Adas Israel Congregation

Adas Israel ("the community of Israel") was founded in 1869 by a group of immigrants from Europe who sought to maintain traditional Jewish observances in the context of the modern American community. They conducted their earliest services in a small loft above a carriage factory near the U.S. Capitol. Eventually, they joined the Conservative movement and created a synagogue that is unique in its blend of tradition and innovation. In 1876, President Ulysses S. Grant attended the dedication of Adas Israel's first permanent house of worship. That building, at 3rd and G Streets, N.W., is a Jewish museum. Adas Israel has been at its present location since 1951. Today, Adas Israel is the largest Conservative synagogue in Washington. Often described as a "congregation of congregations," the diversity of our membership is one aspect of our strength. We are proud of the influence our congregation has achieved because of our distinguished leadership and the quality of our activities, which broadly extend from the religious and cultural to active concern for the poor and homeless in the Washington area. We note with pride the number of community organizations that are led by our congregants. Because of our location in the heart of the nation's capital, our pulpit has long encouraged the expression of a wide range of viewpoints. Adas Israel was the first synagogue in the United States to be addressed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Other distinguished speakers have included Israeli Prime Ministers Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, Presidents Nixon and Ford, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Vice Presidents Hubert Humphrey and Albert Gore. Today Adas Israel remains a socially-conscious congregation whose contributions bespeak the highest values which our tradition teaches. Above all, Adas Israel aspires to perpetuate Judaism, to enrich the lives of our members to celebrate Conservative Judaism at its creative best, and to bring Jews closer to God.