Machar: the Washington Congregation for Secular Humanistic Judaism

Machar was founded in 1977 by a small group of people dedicated to bringing a new alternative for Jewish life and expression to Washington, DC.

Secular Humanistic Judaism was originated by Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine in the Detroit area in 1963, and by the late 1970's had begun to grow and spread. Read the article(s) listed below for more details of how it came to the Washington, DC, area.

The photo at left shows founders, Mary Perica, Jules Abrams, Henrietta Wexler, and Mildred and Joe Goodman at a conference of the Society for Humanistic Judaism in 1985.  

At right are Machar founders, Jules Abrams, Ann Black, Mildred Goodman, Henrietta Wexler, Joe Goodman, and others at our 30th anniversary celebrations in November 2007 sending a greeting to Mary Perica, who had moved to Israel.