DC Minyan

{{Short description|Jewish congregation in Washington D.C}} {{about|the congregation, an [[independent minyan]]|the building in which the congregation worships and holds other events|Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Essay|date=February 2024}} {{more footnotes needed|date=February 2024|reason=lots of external sources that could potentially be moved inline}} {{Infobox religious building | name = DC Minyan | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center.JPG | image_upright = 1.4 | alt = | caption = {{nowrap|The [[Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center]],}} where the congregation holds the majority of its worship services and other events. | religious_affiliation = [[Judaism]] | tradition = | sect = | district = | prefecture = | province = | region = | deity = | rite = [[Non-denominational Judaism|Unaffiliated]] | festival =  | organisational_status = {{ubl|[[Synagogue]]|[[Independent minyan]]}} | ownership = | governing_body = | leadership = ''[[Laity|Lay]]-led'' | bhattaraka = | patron = | consecration_year = | functional_status = Active | religious_features_label = | religious_features = | location = [[Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center]], 1529 16th Street NW, [[Dupont Circle]], [[Washington, D.C.]] 20036 | locale = | municipality = | cercle = | state = | country = United States | map_type = USA Washington, D.C. central | map_size = 250 | map_alt = | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = Location in central [[Washington, D.C.]] | grid_name = | grid_position = | sector = | territory = | administration = | coordinates = {{coord|38|54|39|N|77|2|10|W|region:US-DC_type:landmark_dim:84|display=it}} | coordinates_footnotes = | heritage_designation = | architect = | architecture_type = | architecture_style = | founded_by = | creator = | funded_by = | general_contractor = | established = 2002 {{small|(as a congregation)}} | groundbreaking = | year_completed = | construction_cost = | date_demolished =  | facade_direction = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | interior_area = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | site_area = | temple_quantity = | monument_quantity = | shrine_quantity = | inscriptions = | materials = | elevation_m =  | elevation_footnotes = | nrhp = | designated = | added = | refnum = | delisted1_date = | website = {{URL|dcminyan.org}} | module =  | footnotes = }}

The '''DC Minyan''' is a [[Laity|lay]]-led [[Non-denominational Judaism|unaffiliated]] [[Judaism|Jewish]] congregation that holds worship services and other events in the [[Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center]] (DCJCC), located in the [[Dupont Circle]] area of [[Washington, D.C.]], in the United States.<ref name="web">{{cite web |url=http://www.dcminyan.org |title=Home |work=DC Minyan website |date= |access-date= }}{{self-published inline|date=February 2024}}</ref>

Founded in 2002, the congregation generally demonstrates the characteristics of an [[independent minyan]], with a dual commitment to [[Halakha|''halacha''/Jewish law]] and [[egalitarianism]].<ref name="web"/> Its programs include [[Shabbat|Shabbat/Sabbath]] and [[Jewish holiday|Holy Day]] worship services, education, social events, retreats, and opportunities for ''[[tikkun olam]]'', improving and transforming the world.

The leaders and members of the community seek to create "a warm and intellectually engaging community for prayer and study."<ref name=FAQ>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dcminyan.org/CommunityDocs/FrequentQuestions.pdf |title=Frequently Asked Questions |work=DC Minyan |date= |access-date=2010-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920164956/http://dcminyan.org/CommunityDocs/FrequentQuestions.pdf |archive-date=2010-09-20 |url-status=dead }}{{self-published inline|date=February 2024}}</ref> Additionally, Beth Tritter, one of the group's four co-founders, stated that the minyan has been able to create worship services that exhibit "''ruach'' [spirit] and ''[[kavanah]]'' [spiritual focus]."<ref name="WJW">{{Cite web |url=http://www.dcminyan.org/inTheNews/washjewishweek.html |title=New D.C. minyan Traditional group aims to offer 'welcoming space for women'|work=The Washington Jewish Week |date=April 25, 2002 |access-date=May 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920164011/http://dcminyan.org/inTheNews/washjewishweek.html |archive-date=September 20, 2010 |url-status=dead |author= }}</ref> The DC Minyan is part of a growing number of similar lay-led programs within the national and international Jewish community, such as New York's ''Kehilat Hadar''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kehilathadar.org/|title=Kehilat Hadar|website=www.kehilathadar.org|accessdate=February 4, 2024}}</ref> and Jerusalem's [[Shira Hadasha]] and ''Kehilat Kedem'',<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100204222353/http://www.kehilatkedem.org/ Welcome to Kehilat Kedem!]</ref> that are sometimes described as being part of the independent minyan movement.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.jtsa.edu/x12731.xml |title=Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us about Building Vibrant Jewish Communities |work=JTS Panel Discussion Press Release |date=April 12, 2010 |access-date=May 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100727141431/http://www.jtsa.edu/x12731.xml |archive-date=July 27, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The name, [[minyan]] ({{langx|he|מנין}}), means the prayer quorum traditionally required for a full Jewish prayer service.

