Kol Mevaser Blog Online

Bringing you Torah thoughts, Jewish inspiration and news about the people, programs and events that make KMS a vibrant and wonderful community. 

First of all, let me just say this: The kids in this community are special. They are kind, respectful, and giving. They care about their Jewish identity and their middot. And they are lots of fun! I am still settling in and learning the culture, but whatever is happening here is clearly working! Kol hakavod to all the parents and educators who are raising their children and students to be such menches. And to the KMS leadership for making...Read more...

Dear Members of KMS,

It is hard to believe that the Yomim Noraim are, once again, upon us.  We are looking forward to experiencing this season with all of you.

In the lead-up to these holy days we must make the most of our time to prepare properly.  Rabbi Yeruchum Levovitz zt"l, the famed Machgiach Ruchani of the Mir Yeshiva notes the importance of preparation. He says that the mandate of "zerizin makdimin...Read more...

The central focus of the Yom Kippur musaf tefilla is the avodah that the Kohen Gadol performs in the mishkan. Our shul, KMS, is supposed to be a mishkan me’at. To what extent does the Yom Kippur spiritual experience today reflect the avodah of the mishkan in our mishkan me’at?

Of course there are obvious differences. Today there is no avodah by the Kohen Gadol and no karbanot  and sadly there is no...Read more...

Going to Poland was not on my bucket list. Some of Mark’s cousins went a few years ago and visited both Warsaw and the little town outside Warsaw where my father-in-law was born. We read the accounts of their trip and thought it might be good to make the trip someday ourselves, but we didn’t have a serious plan to do so. As for visiting concentration camps, that is not something one ever desires to do. There is always a ready excuse for...Read more...

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Saturday night, August 11 was the beginning of something new and wonderful for our community: a very spiritual way to celebrate Rosh Chodesh. For some time now, my son, Shlomo Mehlman, has been telling me that kumzitzes have become all the rage in New York and that he has attended wonderful kumzitzes on any given day of the week. He told me that they get close to 100 people participating in many of these events. Many people bring their...Read more...

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JobAssist was established in Kemp Mill in 2003 to help our neighbors find jobs.  JobAssist remains primarily of, by, and for Kemp Mill.  We are all volunteers.

Even though the economy is in excellent shape, we are still approached, on average, by one new client a week –more than 50 over the course of a year. 

There are some typical reasons why job-seekers approach us.  Some just earned a degree (from high...Read more...

The KMS trip to Poland is currently underway.  Approximately 40 people are visiting sites across Poland that speak to the history, strength, and resilience of the Jewish people. They will stand and mourn in places of unspeakable tragedy and destruction contemplating the horrific loss that we endured as a people. Some participants are visiting places where their families lived and where their families died. Those that made the trip...Read more...

The KMS trip to Poland is currently underway.  Approximately 40 people are visiting sites across Poland that speak to the history, strength, and resilience of the Jewish people. They will stand and mourn in places of unspeakable tragedy and destruction contemplating the horrific loss that we endured as a people. Some participants are visiting places where their families lived and where their families died. Those that made the trip...Read more...

This spring, I spent a week and a half in Poland and Prague with my grade as part of the CESJDS Senior Capstone trip. Over the course of nine days we visited multiple cities, synagogues, ghettos, and concentration camps as we retraced the journey of the Jews during the Holocaust.  

The path of the Jews of Prague and Poland began in the Jewish quarters of cities that used to have large Jewish communities. As we...Read more...

As most members of the Greater Washington community probably know, the Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup championship earlier this month.  Last Shabbat, 31 KMS member families sponsored a kiddush in honor of the team’s first championship. One could see a fair amount of members decked out in red as they entered shul on shabbat morning, ready to celebrate the victory after davening.

We asked some of these...Read more...

The Shavuot weekend at KMS had something for everyone. There was parent-child learning for those in lower school, a middle school program, and a youth Tikkun through the night that included shiurim given by at least six high school students. Adults had opportunities to learn about kabbalat Hatorah in Pirkei Avot, the Jewish limits on free speech, and the growth mindset that is demonstrated in the Aseret Hadibrot. And lots, lots...Read more...

Yom Haatzmaut marked Israel’s 70th birthday this year, and our community celebrated Israel "mine'areinu ve'ad zkeineinu" ( from our young to our old).

The celebrations started out with the somber note of Yom Hazikaron – KMS participated in a global learning initiative in memory of Israel’s fallen soldiers....Read more...

Helping Out in the Greater Community

GOOD DEEDS DAY

Good Deeds Day is a global initiative of the Jewish Federation, which generates the support of over two million volunteers worldwide who help out in their local communities for a fun and meaningful day of service. With the support of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, and in conjunction with Montgomery Parks, 121 volunteers of all ages came together...Read more...

We recently wrapped up an exciting Mishpacha Lomedet program. Mishpacha Lomedet, Family Learning,  met every other Motzai Shabbat from December through March. All KMS kids from Kindergarten through 5th grade and their caregivers were invited to participate in a hour of Torah study, theater, craft making, & pizza.

Lisi Levisohn kicked off this year’s program with...Read more...

People often ask me how I became so Zionistic.   And I always respond that it started before I could walk. I was born in 1948, the year of hakamat hamedina.  My parents (of blessed memory) dated during the years prior.  I heard stories growing up about how my father took the subway from the Bronx and my mother from Boro Park to meet in the middle, at Madison Square Garden, to attend rallies supporting...Read more...

This week we commemorate Yom Hashoah V’Hagvurah, the day of Holocaust Remembrance and Heroism.  As members of KMS we should be proud to hear the stories below.  Watch, read and share these stories.

KMS member, Nat Shaffir, shared his moving testimony with The Today Show earlier this year.   Watch the video below.

KMS member Sabine Himmelfarb's mother, Margot Schlesinger, was one of the Jews saved by Oskar Schindler during the Holocaust.  When she passed away earlier this year, the Chicago Sun Times published this moving tribute. 

Mrs. Schlesinger also shared her testimony with the Shoah Foundation.  You can view it on the website.  

This Sunday, April 15 at 7:30 pm, the KMS-YISE Holocaust Committee will commemorate Yom Hashoah V’Hagvurah at KMS. Come and commemorate victims of the Shoah. View the flyer for more information.

On Sunday afternoon, March 18, we honored the memory and legacy of our dear member Gordon Lederman with our annual memorial chesed program.  Gordon was passionate about acts of chesed and looking out for others. He ran an annual chesed weekend at KMS, which always included a speaker to help us...Read more...

While the Pesach seder itself is perhaps the paradigm of the concept of Jewish tradition or minhag, many families across the world go above and beyond, incorporating their own minhagim into this important night. We asked our members to share some of their family’s Pesach and seder minhagim, and we got some great responses....Read more...

Each and every year I look forward to making the siyum on Erev Pesach. It is a doubly special occasion for me: First, finishing any amount of Torah learning leads me to a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. The effort, the time, and the exposure to Torah ideas leave me feeling uplifted and encouraged to continue with more learning. Second, the siyum on Erev Pesach holds important personal memories for me that I would like to share...Read more...

How do you “KMS”?

Do you attend daily minyan?

Do you attend either the main minyan or the youth-led ruach minyan on Friday night?

Do you attend one of the four Shabbat morning minyanim?

Do you reconnect with friends you don’t see all week over kiddush?

Do you send your kids to Bnei Akiva snif on Shabbat afternoons?

Do you participate in the Women’s Tefilla Group?

Have you donated...Read more...