For all of Torah’s miracles large and small, this week’s story of a talking donkey who sees an angel is perhaps Torah’s most magical and childlike narrative. In its words lurks […]
This week nine people killed in a church in Charleston will be laid to rest down in the ground. 14 times in six years there have been mass killings in […]
We each have had the desire at times to confront our leaders, be they religious or political, and question their actions. The skill of questioning authority can mean the difference […]
“Clothes make the man,” said Shakespeare (Hamlet I:iii). Jewish tradition couldn’t agree more. This week’s Torah portion (Shlach) brings a mitzvah (command) to tie fringes to our clothes. This is the derivation […]
The parsha baha’alotecha is “my family parsha”. My uncle read it when he became a bar mitzvah eighty-nine years ago, my son read it nineteen years ago and my cousin […]
Age is an invitation and not a closed door. Take this week’s Torah portion, Naso. A census of the Levitical tribes is required. The priests with caretaking duties between the ages […]
If you’re reading this blogpost, your ancestors probably hailed from another continent. Most of us focus more on where we are than from where we’ve come. Today we might know […]
Take a breather: rest isn’t just for the weary. That’s the enduring message of this week’s double portion ending the Book of Leviticus (Behar-Bechutotai, Lev. 25:1-27:34). In our ancestors’ society, […]
The legacy of the Jewish people includes a striving for perfection in ourselves, in our children and in the world. The quest for perfection inherently acknowledges that each of us […]
This week’s double portion, Acharei Mot-Kedoshim (Lev. 16:1-20:27), contains the famous phrase that Talmud’s Rabbi Akiva recited while standing on one leg to summarize all of Torah (B.T. Shabbat 31a): “love your […]
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.