==History== [[File:DCMinyan Hanukkah.JPG|thumb|right|Members of the DC Minyan light candles in celebration of [[Hanukkah]].]] The DC Minyan first began meeting in February 2002, at Luna Books, a bookstore in Dupont Circle. Its founders were a mixture of young [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] and [[Modern Orthodox Judaism|Modern Orthodox]] Jews,<ref name="JI">{{Cite web |url=http://www.jewishideasdaily.com/content/detail/continue-reading-a-minyan-grows-in-washington-dc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100503174411/http://www.jewishideasdaily.com/content/detail/continue-reading-a-minyan-grows-in-washington-dc |url-status=dead| author=Wertheimer, Jack |title=Vital Signs: A Minyan Grows in Washington, D.C. |work=Jewish Ideas Daily |date=April 29, 2010 |archive-date=May 3, 2010 |access-date= }}</ref> who wanted to re-set worship that combined traditional prayers and rituals with an egalitarian approach to the inclusion of women.<ref name ="JI"/>{{efn|The four founders were "raised" within [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]], Conservative, and Reform; movements and at the time of their meeting, two were attending Conservative synagogues, and two were attending Orthodox synagogues.<ref name=FAQ/>}}

As the congregation grew, in late Spring 2002 it moved to the Washington D.C. Jewish Community Center.<ref name=FAQ/> For special occasions, such as worship services for the [[High Holy Days]], when space requirements or scheduling needs make it impossible to use the Center, the congregation used a number of other nearby buildings, including the Westin Embassy Row Hotel.<ref name="YK"/>

==Worship, education, and community life== DC Minyan programs include guided individual study; study group including the DC Beit Midrash<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dcbeitmidrash.org/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202122434/http://www.dcbeitmidrash.org/ |archive-date=2016-12-02 |title=Home page |work=DC Beit Midrash website |date= |access-date= }}</ref> (co-sponsored by the DCJCC); celebrations of life-cycle events; and volunteer opportunities, often linked to programs at the DCJCC. The congregation's website offers audio files for individual prayers and prayer services, to help individuals learn "synagogue skills" that include leading the service or a portion of it, and reading from the [[weekly Torah portion]] and [[haftarah]] (the weekly portion from the [[Nevi'im|Prophets]]).<ref name="web"/>

Hospitality is also stressed as a foundational concept for community, and programs offered in this area include initiatives that coordinate invitations for Sabbath or holy day meals between those seeking a place and those with a place at their table to offer.<ref name="web"/>

However, the goal of creating and offering vibrant worship services that combine tradition and egalitarianism remains at the core of the minyan's offerings. {{as of| 2010}}, Saturday morning worship services are held on the first and third Saturday of each month, and Friday night Sabbath evening services are held on the second and fourth Fridays of each month, in the DCJCC. Other locations are used when required, almost always in the [[Northwest, Washington, D.C.|Northwest]] section of Washington, D.C.<ref name="web"/>

