Fort Belvoir Jewish Congregation

01/28/2026

Per the Army, pages will be discontinued.

11/18/2025

Here is a link to the recent article and picture of our annual Veterans Day Erev Shabbat Service and Deli Dinner in the Washington Jewish Weekly: https://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/fort-belvoir-jewish-congregation-honors-frank-cohn-on-veterans-day/
Again, many thanks to those who volunteered to help and join us.

Fort Belvoir Jewish Congregation held another successful annual Veterans Day Erev Shabbat and Deli Dinner on Nov. 7.

11/18/2025

Chanukah is Coming!
We will be celebrating Chanukah on 12 Dec 25 (a few days before the actual holiday. We will be starting at 6 PM outdoors and will light the community menorah outside, singing a few songs, etc. Bring a blanket or pad to sit on the steps of Belvoir Chapel for this short 15 minute event. Immediately afterward is our Chanukah Party. We will light our family menorahs, so please bring one or RSVP to borrow one. Please take a minute to go to SignUp Genius. This year, we will need help with food and other items for the party.

Chanukah --https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054BA8AE28A7FCC70-59768486-chanukah.

The party requires a minimum of 20 RSVPs by December 7th to occur at the REC or it will be moved to building 221.

11/18/2025

Erev Shabbat Service
Our next regular Erev Shabbat streaming service will be on Friday, November 21, 2025, the week before Thanksgiving. Please use SignUp Genius to let me know who will be attending and if you have a Yahrzeit that week that requires a Minyan. Please let me know if you will be attending online or in person so that I know who to send the link to on Friday Afternoon. Friday Erev Shabbat Services -

Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up. Minyan Sign Up - This indicates that you will be at Minyan so the service can not only occur, but in the cases of someone needing Yahrzeits that they can say Mourner's Kaddish. You will count in the Minyan if the following o...

10/22/2025

10/15/2025

Friday Shabbat @221 - October 24th at 6:30 PM. HYBRID
We will be back at our Jewish Family Program Chapel with another hybrid service. Every service, we continue to improve our livestream capabilities and will work to make these streaming services fully interactive. We will be using Siddur Lev Shalem. If you would like to order your personal home copy of Lev Shalem please see the link further down the page, otherwise I . We need at least three people to attend in person to have in person services at Building 221 for safety and security reasons. Otherwise, the service will continue fully online. If you are attending in person, we will have snacks and drinks available for fellowship after the service
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054BA8AE28A7FCC70-59035899-combined

Siddur Lev Shalem: Here is the link if you would like a book for your home use. Siddur Lev Shalem for Shabbat & Festivals – The Rabbinical Assembly Bookstore

10/15/2025

Veteran's Day - Sign Up Genius Link is now live!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054BA8AE28A7FCC70-59562970-veterans

Nov. 7th, Friday, at the REC Building. Information on the Sign-up Genius Page. The Veterans Day Committee will continue to provide you with information. Please sign up to help the committee plan for meals.

Please let us know if you will be attending the service. We also need assistance with set up, clean up and picking up the food from Moti’s.

10/13/2025

Tuesday's 14 October - Shemini Atzert Service Update

1. Is the service still going to be held? Yes.
At this time, we do not have a minyan, but we are very close. I can continue to hold the Hakafot/Modified Hashanot Service, Yizkor, and parts of Mincha that do not require a Minyan. At this stage, I do not feel the need to cancel the service, but I will need to adjust it slightly (no Torah reading, King or Queen of Torah, or minyan prayers) unless we form a minyan between now and the start of the service. If you have your palm frond from your lulav and etrog, you can still bring them to the service, as we can wave them in place during Hashanot. Just a reminder: any Tzedetka made on behalf of a loved one must be completed before Yizkor at 6:30pm, either by dropping a check into our Tzedetka box or by making a digital gift.

If you know that you can attend, please RSVP at the Signup Genius link or email Madison directly at [email protected].
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054BA8AE28A7FCC70-59035899-combined

2. Where and at what time is the service being held?
Tuesday evening, October 14th, at Belvoir Chapel at 6 p.m.

3. Why is it being held so early? What if it rains?
The Hakafah must be completed before 6:30 p.m. Just like last year, we will hold our complete service inside the building.

