Our Lay Leaders

(in alpha order by first name)

Ann Metlay

I grew up in a family which was very active in an extrmemly liberal Protestant church. Before I was even out of grade school I had learned that none of the concepts which hold Christianity together (like the Virgin birth or the bodily resurrection) were true, so I began my search for a religion which made sense. I considered myself to be a misplaced Jew from a very early age.

Poetry also came to me while I was quite young. From my earliest writing I included imagery in what I wrote, and lingered on the sounds words made when I said them.

I have taught for thirty years in Special Education and then as a Reading Specialist. I have been teaching my students to write poetry for the last 25 years. I have also studied Poetry Therapy and Midrashic writing.

Writing poetry is my form of meditation. Many of my poems come to me when I just sit quietly and reflect.

David Perlmutter

I am an active member of the NVRC Steering and Ritual Committees and help plan our services. I joined NVRC along with my wife Cookie when it was a small Chavurah. The Chavurah was no longer meeting the changing needs of its members and a decision was made to expand it to a fully functional congregation which could see us through all of life's stages and milestones. We believe that we can build a successful congregation and maintain the warmth and closeness of the original Chavurah.

I was raised in a Conservative home in the Midwest and spent my summers as a youngster at Camp Ramah (Hebrew speaking Conservative summer camp) in Wisconsin. I was also very active in the Conservative youth movement, USY.

As the result of a job change almost 30 years ago, we migrated to the east where we raised our children in a Reform congregation. However, when we became exposed to the Reconstructionist movement, both Cookie and I immediately felt we had found a spiritual home. Every service and event we attend at NVRC reinforces that feeling.

My professional life is not connected to the practice of Judaism. I am a mechanical engineer and own a consulting practice. However I enjoy leading services almost as much as I enjoy participating in those led by others.

Herb Cooper-Levy

I was raised in an Orthodox home in Baltimore, completing the high school department of the (then) Baltimore Hebrew College, in addition to public high school. In those days, I was also active in the B'nai Brith Youth Organization's Aleph Zadik Aleph program.

Through my college years, I became disconnected with the Judaism that I was raised on, but I began to reconstruct Judaism to address the social change commitment I made in my life. The day I picked up The Freedom Seder by Rabbi Arthur Waskow was the day I learned that Judaism could be made relevant to my own concerns. I have spent over 30 years working in affordable housing as my contribution to Tikkun Olam.

While my kids were educated in a Conservative cheder, I was a member of the Fabrangen Community in DC for over 15 years. (Fabrangen is a lay-led chavurah that now is over 25 years old.) In 1994, I met my wife Janice while on retreat at Elat Chayyim. At Elat Chayyim, I experienced the Shabbat of my life. I returned wanting to re-create that experience every Shabbat.

I've been active in Kol Ami, the Northern Virginia Reconstructionist Community since December 2000. During that time, I have led a number of services, been active in the Steering and Ritual Committees, and drafted the NVRC Haggadah and Machzor (always works in progress).

What I love about Reconstructionism is our intimate connection to Judaism, our thoughtful approach to services, the sound of guitar and tambourines as we davven, and the fresh ways we connect to HaShem. It is a joy to bond with our growing community, meeting new people who feel like old friends.

Jim North

Jim North joined Kol Ami in 2003 as he began weaving Jewish threads of his Judeo-Christian up-bringing in a spirit and song-filled Southern Baptist home into his life's tapestry. Drawn to Jewish values and beliefs harmonious with his spiritual development, Jim studied with Rabbi Berner for his formal conversion to Judaism in July 2004, and he most recently was called to read from the Torah as one of Kol Ami's first bnai mitzvah in June 2005. Jim loves to cook and sing and he lends his voice to the celebration of Shabbat at home with his partner Richard, as well as at Kol Ami. He has served on the Steering Committee and enjoys supporting the community in a variety of lay leader roles.

Dr. Richard Ruth

Dr. Richard Ruth, a member of Kol Ami, is a clinical psychologist in private practice; he is also an associate professor at the George Washington University Center for Professional Psychology and on the steering committee of the Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Program at the Washington School of Psychiatry. He is trilingual (Spanish and Yiddish) and lived and worked in South America, Europe and the Caribbean before settling in Arlington. When not watching Law and Order reruns or lost in a book, he can often be found at Kol Ami services, singing heartily if not always in tune.

