Taylor Medoff was recently hired to serve as the temple administrator at Beth Chaverim Reform Congregation in Ashburn, Virginia, a move that brings Medoff’s history of growing up with the synagogue full circle, as she and her family joined and were active in the synagogue soon after its formation, when Medoff was seven years old.
Having been at the perfect age to remember the early years of the synagogue as a child, Medoff offers a look into many of the changes the congregation has gone through since it opened in 1997. She fondly recalls spending time at the synagogue, her father working to help get them a permanent physical location and tutoring b’nai mitzvah students for years, and now she is enjoying the opportunity to be a part of the professional staff at Beth Chaverim Reform Congregation.
“I’m one of the very few folks from my b’nai mitzvah class and my age demographic who are still here. I came back, although not a whole lot of folks that I grew up with did. So, that is something a little different from what I grew up with. But overall, the feeling of community and family really hasn’t changed at all,” Medoff said.
Despite the overall atmosphere of the synagogue remaining consistent for the past several decades, the congregation has gone through some transformational changes over the years.
One of the most notable milestones was the decision to purchase a property for a permanent home in 2005, and the congregation moving into its new building in 2007 after ten years of services at rotating locations, something Medoff remembers well.
“Before we got the [permanent] building, we were traveling around all over the place and holding services basically wherever anyone would let us. I remember attending services in somebody’s living room at one point,” Medoff said.
Medoff’s father was highly involved with the synagogue, and she remembers him playing a leadership role while the building was being purchased and construction was completed.
She said that her father took her and her sister through the building after it was purchased and before construction started and she recalls running through it, a warm family memory at their future congregational home.
Medoff’s family involvement was also a big catalyst for her to become an active member of the synagogue as she got older.
“All through high school, I was involved with whatever form our youth group took … I went to Israel for a while [during high school] and I got a scholarship for a program,” Medoff said. “I started teaching [classes at the synagogue] pretty much as soon as I came back, and I was still very involved in youth groups until I graduated high school.”
After a couple of years at college, Medoff was offered a part-time position teaching fifth grade Judaic Studies at the synagogue in 2013, putting as much time in as she could while working full-time, before taking over the whole fifth grade several years later.
That passion to work at the synagogue and years of heavy involvement ended up helping Medoff when the temple administrator job opened up and she began in the full-time role in August 2023.
And after being involved in Beth Chaverim Reform Congregation for so long, Medoff said the people in the synagogue are like a second family and the building is like a second home to her, which is a major reason why she has so much passion for working there.
She added that while much has changed over the years, the attitude of the congregation has stayed the same. There’s an overall sense of resilience when faced with challenges and they try their best to make everyone feel welcome.
Medoff recounted one story that showcased this attitude perfectly, when they got locked out of a building that they were hosting services at before they had a permanent location.
“We couldn’t get in to do our service. So, we just held services on the doorstep. And that sort of vibe has continued. We do what we do, what we can, and we do our best. And if things don’t quite go the way we thought they would, we still roll with it and we figure out a way to do better,” Medoff said.
Medoff, who is still teaching on top of her new role as temple administrator, is excited to be able to have an impact on the next generation of Jewish kids at Beth Chaverim so they can get the same joy out of participating in the synagogue’s programs and activities that she grew up with and still retains today.
“I love this place — I grew up here and I want to see it continue. COVID did not do us any favors, both in terms of membership and in things to do. We’re bouncing back from that. But it takes effort,” Medoff said. “I want to show future generations that we’re here and have fun and this is awesome. The stuff we do here is so cool and so interesting and I want to show everybody.”
