Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah Congregation of Olney
| Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah Congregation of Olney | |
|---|---|
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 18320 Georgia Avenue, Olney, Maryland 20832 |
| Country | United States |
  Location within Maryland | |
| Geographic coordinates | 39°09′26″N 77°03′59″W / 39.157222°N 77.066389°W |
| Architecture | |
| Date established | 1995 (as a congregation) |
| Groundbreaking | 2004 |
| Completed | 2005 |
| Website | |
| osttolney | |
Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah Congregation of Olney, commonly known as OSTT, is an Orthodox synagogue located at 18320 Georgia Avenue, in Olney, Maryland, in the United States.
History
[edit]The OSTT was founded in 1995 by fourteen families in the Olney community, holding services in a private home on Georgia Avenue.[1]
OSTT started as a branch of Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah Congregation of Washington, D.C., now known as Ohev Sholom - The National Synagogue; and OSTT became independent in 2001–2005. However the formation of the new spin-off congregation resulted in a legal conflict.[2] Eventually a lower US court's decision was overturned by the Appeals Court of the District of Columbia in 2005 that sent the case for arbitration in a beit din. At dispute was the financial control of common assets between the older National Synagogue located in Washington, D.C., and the newer one of the spin-off OSTT congregation located in Olney, that borders on the original "older" neighborhood.[3][4]
By 2014 OSTT was independent and had expanded under the leadership of Rabbi Shaya Milikowsky for ten years. Milikowsky is an alumnus of Ner Israel Yeshiva of Baltimore, Maryland, and a former president of the Association for Jewish Outreach Programs. As noted by historian Adam Ferziger, in the late 1990s Milikowsky led a Jewish outreach training program known as "MAOR" at the Ner Israel Yeshiva in Baltimore[5][6] and still runs it from OSTT.
Affiliations
[edit]OSTT of Olney works in conjunction with the Friedman Kollel of Metropolitan Washington that is headed by Rabbi Eliezer Lachman.[7] A kollel is an institution devoted to higher Talmudic studies, at times it also serves the Jewish adult education needs in various communities, as in the case of OSTT utilizing the rabbis and scholars at the Friedman Kollel of Metropolitan Washington.[8] Milikowsky's pioneering work in the interplay between rabbinic, synagogue, kollel, Jewish outreach and Jewish communal life has been noted by scholars such as Adam Ferziger.[9]
The synagogue works in conjunction with the Jewish Family Center of Northern Montgomery County (or: Center for Jewish Living and Learning of Northern Montgomery County)[10] a Jewish educational outreach organization that is located on adjoining premises.[11]
The synagogue headed by Rabbi Shaya Milikowsky, is affiliated with the Rabbinical Council of Greater Washington[12] the main Orthodox kosher supervision agency in the Washington metropolitan area. In addition to the synagogue and kollel, Milikowsky continues to control and head the "MAOR" Orthodox Jewish outreach organization at the same location as the synagogue.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "Synagogue History". Ohev Sholom – The National Synagogue. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
- ^ Murphy, Caryle (November 11, 2002). "D.C.'s Oldest Orthodox Synagogue a House Divided". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2014 – via HighBeam Research.
Members of Washington's oldest Orthodox synagogue are involved in a bitter internal battle over its future, reflecting the dilemma of many longtime District congregations: Does survival require relocating to the suburbs? The dispute at Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah pits a group of mostly elderly members who live near the Northwest D.C. synagogue against a faction of mostly younger members who live in suburban Maryland and worship at an Olney branch of the main synagogue. The older members say they fear that the Olney group is trying to gain control of the synagogue board so it can sell the 30,000-square- foot building at 16th and Jonquil streets NW, which is assessed at $3 million, in order to finance construction of a $1 million worship and learning center in Olney.
- ^ "David MESHEL, et al., Appellants, v. OHEV SHOLOM TALMUD TORAH, et al., Appellees. No. 03-CV-952. Decided: March 10, 2005". District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Retrieved 25 July 2014 – via caselaw.findlaw.com.
- ^ Murphy, Caryle (May 29, 2005). "Dispute Sends City Synagogue From Court to Court". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ Ferziger, Adam S. (2005). Between Outreach and "Inreach": Redrawing the Lines of the American Orthodox Rabbinate: MAOR Program. Oxford University Press. p. 243 (7–9 on PDF copy). Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ Ner Leelef (January–March 2004). "Kollelim" (PDF). Nitzotzot Min HaNer. 16. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ "Staff: Leadership: Rabbi Shaya Milikowsky, Founder and Nasi [President]". The Rabbi Samuel and Zehava Friedman Kollel of Metropolitan Washington. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ "The Friedman Kollel of Metropolitan Washington". Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah Congregation of Olney, Maryland. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
The Rabbi Samuel and Zehava Friedman Kollel of Metropolitan Washington offers ongoing shiurium and classes, and in addition, Friedman Kollel members are available for one-on-one chavrusa learning with members of the community. The kollel currently consists of: Leadership: Rabbi Shaya Milikowsky, Founder and Nasi; Rabbi Eliezer Lachman, Rosh Kollel. Scholars: Rabbi Elyakim Milikowsky, Director of Community Learning; Rabbi Yonah Sklare, Rosh Chaburah, Rabbi Ariel Fogel, Rabbi Avrohom Kram, Rabbi Binyomin Cohen.
- ^ Ferziger, Adam S. (2009). Chipman, Yehonatan (ed.). Centered on Study: Typologies of the American Community Kollel (PDF). Bar Ilan University, Israel: The Rappaport Center for Assimilation Research and Strengthening Jewish Vitality: Bar Ilan University – Faculty of Jewish Studies, Bar Ilan University. ISBN 978-9657307168. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ "About Us". Jewish Family Center of Northern Montgomery County. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ Hogan, Terri (April 14, 2014). "Jewish congregation plans new synagogue off Georgia Avenue". Maryland Community News. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
The orthodox community plans to remove two existing single-family homes on the property of Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah Congregation, 18320 Georgia Ave., combining the parcels into a single property, and build a house of worship...In addition to synagogue services, the building will likely house a Hebrew school on the weekends, and a daycare center during the week.
- ^ "Affiliated Congregations". The Rabbinical Council of Greater Washington. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