Our Rabbinical Leaders

Rabbi Leila Gal Berner

Rabbi Leila Gal Berner was ordained  at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and received a doctorate in medieval Jewish History  from UCLA. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she lived for ten years. A citizen of both Israel and the United States, She is also a licensed Israel Government Tourist Guide. In 2009, Rabbi Leila received the special honor of an additional rabbinical ordination from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the founder of the Jewish Renewal movement.

For over two decades, Rabbi Leila has served Reconstructionist congregations in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Maryland.

Rabbi Leila was the founding director of the Center for Jewish Ethics at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. She serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Reconstructionist magazine, and is a commentator in the Kol Haneshamah prayer book series published by the Reconstructionist Press. Over the years, Rabbi Leila has also authored several articles for The Reconstructionist magazine.
 
Our rabbi came to learn about Reconstructionism in her late 20’s and has been a dedicated and passionate advocate for a Reconstructinist approach to Judaism ever since.  In a recently published article she commented: “I find that Reconstructionism is an approach that allows me to embrace Judaism intellectually, spiritually and emotionally. Its theology speaks powerfully to me, as does its approach to Jewish peoplehood, history and issues of social justice.”
 
In addition to serving as Kol Ami’s rabbi, Rabbi Leila teaches in the Philosophy and Religion Department at American University in Washington, DC and serves on the Academic Vaad (Council) of the Aleph (Alliance for Jewish Renewal) Rabbinical Ordination Program where she teaches rabbinical students how to passionately, creatively and lovingly lead the Jewish people into the future.
 
Rabbi Leila lives in Rockville, Maryland with her life-partner, Franna Ruddell and her daughter, Kayla Moriya Gal.

Rabbi Gilah Lagner 

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 has taught dozens of courses and served as President of the Jewish Study Center, and most recently, as Director of the Open Academy program of the Foundation for Jewish Studies. She is currently an adjunct instructor at the Catholic University of America, and teaches numerous small group study sessions in the Jewish community. She also leads family-oriented services for several congregations in Northern Virginia. She has long been affiliated with the Fabrangen havurah and is also a member of Tifereth Israel Congregation and Adas Israel Congregation.

Prior to Rabbi Langner’s ordination in 2003, she was self-employed as a public policy and publications consultant for government and non-profit groups. She has served on the boards of the Foundation for Jewish Studies, the DC Jewish Community Center, and Shalshelet: the Foundation for New Jewish Liturgical Music, and she is active in the organization Rabbis for Human Rights. In 1992, Rabbi Langner co-founded the journal Kerem (www.kerem.org), as a national forum for creative explorations in Jewish rituals, liturgy, texts, and spirituality.

Rabbi Langner lives with her husband David Drelich and their son Judah in Washington, DC.

Our Teachers

Mindee Laumann

Mindee Laumann is currently an elementary school Spanish teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools.  She has taught Spanish for 20 years, in College and High School but she is happiest now teaching 1st through 4th grade.  Mindee grew up in this area and attended Sunday School at Temple Beth El in Alexandria from kindergarten through high school.  Mindee is very excited to be working with Morah Mike and Morah Eric and teaching the youngest children in the JCEP about the Hebrew alphabet.  She likes to use movement (yoga, dance) as well as songs and games to teach languages to children.  Mindee and her husband George have two children: a 7 year old son named Nikota and a 9 year old daughter, Retta, who are also excited to be joining the Kol Ami family!

Mike Jawer

Mike Jawer has had the pleasure of teaching Kol Ami's elementary-school age children since 2006.  His own kids, Gabrielle (age 10) and Bradley (age 8) are in the class, which makes the experience even more special.  Mike was raised in a Conservative shul outside of Philadelphia, where he taught chanted Torah, led services, and worked with all ages of kids.  As a 20-something professional in DC, he helped students at Temple Micah prepare for their b'nai and b'not mitzvah.  At Kol Ami he seeks, with his teaching colleagues, to impart an appreciation for how truly cool it is to be Jewish.

Eric Rosenberg

This is the third year Eric has been teaching in the Hebrew school at
Kol Ami, where his two children (ages 6 and 10) are enrolled in the
education program. Raised in both the conservative and reform
traditions, as a young adult he tutored children in Hebrew language
study. At Kol Ami, he teaches Hebrew and Jewish studies. He brings a
passion for ancient history and an interest in helping kids relate
age-old "Jewish" concepts and texts to their modern lives.