Tamid (“always” in Hebrew) encapsulates all teen engagement at NVHC. This includes Tuesday night teen programming, synagogue and regional youth groups, our madrichim program, Confirmation, and Sunday afternoon teen programming. Scroll down to learn more about each of these programs!
One of the reasons teens love Tamid is because it’s different from every other aspect of their lives. It’s a place and time away from the stress, hustle, and competition of school. They can spend time with their Jewish friends from other schools and across grade lines. They’re encouraged to ask big questions, think deeply, and admit when they don’t know something, without judgement. The goals of Tamid are to help teens discover what they love about Judaism, provide pathways for them to create Jewish community with teens at NVHC and around NOVA, and be a space that is firmly rooted in Jewish values where teens feel safe, known, and valued by each other and the adults they interact with here. Tamid is a place where they can just be teens.
Teens are welcome and encouraged to attend Tamid on both Sundays and Tuesdays, as the content (and food) of each session will be different. Registration for Tamid encompasses everything under the Tamid Umbrella – see more information about madrichim (student aid) registration in the sidebar.
If you have any questions about teen programming at NVHC, please reach out to Emily Hummel at ShowClick Here to View Contact Information.
Tuesday night Tamid runs from 5:45-8:00pm. Every week, we begin with dinner from 5:45-6:15pm, with catering from a variety of restaurants and cuisines, followed a rotation of programming: Talmud Torah Tuesdays, current events, social, tikkun olam – with a few other field trips and one-off events sprinkled in!
The themes of these sessions change every week, and sometimes shift depending on what students are interested in. We make space to talk about hot topics (dubbed “Hot Topic Tuesdays” by students), dig deep into an obscure Torah fact someone discovered, talk about real problems our teens are having, or just hang out and have fun if that’s what the week calls for.
Tamid is structured this way to provide a little bit of everything to all our students in an environment that allows teens across grades and interests to learn a lot, be involved in their Jewish community, get to know each other, and have fun!
Talmud Torah Tuesday
Talmud Torah Tuesdays give students the opportunity to build on their core Jewish knowledge in a meaningful and accessible way through a wide variety of Judaics topics. The topics vary from year to year because they are often influenced by what students wish to study. Previous years have included: a Sigd celebration, Jewish Weddings 101, The Jewish Bookshelf, Judaism and Star Trek, Bob Dylan, Jewish geneology, the Matriarchs, a visit from our community shlicha (Israeli emissary), etc. Topics are taught as continuing or one-off classes, depending on the subject.
Tikkun Olam (Social Action) Tuesday
On these Tuesdays, students are involved in discussions and programming about making our world a better place. They participate in hands-on mitzvah work, educate ourselves on major social justice issues facing the world, and discuss ways they can grow as ethical Jewish teens and into ethical Jewish adults.
Current Events Tuesday
These sessions allow Tamid students to stay informed on and create a safe space for open conversation about the issues of the day. Current Events Tuesdays occur when there is something going on in the world that we feel we need to address with students (or that students ask us to address!).
We come to these conversations to learn, with open minds and open hearts. We appreciate the different backgrounds and opinions that everyone brings to the table, and practice healthy civic norms with each other. We view the issues we discuss on Current Events days through a context of Jewish teachings and values, talk about how they impact teens’ lives, and discuss how we might respond to them.
Social Tuesday
Each of these Tuesdays focus on fun activities and community-building for our Tamid students! The goal for these Tuesdays is to help create and build on the community and friendships that form throughout the year. These programs include bowling, trivia competitions, mini-golf, game nights, cooking, movie nights, and other fun activities!
Sunday Tamid takes place every Sunday when there is Kehillat Limmud (KL) from 12:00-1:00pm, including lunch. We expanded Tamid to include a program on Sundays to give students even more opportunities to engage with their Jewish community at NVHC. Sunday Tamid has the same goals as Tuesday Tamid, but in a tighter format that ranges from having deep conversations about topics that matter to them to studying Jewish texts to just spending time together in community.
Tamid registration and attendance at Sunday Tamid is required for all madrichim (see the side bar for more information about the madrichim program). Tamid attendance keeps teens connected to their Jewish community and fellow NVHC teens, keeps them engaged in Jewish learning, and models the value of Jewish learning beyond B’Mitzvah to younger students. If you would like to be a madrich or madricha and know that you won’t be able to regularly attend Sunday Tamid, please reach out to Emily Hummel (emily@nvhcreston.org) to talk through alternate plans!
Just as a child takes responsibility for selfhood at the point of Bar or Bat Mitzvah, our teens take responsibility for the Jewish community at the point of Confirmation. These 10th graders – and 11th/12th graders who haven’t yet been confirmed – spend the year learning in-depth with our clergy about what exactly Judaism is to them, and then talking about what they want the Jewish community to be. Confirmation culminates with a ritual moment marking the end of the year of study and a confirmation of the student’s place in and responsibility for the Jewish community.
Confirmation class takes place on most Sundays when there is Sunday Tamid from 12:00-1:30pm. Please note Confirmation is 30 minutes longer than Sunday Tamid. The Confirmation ritual is typically a service that takes place on Erev Shavuot, and is largely crafted by that year’s Confirmation class.
Students in Confirmation (as well as all students 10th-12th grade) also have the opportunity to participate in the L’taken Social Justice Seminar, an exciting weekend in DC learning about different public policy issues that culminates in each student presenting a speech on a topic important to them to their Senators and Representatives. More information about that will be announced in our weekly Tamid emails.
If you are not yet a member of our community but would like to register your children for religious school, please email our Executive Director ShowClick Here to View Contact Information to learn more about how you can join our community.
Please note you must complete your 2026-2027 Annual Giving Pledge before you can register for school.
The madrichim (plural) program is a work-study program for our 8th-12th graders. Madrichim are student aids to teachers, students, and staff on Sunday mornings during Kehillat Limmud (religious school). Madrichim help students learn Hebrew, guide projects, and provide assistance wherever needed. Madrichim can serve in classrooms, the office, or as buddies for students who need extra support.
Madrichim are an integral part of the Kehillat Limmud experience and our school would not run so smoothly without them! These teens are truly leaders in our community!
New madrichim participate in madrichim training, which consists of training classes on Sunday mornings in the fall, followed by class rotations. More details will be available closer to the start of the school year. These rotations enable students to immediately put into practice the lessons they are learning, and experience working with different grade levels to get a feel for which grades they might prefer to work with. Beginning in January, madrichim-in-training are assigned to a class for the rest of the year.
Madrichim hours are 9:00am-1:00pm on Sundays. From 9:00am-12:00pm, madrichim will be working in the classroom. They have the option to be paid for their time or receive community service hours. From 12:00-1:00pm, madrichim will participate in Sunday Tamid (see “Sunday Tamid” section). Sunday Tamid attendance is required for all madrichim-in-training and madrichim.
Madrichim are, like all Tamid students, welcome and encouraged to come to Tuesday Tamid as well. If you are unable to regularly attend Sunday Tamid but would still like to be a madrich or madricha, please reach out to Emily Hummel (emily@nvhcreston.org) to talk through alternate plans!
Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation is a Reform Jewish community of passionate people who embrace innovation, engagement, and exploration. We welcome everyone, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, disability, gender, or sexual identity, whether single or in a relationship, Jewish or non-Jewish. We celebrate our diversity and are open to all who wish to join us in our community of Jewish spiritual, educational, and cultural life. Come join us to find your spiritual home, where you connect through community to Judaism that matters.