==Balancing egalitarianism and tradition== The founders of the DC Minyan were committed to a traditional approach to worship and Jewish life, and determined to push the limits of tradition to include women to the greatest extent possible. They began by studying ancient Jewish legal texts, with the goal of learning the position of traditional authorities, "with an eye towards including women in the services . . . even allowing them to take a leadership role."<ref name="YK">{{Cite news |url=http://www.dcminyan.org/inTheNews/washpost.html |title=At Yom Kippur, Tradition Leavened With Equity |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=September 15, 2002 |access-date=2010-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920170130/http://dcminyan.org/inTheNews/washpost.html |archive-date=2010-09-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The congregation's commitment to both traditionalism and egalitarianism has resulted in a number of innovative policies and practices that sometimes reflect approaches of other groups, and sometimes are a hybrid of past approaches. So, for example, the worship setting includes separate seating for men and women (with a space in between the sections, rather than using a more traditional [[mechitza]], or physical wall), but calling up women as well as men to lead worship and read from the [[Torah Scroll|Torah]].<ref name="WJW"/>

While precedent was found for prayer without a mechitzah, and even for calling women up to the Torah, no traditional source seemed to allow conducting certain portions of the worship service without a [[minyan]]—a prayer quorum—of ten adult men,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ritual/Prayer/Prayer_Music_and_Liturgy/Minyan.shtml |title=Practices: Minyan |work=MyJewishLearning.com |date= |access-date= }}</ref> a situation that seemed to ignore and show a certain amount of disrespect for the women who had come to pray. The compromise agreed upon at the early DC Minyan services was that the portions of the service that did require such a minyan would not be conducted unless there were both ten men and ten women.<ref name=FAQ/><ref name="YK"/> According to some sources, this approach, sometimes referred to as the "10-and-10 minyan," was originally crafted by the minyan, [[Shira Hadasha]], in Jerusalem, inspiring a number of other groups around the world to follow the same example.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/news/an-egalitarian-synagogue-on-both-sides-of-the-mechitza-1.277484 |title=An egalitarian synagogue, on both sides of the mechitza |work=[[HaAretz]] |date=June 7, 2009 |access-date= |author= }}</ref>{{efn|The [[Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance]] uses the term, [[Partnership minyan]], for lay-led worship groups that consider themselves to be part of [[Modern Orthodox Judaism]], while trying to increase the role of women in services through practices like the 10-and-10-minyan.}} In 2018, after extensive [[Halakha|halakhic]] study, DC Minyan decided to adopt a policy of simply counting any ten Jewish adults, regardless of gender, as a minyan.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=April 23, 2018 |title=DC Minyan 10-and-10 Committee Recommendation |url=https://images.shulcloud.com/442/uploads/dcmDocs/10-and-10CommitteeRecommendation-2018-04-23.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630021548/https://images.shulcloud.com/442/uploads/dcmDocs/10-and-10CommitteeRecommendation-2018-04-23.pdf |archive-date=2020-06-30 |access-date=June 26, 2020|website= }}</ref>

In addition to efforts to respect and accommodate egalitarianism, there are also obvious signs of pluralism in terms of the various movements within Judaism. For example, many of the worshipers use Orthodox prayer books, and others follow in prayer books created by the Conservative movement. Similarly, participants follow the Torah reading with various printed editions of [[Chumash (Judaism)|chumash]]im, with commentaries on the readings from the [[Torah]] and [[haftarah]] (Prophetic readings) that sometimes offer divergent translations and interpretations of the text, depending upon the movement that published the book.<ref name=FAQ/>

==Independent minyanim== {{main|Independent minyan}}

The DC Minyan is part of a growing{{citation needed|date=February 2024}} number of similar independent minyanim groups. There were other attempts to create settings for worship outside of the traditional structure, such as the [[chavurah]] movement. However, Professor [[Jack Wertheimer]], an academic from the [[Jewish Theological Seminary of America]], stated in 2010 that independent minyanim represented a different phenomenon:

{{blockquote|...members of today's independent minyanim are not counter-cultural types in rebellion against their parents or committed to smashing existing institutions, but a generation that is at once self-sufficient and open to compromise. An example of the newer spirit is the DC Minyan's commitment to separate seating, an infringement on the principle of strict sexual egalitarianism that is maintained for the sake of accommodating the group's diverse population. In the present moment, pluralism is valued over purity.<ref name="JI"/>}}

