Welcome to Sisterhood at Adas Israel Congregation!
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About Sisterhood... Click Here to Join!
Sisterhood, affiliated with Women's League for Conservative Judaism, seeks to perpetuate the values of Conservative/Masorti Judaism through quality programs, social action, ritual and spirituality. We provide multiple avenues for women to solidify their Jewish identity in a rapidly changing world. Most importantly, we are a community---providing mutual support and bonds of friendship for our members.
We are a Community of Sisterhood, joined by the bonds of friendship.
Please join us!
For more information email Vice President of Membership, Oz Papados.
Save the Date: Opening Event with Dr. Deborah Tannen!
Can We Talk? A Jewish Linguist’s View On How We Talk To Each Other
Sunday, October 26, 2025, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM, Kay Hall, Adas Israel Congregation
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Please join us for a stimulating afternoon with Dr. Deborah Tannen, a distinguished university professor at Georgetown University and prolific, New York Times best-selling author. Dr. Tannen will speak on major take-aways from her decades of research into people’s conversational styles and their effect on relationships.
Dr. Tannen will share entertaining examples that illustrate key points from her books. Topics will include:
- New York Jewish conversational styles,
- Differences in how men and women communicate,
- Women’s communication styles in the workplace,
- Why conversations between mothers and grown daughter can be complicated, and
- The language of women’s friendships.
She will also discuss her memoir about her father, who was raised in an Hasidic household in Warsaw, and provide a glimpse of her current project, a book about apologies.
Dr. Tannen received her Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley, and has been a professor at Georgetown University since 1979. She is the author of nine books written for general audiences, including New York Times best-sellers You Just Don’t Understand and You’re Wearing That?, as well as several books and over 100 articles for scholarly audiences. She has lectured widely, and received multiple academic awards.
Ongoing Programs
Scroll down to view the full Calendar of Events for all ongoing programs.
Weekday Torah with Sisterhood
Monthly, usually the third Tuesday, at 11 am via Zoom
Weekday Torah with Sisterhood is an engaging approach to traditional text study that offers participants the opportunity to study and discuss challenging texts and ideas. Students of all levels and backgrounds are welcome. Participants can find class dates, times, and other relevant information on the Sisterhood Calendar of Events. Please contact Marilyn Cooper to be added to the email list and with questions.
Knit and Crochet Social Action Group
Monthly, usually the second Monday, from 1:00pm – 2:30pm in person.
The Sisterhood Knit and Crochet Social Action group invites all who knit and crochet to join us in making hats and scarves for those in need and baby hats for the layettes for the newest Adas members. There will be supplies (e.g., yarn, notions, needles) at these meetings. There are additional opportunities to meet as well.
Please contact Julie Hoffman at JulieAHF@aol.com to be added to the email list announcing meetings and for details.
Sisterhood Cares
To mark simchas and milestones and for condolences, contact Rachel Greenberg (rachel@rachelgreenberg.com).
Adas Israel Book Club
Rose Ruth Freudberg Memorial Sisterhood Library
Facilitated by Librarian Robin Jacobson, the Book Club meets periodically (in-person or via Zoom) to host authors and discuss books of Jewish interest. For further information, please contact Robin Jacobson.
If you would like to mark your calendar with the current schedule of book programs or access recordings of past programs please check the Library page.
Upcoming Library Program
“Happy New Years” with Israeli author Maya Arad
In conversation with Lauren Strauss of American University
Monday, September 8, at 7:00 pm via Zoom | Register here
Celebrated Israeli author Dr. Maya Arad will introduce Happy New Years, the story of an Israeli emigrant’s life in the United States over five decades through her annual Rosh Hashanah letters to her former Israeli classmates. Arad will be in conversation with Dr. Lauren Strauss of American University.
Torah Fund
As part of Women's League for Conservative Judaism (WLCJ), Adas Israel Sisterhood raises dollars for Torah Fund, which supports five Conservative seminaries across the globe, educating clergy, cantors, scholars, and lay leaders: Jewish Theological Seminary (New York); Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies (Los Angeles); Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies (Jerusalem); Seminario Rabinico Latinoamericano (Buenos Aires); and Zacharias Frankel College (Potsdam, Germany).
The theme of the WLCJ 2025-26 Torah Fund Campaign is Oseh Shalom Bimromav, may the One who makes peace in the heavens, make peace for us and all the people of Israel”. This appears at the end of Kaddish and in other prayers, and is also a song. We help foster Jewish unity by our support of the five Conservative/Masorti institutions of higher education.
Together, our donations help provide housing, tuition scholarships, and university infrastructure for the next generation of Jewish leaders.
Individual donors to Torah Fund at the Benefactor level ($180) or higher receive the distinctive WLCJ Torah Fund pin in recognition of their gift.
