About Kol Ami
About Our Community:
We are a growing and caring group of progressive Jews who believe in the continuity of Jewish spirituality in an egalitarian and interactive atmosphere that respects both the traditional and the modern. As the fourth branch of Judaism, Reconstructionism has its own rabbinical seminary and over 100 affiliated congregations and havurot. NVRC is an affiliate of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation.
About Reconstructionist Judaism
Adapted from the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation website.
A Reconstructionist Jew has strong commitments both to tradition and to the search for contemporary meaning. Reconstructionists encourage all Jews to enhance their own lives by reclaiming our shared heritage and becoming active participants in the building of the Jewish future.
The Evolving Religious Civilization of the Jewish People
Reconstructionists define Judaism as the evolving religious civilization of the Jewish people. By "evolving" we mean that Judaism has changed over the centuries of its existence. The faith of the ancient Israelites in the days of Solomon's Temple was not the same as that of the early rabbis. And neither of those faiths was the same as that of our more recent ancestors from around the world. Each generation of Jews has subtly reshaped the faith and traditions of the Jewish people. Reconstructionist Jews seek to nurture this evolution. We see it as the lifeblood of Judaism, the power that allows Judaism to continue as a dynamic tradition in every age.
For more information about the Reconstructionist movement, please visit:
- Jewish Reconstructionist Federation (JRF)
- The websites of our sister havurot and congregations.
- View News and Events from the Chesapeake Region of the JRF.
Rabbi Leila Gal Berner received ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and a doctorate in medieval Jewish Studies from UCLA. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she lived for ten years.
Most recently, Rabbi Berner has been trained as a Jewish Spiritual Director at the Lev Shomea (Hearing Heart) program sponsored by Aleph: The Alliance for Jewish Renewal. She now works actively as a spiritual director to individuals and groups and is working with a colleague on creating and developing Lev Tahor: A Center for Jewish Spirituality and Learning in the Washington DC area.
Rabbi Berner lives in Rockville, Maryland with her life-partner, Franna Ruddell, and their daughter, Kayla Moriya Gal.
+ Rabbi Berner's full bio and other leader bios are available here.
Born and raised in Montreal, Rabbi Gilah Langner has been active in the Washington DC Jewish community for over twenty years, particularly in the field of adult education.
She is currently an adjunct instructor at the Catholic University of America, and teaches numerous small group study sessions in the Jewish community.
She has served on the boards of the Foundation for Jewish Studies, the DC Jewish Community Center, and she is active in the organization Rabbis for Human Rights.
Rabbi Langner lives with her husband David Drelich and their son Judah in Washington, DC.
+ Rabbi Langer's full bio and other leader bios are available here.