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Welcome
WE'RE GLAD YOU'RE HERE
Magen David Sephardic Congregation (MDSC), founded in 1966, is a Modern Orthodox synagogue centrally located to serve Jewish families from Bethesda, Rockville, and Potomac - the Maryland suburbs of our nation’s capital, Washington, DC.
We invite you to come pray or learn with us. Our distinctive Sephardic character is a source of inspiration for us, but membership in MDSC is not exclusive. Our membership is diverse and a biseleh Yiddish is not out of place.
Our mission is to create a welcoming space to celebrate our religion and our culture, to preserve our Sephardic heritage, and to share it with members and friends. We open our doors to all levels of Jewish knowledge and observance. Explore your personal and spiritual growth here, supported by our warm and inclusive community.
The 1st 100 days
Here's a look at what your Board of Directors & community volunteers have been up to in the past 100 days. Our commitment to service, Torah, and transparency will continue to guide us as we develop more programming for our valued current and prospective members. It's never too late to get involved! Kindly contact Andrea by phone (301) 770-6818 or email office@magendavidsephardic.org to find out about volunteer opportunities and join our efforts in the next 100 days!
Weekly Torah Portion
Parashat CHUKAT | Numbers 19:1 - 22:1
Moshe and Aaron are instructed to find a red cow on which there is no blemish, and on which no yoke has been placed. Eleazar is to slaughter it, and it is to be an offering; those who participate in the sacrifice shall be unclean until the evening.
HaShem warns that anyone who touches the corpse becomes unclean for seven days. If one does not submit to purification after a state of uncleanliness, that soul shall be uprooted from Israel. The unclean must be made clean before contact with the Holy Sanctuary.
The people come into the wilderness of Tzin and settle in Kadesh. Miriam dies in Kadesh and is buried there. The people assemble to rail against Moses and Aaron, asking, ‘why did you bring us here in the wilderness to die? There are no figs, pomegranates, wine, not even water.’
Moses strikes the rock twice with his staff, water comes forth, and the people and their animals drink. Nevertheless, for Moshe's failure to put full trust in HaShem, he is denied entry into the land that has been promised to the Israelites.
Moses requests passage through the land of Edom but is refused. The people make the journey by a different route, pausing at Mount Hor. Aaron dies and the community mourns for 30 days.
The Canaanites make war on the Israelites, but they are saved and continue their journey. They again complain of insufficient food and water; they are answered with a plague of snakes. Moses prays for deliverance from the snakes; the people are saved by the copper snake Moshe crafts according to HaShem’s direction.
The Israelites again move on and are sustained by water from a well. They are attacked by the Amorites, and with HaShem’s blessings, they prevail. They continue to the other side of Jericho.
