Our Mission: To help ensure that Har Shalom welcomes and offers support to all congregants with disabilities by striving to eliminate all barriers, whether structural, communicative, or attitudinal, so that those with disabilities may experience the full richness of synagogue life.
This is the perfect Committee to join if you would like to devote some time and energy to helping to ensure that the lives of those with disabilities are as satisfying, meaningful, and productive as they can be, especially by living Jewishly as part of the Har Shalom community!
Since Har Shalom’s inception in 1964, this community has been all about community, about belonging, about family, about inclusion. Each and every one of us always strives to ensure that our neighbors and fellow congregants feel like true members of Har Shalom – and we do this is a myriad of ways. Congregants serve as docents to welcome worshippers to high holiday services, our membership committee engages in outreach to new congregants, the Hesed committee perform acts of love and kindness, Har Shalom Sherman Early Childhood Center supports programing with young families… this is only a small fraction of what this community does.
One way we further this mission to include is through the Accessibility and Inclusion Committee (A&I). To be clear, informal inclusion activities started long before that. A group of concerned parents, including Margie Glantz (a current A&I Committee member), started one of the nation’s first religious school programs for students with disabilities in the 1980s. While our community has always been committed to including all members, including those with disabilities, our targeted activities have ebbed and flowed over the years. Most recently, Sara Fink, Director of Religious School, rejuvenated our education commitment to students with disabilities in 2023 with the recreation of an inclusion program for the Religious School, which currently serves many students with disabilities and allows mutual learning and support with student allies. Our A&I Committee has also been a long-time sponsor of Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) shabbat, which brings in a speaker to highlight a topic relating to Judaism and disability rights—and in February 2025, we welcomed speaker, David Ervin, CEO of Makom, a non-profit dedicated to enhancing the independence, dignity, choice and community inclusion of individuals with disabilities.
For the first time, in November 2024, the Committee also hosted the congregation’s first ever “Inclusion Kabbalat Shabbat” – a shortened music-forward service where congregants with disabilities of all ages, from young children, to young adults, to adults living in Makom homes, were able to enjoy a shortened music-forward service. Many times, the length and text-heavy religious service can be inaccessible to individuals with disabilities, and the committee worked closely with clergy to design a shortened music forward service with a special simplified image focused siddur. That first service was followed by a small group dinner where Makom residents, members of our community with disabilities and their families, and select allies enjoyed a meal together in a low-stimulus environment. This was followed up by another Inclusion Kabbalat Shabbat Service in May 2025 and the Committee plans to continue to offer this consciously accessible service more regularly for all congregants.
The various items described above are only some of what we can do to make our community a more inclusive place for all of us. If you’re interested in supporting these efforts, please reach out Eva Rigamonti or Jen Sussman at inclusion@harshalom.org to join the Committee, share feedback, and to provide ideas for how to make 2026 an even more inclusive year for Har Shalom.
How often do we meet? The Committee meets as a whole approximately 4-6 times a year in person or via Zoom, with email communication in the interim. But as JDAAIM approaches each February, those committee members who wish to be specifically involved in that endeavor may meet weekly or more.
Har Shalom has re-instated a Human Resources committee designed to ensure effective decision making, guidance and continuous development of synagogue staff. The HR Committee will focus on senior staff (Rabbi, Hazzan, Synagogue Administrator, and heads of the ECC and Religious School), with emphasis on providing regular feedback and reviews as well as periodic consideration of roles and responsibilities as needed. The approach will be inclusive, taking a range of stakeholders into account as appropriate and will maintain a spirit of growth and development of both individual leaders as well as our synagogue and its community. Estrella Levy, Andrea Lewis and Linda Silverman will initially comprise the committee. We look forward to contributing to the ongoing success of our professional leaders and staff.
Our Mission
To gather with our peers once per month and connect with friends, relax and kick back to enjoy some lunch together.
Our Goals / Examples of our Events
We enjoy a film each month, chosen from a variety of different genres. Sometimes we host speakers or other entertainment over lunch. So, bring your own dairy lunch and we will enjoy dessert and soft drinks together. Suggestions always appreciated.
