Bet Mishpachah is a congregation
for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Jews and all who wish to participate in an inclusive, egalitarian, and mutually
supportive community. We join together to affirm our religious and cultural heritage, integrating Gay and Lesbian and Jewish
identities. Our membership is comprised of singles, couples, and families, and is open to everyone, regardless of religious
affiliation, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Since our founding in 1975,
our congregation has grown to hundreds of members. Bet Mishpachah is proud to have a celebratory community of women and men
who share equally in the leadership of the congregation.
Your presence in our congregation
strengthens us and demonstrates your commitment to the broader Jewish and Gay/Lesbian communities that we serve.
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Since 1991, Rabbi Robert J.
Saks has served as Rabbi of Bet Mishpachah on a part-time basis, helping to enhance and expand the congregation's educational
and religious programs. Rabbi Saks represents Bet Mishpachah and the interests of Gay and Lesbian Jews before rabbinical organizations,
government bodies, and the community at large. He also provides pastoral counseling and performs life cycle and ritual ceremonies
for our members. Rabbi Saks previously served as Executive Director of the B'nai B'rith Hillel Student Foundation at the University
of Maryland.
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The work of the congregation
is carried out by a board of directors and a host of committees. The president and three at-large directors are elected annually;
three vice-presidents, the secretary, and the treasurer are elected for two-year terms. For more information about our committees,
click here.
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The restored District of Columbia Jewish Community Center became our home in 1997. For more information about Bet Mishpachah’s
facilities at the DCJCC, click here.
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Bet Mishpachah is a
member of
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Bet Mishpachah was Founded
in 1975 in Washington, D.C. Our first members met in one another’s homes, holding Friday night services once a month.
In 1978, we elected our first board of directors, began holding weekly services, and moved to the first of a series of rented
spaces. In 1997, the historic District of Columbia Jewish Community Center became our new home.
In 1979, we obtained our first Torah scroll, on permanent loan
from the Westminster Synagogue in London. The scroll belonged to the small 500-year old Jewish community of Dolni Kounice,
Czechoslovakia, which was destroyed in the Holocaust. In 1991, we celebrated the purchase of our second Torah scroll. The
doors of the Ark, which houses our Torah scrolls, were hand-carved by one of our members. On top of the Ark is the Ner
Tamid (Eternal Light), which we dedicated in 1993 after it was designed and hand-crafted by another member of our congregation.
In 1998, we dedicated new mantles for our two Torah scrolls. Designed by a local Judaica artist, the mantles have a rainbow
motif and are inscribed with the quotation from Genesis 9:13, "When I see the rainbow, I will remember My covenant."
In 1991, Bet Mishpachah published our own Shabbat and
festival prayerbook, called Shavat va-Yinafash (Rest and Be Renewed), which, in both Hebrew and English, is gender-neutral
in reference to God and gender-inclusive with respect to people. Many other congregations from around the country have chosen
to use our siddur for their services.
In 1998, Bet Mishpachah completed our own High Holy Day machzor,
called Chadeish Yameinu (Renew Our Days), with liturgy for each of the High Holy Day services.
In January 2004, two members of our congregation generously
donated a pair of sterling silver rimonim (Torah finials) for our second Torah scroll.
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