The Hineni Circle

The Hineni Circle is a 10-month immersive, in-person experience that will support 15 young adults who are ready to move beyond the “search” and into the “building.” Through facilitated learning with local and national featured educators, meaningful ritual, and authentic community, you will develop the tools, confidence, and relationships needed to create Jewish homes rooted in vibrant community life.

This is not an experience that teaches about Jewish life—it’s one that will help you begin living it.

You will gain skills for hard conversations—essential for building real relationships and community. You will encounter new ideas, models, and Jewish perspectives and invest in Jewish community groups that resonate with your current life stage in life. You will build lasting relationships with peers that will outlast the experience itself. You will adopt (or continue) at least one home-based ritual, practice, or object. And, you will make at least one concrete post-experience decision about your Jewish life.

We’re not here to tell you what you must do to have a Jewish home or how you must do it. The Hineni Circle is a space for deep conversations and messy experiments. We’ll try new practices together until they feel like your own. We’ll linger in the journey, because we believe that Jewish life is meant to be lived, not just talked about. 

Our tradition says, etz chayim he – “she is a living tree.” The Hineni Circle is a place where your Judaism will come alive in every way, embracing the brain, body, and soul of each participant as we experiment in the process of building our Jewish homes. 

Hineni, הִנֵּנִי, is a Hebrew word meaning  “I am here.”

Hineni is an affirmation, a response to a question that is asked in the Torah over and over again: Where are you?

Hineni. I am here. 

In the words of Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, Hineni is a “spontaneous, unequivocal commitment promising: ‘I am here’, where and as you found me, fully attentive, focused, all in. And even more, ‘I am here’ – all of me, with all that I am and all that I can be.”

The Hineni Circle asks you to show up as your full self, meeting the moment, encountering challenges and turning them into possibilities. You will be amidst a circle of trusted peers, panim-el-panim, face-to-face, a sacred encountering of each other. 

“Home” is a lived expression of Jewish life—a place where your values, relationships, traditions, and identity are present and integrated. It’s a place where you practice rituals and traditions not because you’re told to, but because you’ve learned about them in depth and made them your own. 

“Home” can mean so many different things. Below is a non-exhaustive list of what we mean by the word:

• A space—literal or metaphorical—where you can show up fully as yourself, both as you are and with the courage to try out something new. 
• A place where Jewish rhythms, language, objects, and practices are woven into everyday life—a mezuzah at the door or a conversation about justice and belonging around a Shabbat table.
• A container for relationships that are honest, accountable, and rooted in shared growth.
  

In The Hineni Circle, “building a Jewish home” isn’t just about what you do inside four walls—it’s about intentionally cultivating a life where Judaism lives, breathes, and evolves in you, in community, in ritual, in love, and in practice.

Whether you have 10 roommates, just moved in with a new partner or spouse, are part of a co-living house, are living on your own for the very first time in a studio apartment, or have been living solo for years, if you want to build a Jewish home of your own, The Hineni Circle is for you. 

We recognize the importance of community in shaping and building our homes. This experience is made possible through the generosity of donors, our community sustainers, who believe in your potential to shape meaningful Jewish lives. Their support allows us to offer this opportunity with depth, intention, and care—so you can say Hineni—I am here—to the life you are choosing to build.

Apply here!

Here’s the timeline for this application process:

• July 18th -August 25th: Application will be live and accepting submissions!
• August 29th: All applicants will be notified of their status. If you are selected for an interview, you will meet for a 45-minute chat with Rabbi Amalia and two GatherDC staff. All interviews will be conducted virtually.
• September 2nd – 19th: Interviews will be held for The Hineni Circle.
• September 26th: Applicants will be notified of their status, and acceptance emails will be sent out. If you are granted acceptance into this experience you will be required to sign a contract affirming your commitment to this experience and attendance for every session, barring illness or unexpected life events.

The Hineni Circle will begin on October 28, 2025, followed by a kickoff retreat at Pearlstone from October 31st – November 2nd. The final session will be held August 26, 2026.

Sessions will mainly take place on Tuesday nights two or three times per month, with some months including a Sunday field trip and/or a Shabbat/Holiday experience together. 

Upon acceptance you will receive a full calendar. 

Got questions? Email Rabbi Amalia at rabbi.amalia@gatherdc.org.