Our Clergy
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb has served Adat Shalom
Reconstructionist Congregation -- a thriving serious progressive
community of nearly 500 households in Bethesda, Maryland -- for a
decade, ever since his ordination from Philadelphia's
Reconstructionist
Rabbinical College. A Magna Cum Laude graduate of Brandeis
University
(1991), he has worked at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism,
Conservative Camp Ramah in New England, CLAL (the Center for Learning
and Leadership) in New York, and a student pulpit in St. Croix,
USVI.
Now the President of the Washington Board of Rabbis, Fred is also active
in interfaith, social justice, environmental, and Reconstructionist
movement leadership. He serves on the national board of the Coalition
on the Environment and Jewish Life, has written adult education
curricula about Israel, and contributes regularly to Moment Magazine
among other publications. He lives in Washington DC with his wife Minna
Scherlinder Morse, and their glorious 18-month-old daughter Sara
Scherlinder.
Rabbi Fred's Sermons
and Scroll Articles
Hazzan Rachel Hersh Epstein
Hazzan Rachel
Hersh Epstein has served as Adat Shalom's cantor since 1996. In addition
to a life-long love of music and singing,
she holds a bachelor's degree in music and masters' degrees in social
work and Judaic studies. Her cantorial training includes private study
with Hazzan Abraham Lubin. In 2002, she was invested by the Cantor's
Assembly. Hazzan Rachel is equally at home with Jewish folk music,
congregational melody, and classical hazzanut. She has been heard in
concert with both locally and nationally known musicians and is sought
after as a guest performer in concerts of Jewish music. She delights in
serving a spiritual community that is both lovingly devoted to Jewish
tradition and open to change and innovation Rachel lives with her
husband, Jonathan, and three sons Gabriel, Gideon and Koby, and can be
heard, when the children permit it, singing an occasional bedtime
lullaby.
Hazzan Rachel's Article - A Guide to the Perplexed Shul Goer
Hazzan Rachel's Article - Using Our Voices to Express, Comfort and Focus Ourselves
Adjunct Rabbi George Driesen
Rabbi George Driesen, a founding Board Member of Adat Shalom, is currently
serving as its Adjunct Rabbi. George graduated from the Reconstructionist
Rabbinical College in June 1999. He previously served as the Adjunct Rabbi
of Temple Isaiah (Reform) in Columbia, Maryland (2000-2003) and as Interim
Rabbi of the Columbia Jewish Congregation (Reconstructionist) in Columbia,
Maryland (1999-2000).
In addition to his work in the Jewish community, Rabbi George is an
Adjunct Professor at the Washington Theological Union, a Catholic
institution that trains aspiring priests and nuns. The Union also offers
advanced degrees to Catholic laymen who intend to serve the Church in
administrative, teaching and para-clergy roles. At the Union, George
teaches "Judaism In New Testament Times," a survey of Jewish civilization
from the Return from Babylonian Exile until the closing of the Mishnah.
George is pioneering a new initiative to bring science into Jewish
religious life, a venture he has written about and began while serving as
Adat Shalom's Interim Rabbi. He is the Director of Adat Shalom's Institute
for Science and Judaism.
Rabbi George entered rabbinical school after more than 30 years' teaching
and practicing law for the U.S. Government, unions, and individual
employers. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College from 1985 through 1999.
Rabbi
George's Sermons and Scroll Articles
Founding Rabbi Sidney Schwarz
Rabbi Sid Schwarz is Adat Shalom's founding rabbi. Sid, an RRC graduate,
holds a doctorate in Jewish History, founded a second organization the same year he gave birth to Adat Shalom. As president of Panim: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values, Rabbi Sid has done path-breaking work in helping young Jews use the wisdom and values of our heritage to address contemporary social problems. Rabbi Sid is widely recognized as an innovative leader in Jewish education, recently receiving the Covenant Award for Exceptional Jewish Educators. Rabbi Sid's book,
Finding a Spiritual Home: How a New Generation of Jews Can Transform the American
Synagogue, explores the synagogue-community model, the model on which Adat Shalom is based. He is a congregational consultant with a national reputation across denominations, as well as an intellectual leader within the Reconstructionist movement.
Rabbi Sid is married to Sandy Perlstein, Co-chair of our Membership Committee,
and together they are parents of three teenagers, Danny, Joel and Jenny.
Rabbi
Sid's Sermons
and Scroll Articles