Rabbi Elie Kaunfer,<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |url=https://hadar.org/|title=Home |work=Hadar Institute |date=n.d. |accessdate=February 4, 2024}}</ref> [[rosh yeshiva]] and executive director of Mechon Hadar<ref name="auto"/> and on the [[Talmud]] faculty of Yeshivat Hadar,<ref name="auto"/> defined, in 2009, an "independent minyan"—Jewish worshiping communities like the DC Minyan—as a congregation meeting three requirements:<ref name="EK">{{cite speech |author=Kaunfer, Ellie |url=http://allianceforcre.org/acre-conferences/20089-acre-conference/conference-summary/independent-minyanim |title=Independent minyanim |date=November 9, 2009 |event=Alliance for Continuing Rabbinic Education (ACRE) Conference |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524001620/http://allianceforcre.org/acre-conferences/20089-acre-conference/conference-summary/independent-minyanim |archive-date=2011-05-24 }}</ref> # volunteer-led and organized with no paid clergy; # no denomination/movement affiliation; and # founded in the previous ten years. Kaunfer added the goal of "spiritual prayer" to this list, noting that he often experienced worship services more as a "community experience" than as a "spiritual one."<ref>{{Cite interview |author=Kaunfer, Ellie |url=http://www.thejewishweek.com/arts/books/get_serious_about_your_jewish_life_interview_elie_kaunfer |title=Get Serious About Your Jewish Life: An Interview with Elie Kaunfer |interviewer=Gary Rosenblatt |work=The New York Jewish Week |date=April 7, 2010 |access-date=May 26, 2010 |archive-date=April 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413212230/http://www.thejewishweek.com/arts/books/get_serious_about_your_jewish_life_interview_elie_kaunfer |url-status=dead }}</ref> Kaunfer noted that Kehilat Hadar began in New York as a result of a number of young Jews who were "looking for new ways to connect to the substance of their religion and tradition"—but instead of becoming "just a local minyan," ... "it became a model of grassroots religious community that spread dramatically across the United States and Israel. That model of community came to be known as an "independent minyan."<ref name="EK"/>

Kaunfer emphasized that the word "independent" meant that many of these groups developed independently in terms of volunteers coming together to create and lead it, but—in agreement with Wertheimer's assessment of these minyanim—they are not, nor do they seek to be, independent of the larger Jewish community in terms of their vision or self-identity. "Quite the contrary," he stated, "they see themselves filling a need not being met by existing institutions, but operating within the larger Jewish map, not outside or against it."<ref name="EK"/>

==Leadership and guidance== Ongoing leadership for the DC Minyan is provided by the members of the Steering Committee and the Leadership Council, with frequent input from all participants, and proactive efforts to receive input and ideas from the outside community. The DC Minyan website described "The DC Minyan Dialogue" as "an effort initiated by DC Minyan's leadership to take the pulse of the community by soliciting ideas and feedback on DC Minyan's programming, leadership structure, and decision-making processes." Additionally, a "[[kashrut]] task force" was convened to "study Jewish source texts on kashrut, research the policies of other communities, consider relevant teshuvot (halakhic [[responsa]]) relating to communal kashrut standards, and solicit feedback from community members about the current policy."<ref name="web"/>

The Leadership Council include special volunteers for administration, the Beit Midrash, Chinuch, community relations, finance, [[gabbai]], hospitality, parents and kids, social action, and special events. In addition, there are special voluntary positions that include representatives or coordinators for the "Dvar Tefillah and Torah", the Friday Night Oneg [[Collation (meal)|collation]], "greening"/ecological issues, happy hours, [[Kiddush#Kiddush reception|Shabbat morning "kiddush"]], life cycle events, technical/website support, and a liaison for [[LGBT|LGBTQ]] issues.<ref name="web"/>

