We are
Jews by birth and Jews by choice
Married and single
Interfaith families
LGBTQ+ and straight
Families with adopted children and families with biological children
Raised Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Renewal or with no affiliation at all
Fabrangen is a community devoted to Torah, community service, and social justice activism. We warmly welcome everyone regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religious background or affiliation, nationality, disability, or age. Our services during the year and for the High Holidays are guided by several principles:
- egalitarian and participatory services that seek to include everyone in the spiritual experience
- creative mix of traditional and innovative worship
- member-led services that engage the congregation
We are a havurah, a fellowship that is led by its members, not by one rabbi (although we have members who are rabbis). Our services are full of vitality and depth because Fabrangen members are engaged leaders and participants.
Founded in 1971, we are interwoven into the larger Jewish community of the Washington area, but small enough that you will feel connected and appreciated.
Don’t let concerns about your knowledge of Hebrew, level of Jewish observance, or dress prevent you from joining us.
We welcome you as you are.
“For me, a great part of being in the Fabrangen community is, well, the community. True community. Members support and enrich the lives of each other in so many ways, and across generations. My daughter and I have, as she says, “kid friends” and “grown-up friends” at Fabrangen. It’s such a blessing to connect with everyone, whether for Jewish events or just life!” — Fran T.
“Fabrangen is:
beautiful music, thoughtful drashes, positive attitudes, warm sentiments, theater in the round, scholarship in religion, participatory democracy in worship, proof that Harry Caray was right – if I sing along, enough good voices will make the whole still sound good.
Fabrangen is where I found a kippah on Yom Kippur over a decade after I lost it.”
– Steve Y.
The ties that bind us are
- Commitment to learning and prayer
- Extraordinary lay leadership by women and men
- Sharing and support through joys and sorrows
- Creative mix of innovative and traditional worship
- Dedication to social justice through “tikkun olam” (repairing the world)
- Community decision making
- Acceptance of the many paths one may take in a Jewish life