As our country’s capital, DC will giving you the opportunity to get more deeply involved in national politics while serving DC residents in need through direct support and grassroots issue advocacy. DC is a great city to network with future colleagues while building your own Jewish social justice network.
The city is located on the ancestral homeland of the Nacotchtank/Anacostan people.
Jewish Service Corps Members turn their passion into action by serving in cities across the country at local organizations doing critical economic justice work at the community level. In a large city like DC, our Corps Members serve a wide range of justice issue areas like housing insecurity, immigration rights, and legal advocacy.
Placements can change year to year, but check out the organizations our Corps Members are currently serving:
Swipe to see all placements
Immigration and Refugee Resettlement
Food Insecurity
Immigration and Refugee Resettlement
Housing Insecurity
Employment Services
Climate and Environmental Justice
Immigration and Refugee Resettlement
Housing Insecurity
Housing Insecurity
Healthcare
Legal Advocacy
In each city, Avodah provides a fully furnished, rent-free, communal home where Corps Members work collectively to form communities where everyone can have their needs met, their authentic selves are seen, and their growth pushed in loving ways. Learn more about living communally in the Service Corps.
This year, the DC bayit features 3 single bedrooms, 5 double bedrooms, and 5 bathrooms.
DC Corps Members live together in the vibrant community of Petworth. Don’t let it’s size deceive you, this neighborhood feels like a cozy small town made up of young professionals, families, and life-long residents. Known for it’s community events, diverse food scene, and local shops, there’s always something to explore here, aided even further by it’s easy walk/bike-ability!
Nearest Public Transportation
52, 54, S2, S9 (express), 70, and 79 busses and the Green and Red metro lines. It’s about 30 minutes via public transit to downtown DC.
Driving & Parking
There is street parking surrounding the bayit. Though many Petworth residents don’t have cars due to the ample public transportation options. It’s about 15 minutes via car to downtown DC.
DC is steeped with a rich history and culture. Whether you’re exploring the dozens of free museums and galleries or just wandering through the city, you’ll always learn something new. If you’re interested in politics or public policy, this is the place to be. Similarly, DC is an active city for engaging in community, whether you’re shopping local at the Mt. Pleasant farmers market, critically exploring the historic roots of U-street, or protesting at government buildings alongside friends, colleagues, and Avodahnicks.
Looking for green space? The city is contains over 6,700 acres of National Park land and 900 additional acres of the District Government-owned parks. Our favorite park near the bayit is Rock Creek Park!
Corps Members meet regularly with Program Directors who are happy to share their local knowledge and recommendations! If you have a DC-specific question, you can reach DC Program Director, Stephen at dc@avodah.net.
Grab breakfast from Elle, The Coffee Bar, Buna, Tryst, or La Coop Coffee
Grab drinks at Dacha beer garden
DC offers a diverse range of options for folks looking to plug into religious or Jewish communal life. Some congregations and groups include:
Congregations
• Adas Israel (Conservative)
• Tifereth Israel (Conservative)
• Ohev Sholom (Orthodox)
• Rosh Pina (Orthodox)
• Temple Sinai (Reform)
• Washington Hebrew Congregation (Reform)
• Temple Micah (Reform)
• Adat Shalom (Reconstructionist)
• Kol Ami (Reconstructionist)
• Machar (Multi-Denominational/Non-Denominational/Egalitarian)
• Bet Mishpacha (LGBTQ Egalitarian)
• New Synagogue Project (Pluralistic, Egalitarian, Non-denominational)
• Sixth & I (Multi-denominational, non-membership home for folks in their 20s/30s)
• Fabrangen (Egalitarian Havurah)
• DC Minyan (Traditional Egalitarian Lay Led)
Community Organizations
• OneTable provides financial and programmatic resources for Shabbat Dinners.
• Moishe House DC hosts peer-led social gatherings for people in their 20s & 30s
• Gather DC gathers resources, events, and connections for Jewish people in their 20s & 30s
• Mesorah DC Shabbat and programs for Jewish people in their 20s & 30s
• The Den Collective co-creates a Judaism that is relevant, accessible, and deeply rooted in tradition
• Jews United for Justice advances economic, racial, and social justice by educating and mobilizing local Jewish communities to action.
Every year, Jewish Service Corps Members put their values into action, serving at organizations doing critical justice work in Chicago, New Orleans, New York City, and Washington, D.C. At Avodah, we believe in the power and importance of developing deep, authentic...
For the first time, Avodah DC’s spring retreat brought together current Corps Members and alumni from the two previous cohorts—a weekend that showed what it looks like when the connections made in the bayit (communal home) extend beyond the service year.
Meet Oscar, an Avodah Jewish Service Corps Member at Food & Water Watch in Washington, D.C., where he’s mobilizing people to make their voices heard. As he puts it, “We have more say and power, and it’s our responsibility to keep fighting for it.”