4. Will we have ONEG?
Yes. Madison will bring some food or snacks. However, I am unsure what we will have, with the exception of some of the desserts I saved from RH/YK. ONEG will be downstairs in Belvoir Chapel. The lift is not working at this time.

5. Will this service be livestreamed?

I am going to try. We are developing an alternative method for live streaming from Belvoir Chapel. If you would like to view this service online, please contact Madison by responding to this email. As a last resort I may be able to stream from my cell phone, however, this is still a work in progress.

Our Combined Hoshana Rabah, Shemini Atzert & Simchat Torah Service will be held on 14 Oct 2025 at Belvoir Chapel at 6PM. We will be including the best elements of the Services and our Traditions to make a memorable evening. This Service is on the actual Holiday so it needs to begin at 6pm so we can....

10/13/2025

Out next Council meeting will be on Tuesday, 21 OCT at 1900 via MS Teams. We will farewell our Secretary, Kathryn and thank her for her service to the community. Kathryn’s departure from the Council means there will be two open seats on the Council. Please volunteer to take one of those two seats so we can have a full counsel. We will also be talking about the future of the congregation and what we need to do to keep it going. The meeting link is:

FBJCC Council Meeting
October 21, 2025
19:00 - 20:00 (EST)
Meeting link:

10/13/2025

Shalom and Greetings!

We all look forward to the release of the hostages over the next few days and pray the ceasefire holds and becomes a lasting peace. We also hope that if this truly does come to pass, this will be a beacon for all mankind to end war and bloodshed altogether and live the words of Isaiah 2:4 “Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”

Again, we must give a great big thank you to LT Abrams and her family for leading us this High Holiday Season in prayer and community. And a great big thanks to Madison and Nathan for reading from the Torah. And another great big thanks to all the volunteers who helped us execute the High Holidays. It was truly a wonderful High Holiday season that we as a community planned, prepared, and execute making it that much more special. We will recreate this next year in September 2026, so please volunteer to be on the planning committee and volunteer to execute the plan.

09/11/2025

✨ Mazel Tov to Gabby Shindar! ✨
Please join us for Gabby’s Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, September 13, at 10:30 AM at Belvoir Chapel. The service will run just over an hour, followed by a Kiddush lunch. A separate minyan will be available for those who need to say Kaddish. # # # the time change! # # #

09/04/2025

Don't forget the High Holy Days. 22-24 September and 1-2 October Chapel and the REC Building
Take a moment to review the attached High Holy Days flyer — we have some truly special activities planned this year that we’re excited to share with you-- but the schedule is just a bit different. On the second day of Rosh Hashanah we will gather for Tashlich, followed by a wonderful brisket Simcha Dinner lovingly homemade by our visiting Rabbi Trish. To help us finalize food arrangements and ensure we have plenty for everyone, please RSVP to [email protected] at your earliest convenience. After every Rosh Hashanah event, we will be offering a variety of delicious food, desserts, and snacks — so come hungry! Children’s services are in the planning stages. IF YOU WILL BE BRINGING CHILDREN and would like to participate in Kids Services, please let Madison know the ages of your children so that she can continue to plan activities.

Sign Up Genius Links

Rosh Hashanah Day 1 (Sept 23 Tuesday) - RSVP's for Luncheon. Service Honors and Volunteer needed.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054BA8AE28A7FCC70-58161573-rosh

Rosh Hashanah Day 2 (Sept 24 Wednesday) - RSVPs for Tashlich, Dinner and Family https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054BA8AE28A7FCC70-58373824-rosh

Yom Kippur Service Honors Sign Up (1 Oct) - RSVP's for Service Honors.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054BA8AE28A7FCC70-58143635-yomkippur

Yom Kippur Breakfast and Evening Services (1 Oct)
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054BA8AE28A7FCC70-58376529-yomkippur

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High Holy Days- Q&A Session . 7 September and 10 September, ONLINE 7:30pm
Madison will be hosting two Q & A Sessions this week to answer any of your questions regarding the High Holy Days services this year as there are many changes. We are also able to help discuss what volunteer roles are open and what they mean, how to use sign up genius or use part of the time to help you learn how to chant, sing or say the Aliyah Blessings before the Torah is read. There is no structure to these meetings you can come on at 7:30 and leave when your question is answered. Please RSVP to Madison at [email protected] and she will send you a link for the Q & A Sessions.

Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up. Thank you!