You can make donations online at the "Donate" button below, or send a check payable to:
"Torah Fund"
c/o Susie Sorrells, Torah Fund Chair
4508 Sunflower Drive
Rockville, MD 20853
PLEASE NOTE: If you make an on-line donation, please be sure to insert Adas Israel and Washington, DC on the lines that ask for the name and location of your affiliate. Otherwise, our Sisterhood will not receive credit for the donation. Also, please forward your email confirmation of donation to Susie so she can ensure our Sisterhood receives credit. If you make a donation at the Benefactor or Guardian level, please forward your receipt to susiejs23@gmail.com, so Susie can make arrangements to deliver your Torah Fund pin in a timely manner.
Help strengthen Jewish education and ensure the vibrancy of the Jewish people for decades to come with your gift to Torah Fund. Thank you!
Donations may not be charged to your Adas Israel account.
You can also send a greeting with e-cards to support Torah Fund. Cards can be purchased on the JTS Torah Fund website (click here), and customized for any occasion. The Torah Fund e-cards benefit the general campaign.
RUTH & SIMON ALBERT SISTERHOOD GIFT SHOP
Summer is fading fast, and the High Holy Days are not far behind. In addition, the gift shop is returning to regular hours on Monday, September 8; regular hours are Sunday-Monday and Wednesday-Friday, 9:30 am-12:30 pm. Special extended hours on Tuesday: 9:30 am-3:00 pm.
The shop is gearing up for the holidays, and we've already stocked various Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah items. These include adult and children's shofars; holiday cards; many children's books and toys; honey jars; and stuffed small, medium, and large torahs. For the rest of August, plus September 1-7, we still operate on summer hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, 10:00 am-12 noon.
Ruth & Simon Albert Sisterhood Gift Shop
2850 Quebec Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
202-364-2888
adasgiftshop@gmail.com
Special Past Events
Rabbi Penina Alexander Elucidated Jewish Perspectives on Decluttering
Our program on Decluttering on Sunday, September 15, 2024 included a thoughtful, insightful and “from the heart” talk by Rabbi Penina Alexander, focused on Jewish perspectives on decluttering. We reproduce her talk below:
Jewish Connections to Decluttering by R. Penina Alexander
Sunday, September 15th | Click Here To Read Her Full Talk
Joyce Stern was the Honored Speaker for Sisterhood Shabbat 5784, February 15-17, 2024
Joyce Stern, an active member of Adas Israel Congregation for over 55 years and a longtime leader of Sisterhood Shabbat, was our honored speaker for 2024. With the theme “Building a Sanctuary Then and Now,” Joyce explored the Parashat Terumah with three stimulating presentations: Furnishing God’s Sanctuary (Thursday morning minyan February 15); Angels in the Mishkan (Friday night service February 16); and Inviting the Divine Presence into a Structure and into our Hearts (after Kiddush lunch February 17). The text of each presentation is found here.
Joyce has served on the governing board of Sisterhood for many years, taking on numerous roles. As Vice President for Communications (2011-2015), she created Sisterhood’s first ever e-newsletter, the Adas Israel Sisterhood Source. In 2013, Joyce was recognized with an Eishet Hayil award from the Seaboard Region of Women’s League for Conservative Judaism and at Adas was a Simchat Torah honoree. Over the years, she has been on the synagogue’s bereavement and adult education committees, the Beit Midrash advisory group, and the Rabbinic Planning Task Force. She also served for six years as a member of the synagogue’s Board of Directors. Joyce and her late husband Michael were among the founding families of the Adas Israel Havurah where they held leadership roles and where they raised their children, Lisë and Avidan. Joyce notes that in addition to being blessed with six grandchildren, she is now happily a great grandmother.
The Way We Were and Here We Are
On Sunday November 19, 2023, Sisterhood presented a program that explored Sisterhood History with a “Campy” Show and Fun Gathering. Bringing comfort in the post-October 7 tension-filled time, we spent an afternoon in the warmth of the company of women. The event included a show presented by current Sisterhood members with songs and narratives created 40 years ago by Estelle Jacobs, a famously creative former Sisterhood President, and with new songs created by Estelle’s daughter, Susie Sorrells. We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon sharing memories and meeting new friends in a community of sisterhood. A recording of the show is found here.
2023 Garden of the Righteous Honoree: José Ignacio Burbano, Grandfather of Past Sisterhood President Betty Adler. Click here for more information.
2025-26 Executive Committee
President: Nechama Masliansky
Co-VP for Communications: Wendy Kates
Co-VP for Communications: Tara Leystra Ackerman
Treasurer: Ellen Snyder
Co-VP for Education/Programming: Rona Walters
Co-VP for Education/Programming: Susan Calderon
VP for Membership: Oz Papados
Parliamentarian: June Kress
Corresponding Secretary: Rachel Greenberg
Recording Secretary: Helen Kramer
Immediate Past President: Margie Corwin
Gift Shop Co-Managers: Jean Bernard, Marian Fox, Susan Winberg
Torah Fund Chair: Susie Sorrells
