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Kol Nefesh

KOL NEFESH_IMG_3316

Kol Nesh conducts a Shabbat service following our Hanukkah Party

About Kol Nefesh

Bet Aviv has a special relationship with Kol Nefesh.  Focusing on young adults and families, Kol Nefesh’s goal is to meet the religious, educational, and social needs of a diverse population in a warm, friendly, and service-oriented community.  As an equity owner in the Oakland Mills Interfaith Center, Bet Aviv has helped Kol Nefesh obtain favorable rates to hold their services at The Meeting House.  Kol Nefesh generally holds Shabbat services once a month on the third Friday of the month.  Some of the founding families of Kol Nefesh are children of Bet Aviv members.  Together we celebrate holidays, such as Hanukkah and Passover to offer multi-generational experiences.  Kol Nefesh hosts a children’s service on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur mornings, that grandchildren of Bet Aviv members may attend.

Resources:

Website:  https://www.kolnefesh.org/

Information:  kolnefeshofmd@gmail.com 

Interfaith Community

The Interfaith Idea: Alive and Well at The Meeting House
The planning of Columbia in the 1960’s embraced a balanced blend of idealism and pragmatism. One of the best examples is Columbia’s interfaith concept. The idea was that Interfaith Centers in each of the village centers would serve religious needs more traditionally served by free-standing, separate buildings for churches, synagogues or mosques. Congregations representing the various religions would share a common facility — including sanctuaries – using it on different days of the week.The idea was that Interfaith Centers in each of the village centers would serve religious

needs more traditionally served by free-standing, separate buildings for churches, synagogues or mosques.

Congregations representing the various religions would share a common facility — including sanctuaries – using it on different days of the week.

The idea was pragmatic, making the best use of space and financial resources. And it was idealistic, in requiring a high degree of cooperation and understanding among the different faiths.The Meeting House Atrium

The Meeting House at Oakland Mills is a fine example of the Interfaith concept in action. From its inception about mre than 30 years ago, the Meeting House has been home to Protestant, Jewish and Catholic congregations. Today, in additon to four Christian churches, it houses the Columbia Jewish Congregation – – an original “owner” from the day that James Rouse helped to cut the ribbon – – and Bet Aviv which has bought into an equity ownership position. Many Bet Aviv members feel an affinity for this special place where people of different faiths come to worship in their own way while sharing a common place.

The Gallery

Since 2011, the Meeting House atrium has become the home of an art Gallery. The Gallery’s mission is to provide a place for local artists and craftspeople to exhibit and sell their work and  to beautify the public areas of The Meeting House. Representatives from the congregations of Oakland Mills Interfaith Center serve on the all-volunteer Art Committee, which selects the artists and exhibition themes.  Bet Aviv has some talented artists and photographers among it members who regularly exhibit their work in The Gallery.

Interfaith Programs

Since becoming equity owners in Columbia’s Oakland Mills Interfaith Center, commonly known as the Meeting House, Bet Aviv has been an avid participant in Interfaith activities.

As a gesture of friendship, we invited the spiritual leaders of our fellow Meeting House congregations to participate in a Shabbat worship service.

During the aftermath of the tsumani, our cantor and congregants participated in a special Interfaith service to offer healing and financial support to tsunami victims.

In a wonderfully upbeat event, our Bet Aviv choir made its debut performance at the Interfaith Musical Benefit held to support the Vivian Reed Fund. We listened with delight as the children of Bet Yeladim, a Jewish pre-school located at the Meeting House, sang songs that were directed by the Pastor of the Columbia United Christian Church. We learned to appreciate the music of our fellow congregations. Our Bet Aviv choir sang the Hebrew version of Halleluyah and led the participants in the English version towards the end of the concert. As a finale, we all sang We Shall Overcome as one congregation.

Today Bet Aviv is an active participant in all phases of Intefaith life.

Photos

Below you’ll find some links to Bet Aviv photos, past and present. Just click on the any link to see the photos appear in a new window.  Just close the new window when you’re done.

Bet Aviv Facebook Photos

Our recent photos are available on our Facebook page.

