile on to the previous review. You can't find a warmer, kinder or more progressive…read morecongregation. It is filled with caring souls who reflect the light shed by their wonderful clergy, all under the leaderships of their most wonderful senior rabbi, Danny Zemel. I would not have found the need to even comment about this nationally renowned rabbi and this congregation were it not for a totally unfounded, ill informed review posted by someone else previously. It is sometimes hard to overcome negative comments, but this derisive one, to which I refer, should be dismissed by anyone with even the least degree of discernment.

Temple Micah is an extraordinary place. Welcoming, open-minded, spiritual and fun. A great place…read moreto check out if you're looking for a non-judgmental, spirited synagogue environment!

There is not a better Arabic language tutoring school in the DC area than Al Bayt Al Arabi. I…read morespent over nine months at Al Bayt al Arabi (five hours a day, Monday through Friday), and used their methods to move from the 1+ to the 3 level on the standard U.S. Government language assessment exam. Another student I overlapped with during this time had a nearly identical experience. I have previously studied Arabic full-time at the Foreign Service Institute and two other private language school in DC, and nowhere other than Al Bayt Al Arabi did I find instructors who worked harder than students (if you have any experience in full-time language training, you know how crazy that statement is). The two primary instructors know how provide real-world Arabic study that is still directly applicable to the quirks of government language assessment tests...no easy feat. The primary instructor at Al Bayt Al Arabi has spent decades as an Arabic instructor for both the U.S. Government and private institutions, and he takes those years of experience to (incredibly) create customized audio and visual study material for the student based on his or her level and specific needs and goals. This material then becomes available for independent study outside of class or for use while commuting to class. I've never even heard of another Arabic instructor in the DC area taking the time to do that. The instructors are flexible with study hours and are willing to utilize any mix of in-person or Skype sessions (so you can continue to have class while travelling). I was initially wary of the commute to class, but the drive for me was worth the quality of instruction (plus the aforementioned audio material created for study during the commute). Learning a language like Arabic is a daunting undertaking that you will likely only do once in your life. If you're willing to make the investment, you might as well do it right with instructors like those at Al Bayt Al Arabi. I began at Al Bayt Al Arabi with some Arabic language experience and experience in the Arab world, so I can't speak for a student starting from zero, but I know that diplomatic, corporate, and media headquarters across the Arab world are stocked with success stories from the two primary instructors at Al Bayt Al Arabi...everywhere I go in the professional Arab world I keep running into people that have studied Arabic under these instructors.

The best, friendliest, most challenging, and all around fantastic teachers are at Bayt AlArabi…read more They will dedicate as much time as you need to help you improve your Arabic skills. If you want to see yourself improve multiple levels on a language test this is the place to go. If you you want to practice speaking and enjoy your time learning around wonderful people this is the place to go. Al Bayt Al Arabi also has an Arabic school in Tunis, so there are many options for study through them as well. They are flexible with your schedule and really care about their students and providing a quality education.

Antioch Orthodox Festival geographical area covers following countries -Syria, Lebanon but the…read morebest description would be defined as Middle East Festival. Good place to sit in peace and eat. Affordable cost. Free and plenty of parking Playground for kids and extra games provided. Amazing church - worth of touring - hosts will gladly take you there. Additional vendors selling jewelry. Food was very good and they do not run out of it in this place. There is something for anybody - even a picky eater. Arab music played on the speakers so your eating cultural experienced is sort of enhanced. They have the menu printed on the fanciest paper out of all the festivals I have ever visited. They care... In 2016 the festival is Sept 23 - 25.

How do you review a synagogue? Here goes:…read more The good: Kesher has a really nice building (small, intimate, cozy). It is located well, right near the Georgetown scene. I've never been too regular, but, I know from their announcements that there's a wide variety of classes and events to be involved with. A lot of young people (20s, 30s) go to Kesher and some of them are friendly. DC is a transitory community, so there's usually new friends to make. There's a weekly kiddush after lunch, so socializing is encouraged. For new people to DC, Kesher offers a way to become part of the community. Religiously, Kesher falls within Modern Orthodox. Women do not participate in services, but are able to be active members of the shul. There is a women's "study group" that meets regularly. The middle: First, if you're looking for egalitarian, look elsewhere. The women's "study group" is fashioned like a prayer group (with a torah reading) but does much to emphasize that it is not one (such as changing prayers for the torah). Some like it, but a true egalitarian probably won't. Second, the rabbi has very strong opinions and is not afraid to express them. The rabbi is also heavily involved in Jewish politics. This could be good or bad depending on how you feel. Third, expect lots of speeches during shabbat prayer. If you like your prayers short and sweet, this is not the place for you. The bad: I mentioned that some people are friendly. Unfortunately, some people are not. I don't want to point to any specific person, but I think that some of those on the top of the synaguge hierarchy are more "cliqueish" than friendly and don't emphasize the importance of being welcoming to newcomers. I've heard from a number of people new to Kesher that the atmosphere can be downright insulting at times. Many a person has tried Kesher only to go elsewhere because of the general snobbery they've encountered. Moral: Give it a try, make your own decision. If you're looking for a community, make sure to check it out first before signing a lease in the area.

I attended this synagogue for four days (not Shabbat) while vacationing in DC in August 2019. It's…read morean okay shul if you, like me, need a minyan to daven. Nobody bothered to greet me, but nobody asked me to move because I took somebody else's seat either. On second day I told the gabbai that I needed to recite Gomel and was given the opportunity to do so. On my last day I mentioned that to the gabbai and he called me for aliyah on his own. The shul was always packed. I mean it as a positive thing, that the minyan was strong and reliable, not that there wasn't enough room. The only minor negative thing I can say is that there is no bulletin board with service schedule, although that information is available on their website. Overall, a nice place to daven.

I went to Washington Hebrew Congregation for the last two years of my Hebrew school career…read more See, in my household, you have a choice, whether you want to continue studying Hebrew after being Bar Mitzvah'ed. So... yes, I didn't do that... continue studying Hebrew. Really, it was for one reason, and one reason only. I would have loved to learn how to speak the language. I've always been fascinated with linguistics and languages. It's because when you're in Hebrew school, all your learning is prayers that you will have to say at your Bar Mitzvah. You're not really learning what the prayers mean. So, why did I give Washington Hebrew 4 stars. I think it did an adequate job of preparing me for Bar Mitzvah. Plus the facility is beautiful. The school itself is very open and pretty and well maintained. The parking lot is huge, it's in a nice neighborhood, and I can't remember having a bad teacher there. I remember learning how to saw Hebrew words, and learning how to read Hebrew prayers, but not much else. I always remember I thought it was weird that all the teachers would speak English to one another... why wern't they speaking Hebrew? It was Hebrew SCHOOL after all! Immerse us in the language peoples!

Our son goes to Washington Hebrew Congregation's Rabbi Joseph Weinberg Early Childhood Center…read more(RJWECC). We looked around the area for pre-schools for my son and though we found a few that are very good option, once we visited this school, it was an easy decision to go wit RJWECC. The teachers, the facility, the administrative staff, all were leagues ahead of the other places on our list. My son has been going to RJWECC for some time now and I still stand by our decision to pick this pre-school for him.