The OrH welcomes people with all levels of Jewish knowledge and beliefs. We creatively explore our religious, spiritual, and cultural practices in order to revitalize and revalue our Judaism. As part of the Reconstructionist movement, we encourage members to share responsibilities and activities, based on egalitarian, democratic and participatory values.

We are one of 100 congregations and havurot affiliated with the Reconstructionist movement. Liberal in outlook, yet respecting tradition, Reconstructionism is the newest of the four branches of organized American Judaism.

Or Haneshamah (OrH) elects a Steering Committee to develop and administer ongoing programs, set policy and plan for the future needs. All important matters are brought to the entire membership for review and discussion. Steering Committee members are elected each year at the Annual General Meeting in June.

Our Steering Committee members are available to answer any questions you may have about the Havurah. You may leave a message for any of us at (613) 239-4988 or click here to send us an email.

Our Student Rabbi
for 2010 - 2011

This September, Student Rabbi Arlene Berger is joining Or Haneshamah (OrH) to lead High Holy Day services and to provide spiritual and educational leadership for the coming year. Student Rabbi Berger is entering her fifth year of studies at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) in Philadelphia and will be ordained in June 2012.  Arlene enjoys exploring the ways that Bible and Liturgy interface to create meaning in our personal lives.  

She is an active member in the RRC community, serving as the student liaison to the Board of Governors and as the Vice President of the Student Association. Arlene is also active in her home community of Greater Washington, where she facilitates a bi-partisan Torah study session for Congressional Jewish Staffers and participates in chaplaincy work at a local life care facility.

During her years at the RRC, Arlene served as the Student Rabbi for Havurat Tikvah, a Reconstrucionist congregation in Charlotte, North Carolina from 2007-2010.  She also conducted High Holy Day family services at Farmington Valley Jewish Congregation-Emek Shalom, a Reform Temple in Simsbury, Connecticut.  From 2004 to 2009, Arlene was the Education Director of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Jewish Community Group, an unaffiliated Sunday and Hebrew School in Rockville, Maryland.  This past year, Alrene studied in Israel at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem and the Beit Midrash of Nava Tehilla, the only Jewish Renewal Community in Israel.  Arlene's time in Israel focused on experiences that expanded and deepend her understanding of pluralism--how diverse communities can live together in understanding and respect.

The rabbinate is a second career for Arlene, who graduated with an MSW, an MBA, and a certificate in gerontology from Boston College in 1988.  She worked for the next 15 years in the field of aging, gaining specialization in the "Americans with Disabilities Act" and in senior mobility management.  Arlene conducted and published several studies looking at issues of quality of life after cessation of driving.

Arlene first announced her intention to become a rabbi when she was 5 years old, influenced by her rabbis and teachers at the Orthodox day school that she attended in Providence, Rhode Island.  After a journey through the patchwork of Judaism, with stops along the Orthodox and Conservative sections of the quilt, Arlene eventually found the Reconstructionist movement to be the best place to express the goals of her rabbinate.  Arlene's deepest conviction is that it is the responsibility of each human being to leave the world a better place than the world that he or she was born into, and that Judaism contains the blueprint for how to do this.  Her vision for the future includes nurturing each person's inner spark so that he or she finds a true home within Klal Israel, the Jewish People.

Arlene is looking forward to the coming year and the opportunity to share her excitement, her love of our tradition, and the possibilities for creating a unique vision together with the Or Haneshamah community--and with all those who come to visit!

Dues

We have tried to keep our dues modest and affordable. As much as possible we rely on our own resources. Most of our community events and programs involve shared vegetarian meals or refreshments brought by those attending.