Scholar in Residence 2025

On May 24, 2025 Rabbi Ken Kanter presented two sessions:  Reform Judaism:  How our History and Culture has Changed Over the Last 200 Years and The Jews of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley.  Rabbi Joseph catered the lunch for us in memory of her father, Peter Joseph.

Passover 2025

On April 13, 2025 Rabbi Joseph led us in fun-filled evening celebrating the Second Night Seder.

Women’s Seder 2025

On April 30, Rabbi Joseph led a Women’s Seder for Women of Bet Aviv Members.  The Seder emphasized our traditions from a woman’s perspective.

Jewish Museum of Maryland

On June 10, a group from Bet Aviv, led by member Nancy Kutler, acting as their docent, visited the Jewish Museum of Maryland to see the building and exhibits.

Sisterhood Shabbat 2025

On June 13, we celebrated our annual Sisterhood Shabbat service where we honor members of Sisterhood.

Bet Aviv Annual Picnic 2025

On July 20, Bet Aviv met on the grounds of The Meeting House to share food and friendship.

Rocklands Farms Winery Event 2025

On August 23, 2025, Bet Aviv visited Rockland Farms Winery for Mediterranean BBQ from a food truck or BYO dinner and optional wine tasting.

Bet Aviv Trip to Philadelphia

On September 7, Bet Aviv traveled to Philadelphia and toured synagogues, museums and neighborhoods.

Selichot 2025

On Sept 13, 2025 Bet Aviv held a Selichot service to usher in the High Holidays, watched “A Narrow Bridge”. a movie that explores the deep internal conflicts experience by both Israelis and Palestinians and had a virtual interview with the film’s director, Esther Takac, who lives in Australia and is a friend of Rabbi Joseph.

Fabulous 50s Soiree

On September 14, 2025, Bet Aviv Singles held a “Fabulous 50s Soiree” where some dressed in 50s attire, played 50s games and ate 50s food.

Sisterhood Kickoff 2025

On September 16, Bet Aviv Sisterhood held their annual kickoff meeting for members.  This year’s meeting featured Chef Egg, Erik Berlin who gave us tips on preparing and storing food, entertained us with his humor and best of all fed us with salad, chicken and desert that prepared during the meeting.

Joint Sisterhood and Men’s Club Meeting 2025

On October 5, Bet Aviv’s Sisterhood and Men’s held their annual joint meeting where Bet Aviv member Sally Levin regaled us with fascinating facts and personalized stories about the life and legacy of the American-born Jewish Zionist leader and founder of Hadassah, Henrietta Szold.   Sally presented her great aunt’s story with a presentation entitled “From Baltimore Girl to World Renowned Icon”.

Annual Sukkot Picnic and Shabbat Service 2025

On October 10, Columbia Jewish Congregation, Bet Aviv and Kol Nefesh gathered to celebrate Sukkot by eating together at the Sukkah, followed by a service to celebrate Sukkot and Shabbat.

 

Singles Club

Members of the Singles Club enjoy dinner at the Stanford Grill.

Bet Aviv is fortunate to have a vibrant and interesting group of single members.  We get together in small and large gatherings to go to dinner, the movies, the theater and meet twice a year in member homes for cook outs and pot lucks.

There are no dues, no participation obligations, just a desire to form new friendships and solidify existing ones.  You must be a member of Bet Aviv and be an individual on your own.

If you would like to be on the email list, please contact Terri Clayman.

Genealogy Club

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The Genealogy Club meets monthly to discuss tools and techniques related to tracing one’s family heritage.   The main focus of the club is to help researchers develop skills and become aware of the sources that can be used wherever their ancestors lived.  We invite you to join a group of like-minded individuals dedicated to researching their family histories. Membership is open to both Bet Aviv members and the community. For more information contact Joel Weiner.

Temple Book Club

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The Temple Book meets once every six weeks to discuss books selected by its members.  Membership is open to any Bet Aviv member and both men and women participate.  Membership is limited to facilitate discussions where everyone can participate.  Contact Sylvia Bloch for more information.

Camera Club

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The Camera Club welcomes photographers of all skill and experience levels. Meetings are generally held on the fourth Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in Room 300 at The Meeting House. Contact David Blackman to RSVP.