This is the perfect committee to join if you are looking to connect with other adult peers – it is not just for seniors, all are welcome!
How often do we meet?
We meet every 3rd Wednesday of the month at noon at Har Shalom.
Who do I contact for more general information?
Bob Plotkin June Plotkin
301-509-6644 301-509-3253
bobplotkin@aol.com june8email@gmail.com
Our Mission
To create a caring, connected, and welcoming community at Har Shalom.
Our volunteers, Hesed Heroes, do this by helping out Har Shalom congregants in need, celebrating special milestones, providing resources, welcoming people at services, creating opportunities to build relationships, and being a hub for those who wish to help out/volunteer.
This is the perfect Committee to join if you are interested in performing acts of loving kindness, supporting our members in times of convalescing, isolation, ongoing medical treatments, as well as in joyous occasions, like the arrival of a new baby.
Opportunities to get involved include:
- Providing meals to people recuperating from surgery
- Giving rides to/from medical appointments
- Connecting with congregants (e.g., making phone calls, sending condolence cards, etc.)
Who do I contact for more information?
Fran Elson & Deborah Brody, Co-Chairs: hesed@harshalom.org
Our Mission
To support those in our community during one of the most difficult times in their lives as they manage through the death of a loved one.
This is the perfect Committee to join if to offer care to other members in our community.
Members of the Committee will be available to:
- Stay in the home where the shiva will be held during the funeral.
- Attend the service if it is held at Har Shalom.
- Arrange for the meal of condolence after the funeral, deliver prayer books, kippot and mourners’ chairs to the Shiva house.
- Arrange for fellow congregants to lead the Shiva minyanim.
How often do we meet?
We do not meet on a defined calendar. Instead, we reach out as needed to individual volunteers.
Who do I contact for more information?
Ruth Newberger & Bob Sunshine, co-chairs
Our Mission
To ensure the entire congregation has a meaningful High Holy Day experience.
This is the perfect committee to join if you are looking to participate yourself as well as recruit and organize volunteers for the High Holy Day services.
Our Goals / Examples of our Events
The High Holiday committee is a great place to provide feedback to staff and clergy when open questions arise about organizing the high holiday services, as well as crafting and reviewing survey responses as inputs to the following year's services. The committee also recruits and schedules ushers and floor gabbaim for the holidays.
How often do we meet?
We meet on an ad hoc nature, usually 3 times a year.
Who do I contact for more general information?
Moshe Cohen, Chair of High Holy Days Committee: moshe.b.cohen@gmail.com
The Membership and Programming Committee is focused on engaging current and prospective Har Shalom members. We plan enriching experiences targeted toward different segments of our community. For more information, or to get involved, please contact the Synagogue Office at office@harshalom.org.
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Sisterhood works to build friendship and community for its members and for the congregation as a whole. Our programs include Judaic events, education events, social events and just plain fun events. Each year we raise funds which are donated back to the Congregation through our amazing Purim Basket project and our annual New To You Sale. Our members also give a large donation to the Women’s League Torah Fund Campaign, which supports the education of our Conservative Jewish leaders at 5 seminaries worldwide.
Sisterhood makes donations to the Sherman Early Childhood Center, the Religious School, and the Har Shalom Youth Department. We provide Purim Baskets to Jewish members of local nursing homes, and to every member of the Har Shalom staff. Every B’nai Mitzvah child receives a gift from the Sisterhood, as do the members of the Confirmation Class. All of the children in our school receive treats for the major Jewish holidays. Sisterhood organizes several Senior Bingo game days for residents of senior homes in our community. Through our Bikkur Holim project, we deliver meals to our congregants who are facing illnesses and surgery.
During the pandemic, Sisterhood is continuing to present programs virtually to its members and to the entire Har Shalom community to remain visible, retain relevancy and to engage our members. Please contact Sisterhood President, Beth Ann Katz at sisterhood@harshalom.org, with program recommendations and/or to volunteer. We are women for women. We are the women of Sisterhood Har Shalom!
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Congregation Har Shalom
11510 Falls Road | Potomac, MD 20854
Tel.: 301-299-7087 | Fax: 301-299-2247
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