The air conditioning was not working. The temperature in the plane was at least 90 degrees. Hot air was coming through the vents, so I sat very still. Others were […]
Remember the Rosenbergs? While working on an estate matter, I noticed a bequest to the Rosenberg Fund. The contact person’s name was Meeropol. Robert Meeropol created the Rosenberg Fund for […]
“Holding a grudge is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die.” That quote has been attributed to Buddha, St. Augustine, and Nelson Mandela. The axiom begs the […]
The civil rights movement suffered a leadership crisis during the Freedom Rides in 1961. Student-organized groups tested the segregation laws affecting interstate travel by riding buses and visiting white-only sections […]
Dear fellow clergy, distinguished guests, my neighbors, Today, I want to reflect on how we, as a community, Christian and Jewish and Muslim, Black and White, all cherish the place […]
John Doar was not the Justice Department’s first choice for his position. Yet, his appointment as the number 2 man in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice […]
Recent protests in France rattled that nation. Prime Minister Macron proposed raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. Oh mon Dieu! Despite this attempt to address a looming economic […]
I’m still traumatized by the first, and only time, I went camping. We had to shlep heavy tenting materials, bars, posts, and connective joints, up a sandy hillside. With a […]
Surgeon General Vivek Murtha recently issued an advisory on the public health crisis of loneliness. Even before the Covid pandemic, Americans reported enduring periods of profound loneliness. Murtha’s report calls […]
After visiting civil rights memorials in Alabama, I’ve been reading about the history of slavery. The facts are shocking. The arguments made and justification for slavery are appalling. Some of […]
A lifelong musician, cantorial soloist Caitlin McLaughlin has been a service leader and band member at Temple Emanuel of Kensington, MD since 2011, has led alternative High Holiday and Women’s Retreat worship services, and has also taught music in the Religious School since 2020. She joined the Jewish Studio worship leading team in Rockville MD in 2021.
Caitlin completed vocal studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA and a master’s degree in Music (Choral Conducting) at the University of California, Irvine. She has led choral groups in schools and congregations in California, New England and Minnesota before settling in Maryland. Beginning in 2021, Caitlin will be a member of Cohort 11 of the Davennen Leadership Training Institute. She has taken part in other Jewish music workshops including Shabbat Shirah and Hava Nashira at OSRUI, NewCAJE and the Jewish Collaborative Songwriters’ Retreat.
She lives in Silver Spring MD with her family.
David Abramowitz was ordained as a Cantor by the ALEPH Ordination Program in January 2016 and received his certificate as a spiritual director in January 2017. David enjoys leading Shabbat morning services at the Charles E. Smith Life Communities in Rockville, Maryland twice a month and officiates life cycle events year round.
In his other professional life, David is the Mid-Atlantic regional technical lead at Trend Micro, a specialist in computer and network security. In his free time, he enjoys playing drums and singing in a rock cover band, and playing in an adult ice hockey league.
David graduated from Brandeis University with a B.S. in Computer Science and received his Masters in Computer Science from The George Washington University.
Evan J. Krame was ordained as a rabbi by the ALEPH Ordination Program in January 2015 and is currently a fellow of Rabbis Without Borders. He has served as president of several non-profit organizations, including the Hillel at George Washington University and Shared Horizons, Inc.
In addition to leading the Jewish Studio, Evan also serves as a founding builder of Bayit, a national organization that provides innovative tools to build a new Judaism. His honors include Hillel’s Exemplar of the Year, Israel Bonds Young Leadership Award, the Jewish Federation of Washington’s Campaigner of the Year, ORT’s community leadership award and the Shared Horizons Humanitarian award.
In addition to his religious activities, Evan is also a partner at Krame and Biggin, a Maryland law firm specializing in estates and trusts work with a focus on assisting families of persons with special needs. Evan is a graduate of Brandeis University and George Washington University Law School and has an LLM in Taxation.