Although there is no rabbi officially affiliated with the congregation, one rabbi who is consulted on a regular basis is rabbi [[Ethan Tucker]],<ref name=FAQ/> the co-founder, rosh yeshiva, and Legal Chair of [[Yeshivat Hadar|Hadar]], in New York. Rabbis in the D.C. area also offer assistance on an needs basis, including support for [[Judaism#Life-cycle events|life-cycle events]] and [[pastoral care]].<ref name="web"/>

== Notes == {{notelist}}

== References == {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{official website|https://www.dcminyan.org}} * {{cite web |url=http://dcminyan.org/CommunityDocs/bylaws_2009_12_19.pdf |title=Bylaws |work=DC Minyan |date=2009-12-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920164001/http://dcminyan.org/CommunityDocs/bylaws_2009_12_19.pdf |archive-date=September 20, 2010 }}{{self-published inline|date=February 2024}} * {{cite web |url=http://www.jewishemergent.org/survey/documents/NatSpirComStudy_HomepageCompendium.pdf |title=Compilation of information on independent minyans in the U.S. |work=Jewish Emergent |date=n.d. }} * {{cite web |url=http://www.mechonhadar.org/web/guest/minyan-conferences |title=Recordings of selected sessions at ''Minyan Project'' conferences |work=Mechonhadar |date=n.d. }} * {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042803584.html |title=Synthesis Outside the Synagogue |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=April 29, 2009 |page= |author= }} * {{cite web |url=http://dcminyan.org/inTheNews/wjw-03-03-2005.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920165734/http://dcminyan.org/inTheNews/wjw-03-03-2005.html |archive-date=2010-09-20 |title=An Orthodox blossoming In District, traditional offerings grow, as do names |work=The Washington Jewish Week |date=March 3, 2005 |via=DC Minyan website }} * {{cite web |url=http://dcminyan.org/inTheNews/forward08-10-01.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920165516/http://dcminyan.org/inTheNews/forward08-10-01.html |archive-date=2010-09-20 |title=Any Old Shul Won't Do for the Young and Cool: Post-Boomers Have It Their Way at Spate of New Prayer Groups |date=April 10, 2001 |work=[[The Forward]] |author= |via=DC Minyan website }} * {{cite web |url=https://www.jta.org/news/article/2008/11/11/1000894/minyanim-growing |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610114737/http://www.jta.org/news/article/2008/11/11/1000894/minyanim-growing |archive-date=2010-06-10 |title=Independent Minyanim Growing Rapidly, and the Jewish World is Noticing |work=[[Jewish Telegraph Agency]] |date=November 11, 2008 |author= }} * {{cite web |url=http://www.tabletmag.com/life-and-religion/26047/minyin-man |title=Minyan Man |work=Tablet |date=February 19, 2010 |author= }} * {{cite web |url=http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com/pdf/200707.pdf#page=8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713104000/http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com/pdf/200707.pdf#page=8 |archive-date=2011-07-13 |title=Partnership Minyanim: Orthodoxy on the Edge (Or Maybe Even a Little Bit Over) |work=Jewish Voice and Opinion |page=8 |date=July 2007 |author= }} * {{cite web |url=http://www.thejewisheye.com/ek_empower.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208031557/http://www.thejewisheye.com/ek_empower.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 8, 2011 |title=Book Review: "Empowered Judaism: How Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us about Building Vibrant Jewish Communities" |author=Kaunfer, Rabbi Elie |date= |work=The Jewish Eye }} * {{cite web |url=http://www.mechonhadar.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=8e2def5c-17b6-4160-9fe3-874c9c9c3587&groupId=11401 |title=Egalitarianism, Tefillah, and Halakhah |work=Open Source: A Halakhah Think Tank |date= |page= |author= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110111155609/http://www.mechonhadar.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=8e2def5c-17b6-4160-9fe3-874c9c9c3587&groupId=11401 |archive-date=January 11, 2011 }}

[[Category:2002 establishments in Washington, D.C.]] [[Category:20th-century synagogues in the United States]] [[Category:Dupont Circle]] [[Category:Independent minyanim]] [[Category:Jewish organizations established in 2002]] [[Category:Unaffiliated synagogues in Washington, D.C.]]