Rabbis' Study

Olam Tikvah is fortunate to have two dedicated, active, and caring rabbis. They enjoy their involvement with the congregation at many different levels: from preschool to Hazak (our seniors' group), from intellectual study to spiritual counseling, from spending time with individuals to celebrating with large groups of congregants.

Saying Todah Rabbah: Shabbat Dinner in Honor of the Ben-Gideons. Friday, May 16, 6:15, services and dinner to follow.  After five years of spiritual leadership, guidance and friendship, Congregation Olam Tikvah would like to wish the Ben-Gideon family all the best in their new endeavor and say thank you for their five years of service to our community. Please join us for Shabbat services and dinner in their honor. Invitations were mailed in late March. RSVP by May 1. If you need information about the dinner or costs, please call the office.

David Kalender, Senior Rabbi

A native of Kansas City, Rabbi David Kalender came to Olam Tikvah in August 1998. He holds a BA in English from Columbia University and a BA and an MA in Jewish History from The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS). He was ordained by JTS in 1993.

Rabbi Kalender grew up in an active Conservative congregation and came to gradually embrace tradition through it, his family and Camp Ramah. As he neared the end of his university training, he realized that he wanted to devote his life's work to helping others find the satisfaction that comes from living a life within a traditional Jewish framework.

Rabbi Kalender's focus is on helping individual congregants increase their Jewish knowledge and practice. At this point, the congregation has over 60 lay Torah readers and Shlichei Tzibor, representing age groups from post-b'nai mitzvah up. Enthusiasm for classes of all kinds is burgeoning—among them Melton classes, Shacharit 101, Introduction to Judaism, Mishnah, Parsha study and book discussions. Jewish tradition teaches us that no matter where we are or what we know, there’s always room for growth.

That is what has made Olam Tikvah such a perfect fit for the Kalenders. OT is filled with people eager to embrace the pleasures of vibrant Jewish life, fusing the past with the present, in order to advance together into the future. In the "heart of Jewish Fairfax," OT has become a warm community, growing from strength to strength.

Rabbi Kalender and his wife Talya, who teaches at Gesher Jewish Day School, are the parents of Aryeh, Yaira and Nadav. Look for them on the basketball courts, soccer and baseball fields and bike trails of Fairfax County.

Joshua Ben-Gideon, Associate Rabbi

Rabbi Joshua Ben-Gideon was born and raised in Albany, NY. Although his first experience of affiliation with a congregation did not occur until he was in high school, the experience of being taken in by this new community and the deep friendships he made in the youth group had a profound effect on the course of his life.

After majoring in Political Science and Public Policy as an undergraduate at the State University of New York at Albany (1992), Rabbi Ben-Gideon decided that he wanted to work with people in a more personal setting. He turned to the rabbinate as the path that would allow him to help people deepen their connections to the Jewish people and to God.

While in rabbinical school at the Jewish Theological Seminary (2003), he met his wife, Rabbi Rebecca Ben-Gideon, and in his final year their twins, Lena and Vered, were born. Their son Noam was born four years later (2006) in Fairfax. At the end of his studies, he was delighted to find the Olam Tikvah community to begin his career.

One aspect that drew him to Olam Tikvah was the sense of earnestness that the people he met had about their lives and about their Judaism. He says, “I knew in my gut that these were people I wanted to be with, to teach and to learn from. I also knew from the way Rabbi Kalender described his vision of community that I wanted to be a part of bringing that into existence.” Rabbi Ben-Gideon’s personal vision includes a continued deepening of awareness of God in daily life through prayer, study, tzedakah and living in community.

Rabbi Ben-Gideon has enjoyed designing and teaching classes that help congregants access our deep and rich spiritual heritage. Shacharit 101 and an Amidah class have enabled people to find their place in our liturgy; two Talmud classes and a parsha class have helped them approach and define their own place in our abundant textual tradition.

Over the past years, Rabbi Ben-Gideon has worked with Rabbi Kalender to enrich the OT b’nai mitzvah experience, to help infuse the preparations for that moment and the day itself with kedusha, holiness. Rabbi Ben-Gideon especially enjoys working with Olam Tikvah’s youth. In that role, he has helped reinvigorate both the social and the educational programming for our high school students.

Rabbi Ben-Gideon is also involved in numerous community activities. He is a volunteer for Federation and works to bring about interfaith understanding by participating in dialogues and speaking to congregations of other faiths about Judaism.

He enjoys staying fit by running and flexible through yoga practice. He also enjoys smoking just about any kosher meat in his smoker.

3800 Glenbrook Road · Fairfax, Virginia  22031 · phone 703-425-1880  · fax 703-425-0835  · info@olamtikvah.org

© 2006-2008 Congregation Olam Tikvah.  All rights reserved.  About this site.