Congregation Etz Hayim

When my father died almost 6 years ago, I was looking for a shul to say kaddish. At the largest conservative shul in Washington I was not even greeted when I said kaddish, and there were only a handful of folks there for the minyan!
That same week I headed to Congregation Etz Hayim in Arlington and was greeted by dozens of members who welcomed me warmly on my first Friday night there. The next morning I was given an aliyah, and within weeks our family had become members and indeed fans of everything at this warm and wonderful congregation from the services to the Hebrew School to the events that occur throughout the year. Most importantly, though, CEH is made up of a great group of welcoming and supportive members that indeed are our family and a huge part of our lives. We could not imagine ANY other shul in the area being so welcoming and friendly. Each week I look forward to attending services and participating and welcoming new folks who enter our sanctuary. And to quote a famous newsman, "that's the way it is"....at Congregation Etz Hayim!

I as well as my brothers have been attending the Sunday/Wednesday school and services since we were 3 years old, and have all been bar/ bat mitvahed here. The potlucks, holiday services and Saturday services are very welcoming and the teachers are great role models, most of whom are graduated students.

The most friendly Conservative schul around. My husband went "schul shopping" for a Conservative schul when his father passed away and our son reached Hebrew School age. First of all he tried Addis Israel in DC (as we live in DC) and found it to be way too large and also very unwelcoming. He made his way across Key Bridge and ended up at Etz Hayim, where we found a smaller congregation warm welcome. We have found the religious school to be excellent and services to be about as conservative as you could possibly want. The people at Etz Hayim are kind, welcoming and very quickly we chose Etz Hayim to be our religious home. It is an open minded synagogue where ALL kinds of families are welcome. We are two men with an 11 year old and we couldn't have asked for a more welcoming place to worship. Rabbi Bass is wonderful on so many levels. Her services educational, warm and sometimes funny. We feel the she is a true leader of the schul and someone who will take time to get to know all of her congregants. If you are looking for a schul, we highly recommend Etz Hayim.

There are two things that I look for most in a synagogue: (1) that it welcomes children at services (not just in religious school or in a separate Junior Congregation); and (2) that it has learning opportunities for people of all ages, especially adults. Etz Hayim does a good job at welcoming kids at services. When one walks into the sanctuary one of the first things you see is a small pile of children's books and soft toys. If a young child needs a break from services there is a small break room in the back with larger toys, a couch, and a large window looking into the sanctuary so that accompanying parents can relax and still be part of the service. If parents prefer, there is babysitting in the basement (in the well equipped pre-school). There are changing tables in both the women's and men's restrooms. The two rabbis (Rabbi Ackerman since 2013 and Rabbi Bass since 2001) are not phased in the least if a toddler decides to walk up onto the bima during services. School-aged children regularly help adults to dress the torah and when they develop the skills start having the opportunity to lead prayers as a group at Shabbat services. On Sunday morning there is a short family minyan before religious school. There are also monthly services designed especially with kids in mind, but children are always welcome in the regular service too. With respect to education opportunities, when I first joined Etz Hayim about 10 years ago it seemed to me that the educational focus was much more on the youngsters than the adults, but that seems to be changing recently. For example, instead of limiting adult classes to coincide with the days the children were in Religious School, they have started to hold new short classes before and after services. They also have expanded the topics which originally were mostly Hebrew language and one Judaic topic, to a wider array of offerings such as meditation, study of the weekly torah portion, and book discussions. I hope that this learning continues to expand even more in future.

About me: I've been a member at Etz Hayim for around 13 years.

There's no doubt that the shul leans to the left, isn't particularly big, has a diverse membership and makes fairly heavy use of congregational volunteers (for example, we don't have a Cantor or official Torah reader, but instead rely on members of the congregation to step up perform these jobs).

I think this results in a friendly, welcoming shul that strives to get members involved. You aren't going to be an anonymous member here; you'll be part of what makes Etz Hayim successful.

And while we tend to be more liberal on nearly every topic and are fully egalitarian, we absolutely meet all the requirements set out by the Conservative Movement (USCJ).

I don't have kids in the Hebrew School, so while I've heard good things about it, I can't speak directly to it. Though, I can report that children are always welcome and encouraged to attend services.

The only Conservative shul in Arlington, VA, and the most friendly shul in the area that my family and I have been to (and we've visited almost all of them in the DMV). Very welcoming when we visited in March 2009... so much so that we've belonged since that April!

Really welcoming place. We've had wonderful experiences at the synagogue and in its religious school and pre-school.

This synagogue is super friendly, small, enjoys engaging all members of the community.

A warm, caring home away from home.

The punk congregation of continuous learners.

Thank you for a wonderful time of worship together.
My friend Kathy and I just wanted to say how welcoming everyone was even before we even went through the front door there was conversation on the front steps.
Many people came up to us to welcome us and make us feel at home.
Thank you for your hospitality.
The next time we visit again from Canada we would love to visit again.
Shalom,
Jane Anne & Kathy

Went there a few years ago for services on Friday night. I felt very unwelcome. Many members of the congregation just stared at me. Mind you I am accustomed to some looks being a black person in a Jewish congregation. I am sure there are many good people there but I just want ppl to be aware.