Camera Club
The Camera Club on a field trip to view the Annie Leibovitz exhibit.

Communications

Bet Aviv communicates with its congregants via e-mail in several ways:

  • Newsletter – The Observer is published 5-times per year
  • Weekly Bulletin – What’s Nu is published every week on Wednesdays
  • Announcements – Bet Aviv Announcements is our primary distribution list for special upcoming events or new that we need to distribute in a timely fashion.

Weekly Bulletin

To keep our congregants abreast of upcoming events, we publish a weekly bulletin, called What’s Nu? Published each week on Wednesdays, What’s Nu? contains a list of upcoming events for the next four weeks. The main body of the bulletin contains Bet Aviv events, followed by any upcoming events for our parters in the community. Each entry consists of three parts: the date, time and location of the event, the title of the event and the name of the person to contact should you need further information or want to RSVP. The title of the event contains a link to our website calendar when you can find a detailed description of the event. The contact name also contains an e-mail link and sometimes a phone number.

If you are a prospective member who would like to be on our distribution list for What’s Nu?, then please send us a message with your request. You should know that since What’s Nu is distributed through our Announcements server, you will receive all messages that we send, not just the weekly bulletin. If you have something that you would like to appear in What’s Nu?, then contact Geri Epstein. We limit our inclusion in What’s Nu to community events of Jewish interest from nearby organizations.

Donations

In keeping with the Jewish tradition of Tzedakah, the members of Bet Aviv make generous contributions to the congregation in times of joy or sorrow.  Donations to Bet Aviv will be considered to be donations to the General Fund. These funds supplement the monies raised through dues for the operation of the synagogue, including salaries, rent, equipment and supplies, program costs, and so on. Alternatively, donations may be directed to a specific purpose in the discretion of the donor. For example, a gift may be made to Bet Aviv “for the benefit of the Men’s Club”, “for bima flowers at the High Holidays”, or “for the benefit of the choir.” (Please note that all current Shabbat Prayer books contain dedication book plates and additional purchases are not currently contemplated. Any donations requesting prayer book dedications will yield a dedication book plate in a limited number of High Holiday guest prayer books.)

An additional alternative for those making gifts, is to contribute to one of the Restricted Funds established at Bet Aviv so that the donation can only be used for the limited purpose of the fund. These restricted funds are:

Arnold Feldman Social Action – Established in memory of Bet Aviv member Arnold Feldman and used to fund promote local, national, and international awareness and support of social conscience issues.

Music Fund – Contributions are used to fund Bet Aviv’s music programs.

Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund– Contributions are used by the Rabbi for the benefit of Bet Aviv’s members.

General Fund – Donations are used by the Bet Aviv Board of Directors as needed.

Paula Polinsky Congeniality Fund – Established in memory of Paula Polinsky and contributions are used to support the Membership committee and special events.

Prayer Book Dedication – Donations of $36 or greater are recognized on bookplates on the inside of the prayer books.

Richard Tobin Memorial Fund – Established in memory of Richard Tobin and contributions are used for Torah repair and rededication.

Bet Aviv Memorial Board

Donations may also be made to commemorate the loss of someone dear to you through the purchase of an engraved plate to add to the Bet Aviv Memorial Boards displayed at each service. Contact the office for details.

High Holiday Appeal

Donations may be made to support Bet Aviv’s general expenses through our High Holiday Appeal Form.  This is a different form from our general donations form.  To donate online using our Holiday Appeal Form, click here.

How to Make Donations

Online:  To make a donation to Bet Aviv and pay online with a credit card or an electronic check, click here

Mail Payment:  You may also choose to make a donation by downloading a paper form and sending it in with a check. To make a donation to Bet Aviv please click here for our donation form in pdf format or here for the donation form in Word format. Save it to your computer, fill it out on-line (Word) or manually (pdf) , then print and enclose it with your donation.

For more information, please feel free to contact us.

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Contact Info

info@betaviv.org

Bet Aviv
The Meeting House
5885 Robert Oliver Place
Columbia, MD 21045
Office Phone: (410)-992-9994
Rabbi Phone:  (410)-992-9995

Shabbat Times

Yom Sheini, 5 Heshvan 5786