About Us

Tikvat Israel is a friendly, participatory, inclusive, and egalitarian Conservative synagogue in Rockville, Maryland, affiliated with The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

Mission

Tikvat Israel Congregation’s mission is to engage, embrace, inspire, and empower our Jewish community.

Vision

Tikvat Israel Congregation is a multigenerational Jewish hub that encourages spiritual exploration and personal growth, and is a thriving home to a diverse community that learns from the past, meets the needs of the present, and builds towards our future.

Goals

• Engage Jews of all ages and backgrounds, and their family members, as a vital part of our community.
• Embrace new and prospective members, to respond to their needs and offer Jewish-centered opportunities.
• Inspire our members to grow spiritually and culturally and to participate in tikkun olam (“repairing the world”).
• Empower our members to participate fully in Jewish life, and our leaders to provide opportunities to achieve these goals.  

At Tikvat Israel, we appreciate the great diversity of backgrounds that make up the Jewish community today. Our congregation includes people steeped in Jewish experience and training and those just discovering the beauty and richness of Judaism. Some come from traditional religious backgrounds; others grew up in non-observant homes. Some are Jews by choice; others are part of interfaith families. Our membership includes singles, couples, LGBTQ+ families, single-parent families, Jews of Ashkenazi and Sephardi backgrounds, white Jews and Jews of Color, people who are typically-abled and differently-abled, neurotypical and neurodiverse. 

Together, we unite in our common desire to belong to a congregation where community means friendship, where religious practice means spiritual inspiration, and where education for young and old means personal growth and discovery. We strive to make all members and guests feel comfortable in our services and activities and to make our spaces accessible for all. We aim for everyone who walks in our door to become enriched through friendship, prayer and mitzvot.

We believe in “Am Yisrael” — the Jewish People. At the heart of our Jewish identity is the connection each Jew feels to every other Jew. That is why when you visit Tikvat Israel, you’ll find that the core of our congregation is the friendliness that binds our community together.

We aim to make everyone feel at home at Tikvat Israel. When you enter our doors, you’ll see children of every age coming in and out of services. You’ll hear the voices of young and old. And you’ll feel the bonds that join us, generation to generation – children, parents and grandparents.

You will also experience our love for the State of Israel, combined with a diversity of views regarding its policies. You will sense our respect for Jewish history, our dedication to preserving and building on Jewish traditions and our links to Jewish communities around the world. You will witness our commitment to love our neighbors, protect the vulnerable, and strengthen interfaith relations.

At Tikvat Israel, you will have the opportunity to share your interests with fellow Jews and to deepen or create new friendships.

Growth and Learning for Children and Adults

• Encourage lifelong learning
• Nurture growth in knowledge of the values, history, traditions, and practices of our people and promote involvement in the Jewish community

Community

• Create a multi-generational community that is dedicated to our vision
• Welcome diversity by recognizing and serving different needs of our congregants and our community
• Develop professional staff and lay leadership to their fullest potential
• Foster caring among congregants that extends to the surrounding community
• Create and nurture lifelong friendships
• Create an environment that values creativity through the expression of music, art, and culture

Kindness, Compassion, and Caring

• Be a strong voice for social justice and human rights through active participation in community service and social action programs by taking a strong stand on – and actively responding to – compelling moral and social issues
• Strengthen our commitment to the ideals of our Jewish ethical heritage and thereby meet our responsibilities to our secular and Jewish communities

Tradition

• Honor and encourage Jewish traditions as a vibrant way to find deeper meaning in our everyday lives
• Operate in an ethical, transparent, efficient, and fiscally responsible fashion to achieve our mission

Some Fun Facts

• Some children choose to begin reading Torah as young as 9 years old in our Torah Club, and their “teachers” are usually other children who are just a bit older and more knowledgeable.
• We have a thriving Early Childhood Center and an innovative religious school program called Netivot
• We are located in a vibrant Maryland suburb right on the path of Rock Creek Park, which allows us a short walk to running water for Tashlich services.
• We don’t charge dues – members determine their own level of giving by making an Annual Pledge.
• We have our own solar collection system that provides power to our building while reducing our carbon footprint.
• We are a multifaceted community, whose membership includes policy experts, scientists, teachers, current and former state legislators, medical professionals and first responders, authors and artists.
• We partner with Makom and several of their residents have become members, participating in Shabbat morning services and other programs.