Am Kolel in Rockville is described as a Jewish Renewal community, servicing the needs of the local Jewish community and responding to social and environmental issues with a progressive voice, something that the community’s rabbi, David Shneyer, has a long history of involvement with.
Shneyer said that the synagogue works to meet the varied needs of its community with three branches of resources: a havurah, a resource center and a renewal center. He added that all their programs are based on three Jewish pillars: Torah, avodah and tikkun olam.
“Not everyone is interested in davening and praying and going to services. Not everyone is interested in that, but people are interested in social and community service. People are interested in being part of a Jewish group that speaks out when there are issues in society that need to be addressed,” Shneyer said.
Shneyer said that Am Kolel was founded in 1990 out of requests that he received from a number of sources, including people on the waiting list to join Kehila Chadasha, a havurah that he helped organize, and others who wanted to be included in a Jewish community where their different identities and needs would be recognized and met.
“Enough people came to me in the late 80s and said, ‘Can you do something? What can we do?’ So that’s when, with the help of a couple of friends, we incorporated Am Kolel,” Shneyer said.
Shneyer said that some people were interested in social and community service, while others were interested in classes and education, and the structure of Am Kolel with its different branches allowed the community to be an “umbrella” for meeting those needs.
Shneyer added that the resources Am Kolel provides are not exclusive to people affiliated with the community, which is the goal of the Judaic Resource Center, something he said no other local Jewish organization was providing to the broader community at the time the center was created.
The programs and resources the organization has created have been flexible to any shortages within the local Jewish community where Am Kolel feels it could step up to get people what they’re looking for.
Shneyer gave an example of a rise in the need for b’nai mitzvah programming for children who came from non-religious Jewish families that wanted to have one.
“Their child wanted to have a bar or a bat mitzvah and the parents didn’t know what to do. They weren’t religious, and they weren’t connected, but their child … wanted to do it,” Shneyer said. “It was not just the party idea, but it was also [a question of] who am I Jewishly? So, we created these b’nai mitzvah programs for unaffiliated or non-affiliated families and that’s another way in which we grew as a number of these families then joined.”
Along with the Jewish community resources Am Kolel provides, Shneyer emphasized the work the organization does related to social issues, the largest currently being the Israel-Hamas war.
Am Kolel is continuing this work by organizing a symposium at Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase on Sept. 15 called “We Refuse to Remain Enemies: Israelis and Palestinians Building Peace and Pursuing Justice Together.”
The event looks to educate local community members about the efforts of Israeli-Palestinian groups still working together after Oct. 7 and what has changed since that day. It will include information about goals, challenges and lived experiences from the groups and small group discussions after the panelists speak.
Shneyer said that they are expecting between 300 to 400 people to attend the event, which will also be live-streamed.
It’s an event that fits right into the work and affiliations of Am Kolel, which includes helping incubate Jews United for Justice.
“We’ve been involved for a long time with progressive Zionist groups here in the United States and in Israel. I’ve been very involved personally, with Rabbis for Human Rights and Torat Tzedek,” Shneyer said.
He added that Am Kolel’s website has a list of resources for Jews who are confused about what’s going on with the conflict and what they can do to support Israel, as the spread of misinformation around the topics has been plentiful.
Shneyer said that Am Kolel recently received a $50,000 grant to subsidize local Jewish organizations to bring in highly knowledgeable speakers to meet with local communities.
And Am Kolel also announced on Sept. 3 the launch of an online resource called the “Peace Catalogue” that includes a comprehensive catalogue of speakers, videos, concerts, curriculum and programs meant to foster information and understanding.
“The urgency of the moment compels us to push these resources and voices to the forefront,” Shneyer said in a press release. “Education is an integral part to ending war, prejudice and violence, and through this catalog, we aim to play our part in expanding understanding and mutual respect.”
Shneyer said that all the progressive work that Am Kolel is doing is following the wishes of the Hebrew sages who spoke about taking care of the sick, poor, workers and more.
“It’s incredible, the emphasis on social justice, it’s at the heart of Judaism. Human rights is at the heart of Judaism. And for that to be questioned is wrong,” Shneyer said.
