Avodah Honors to be Awarded to Six WHC Members

An additional highlight of the Annual Meeting at Temple on Monday, June 5 at 7:00 pm is the presentation of Washington Hebrew Congregation’s Avodah Honors Awards. We are proud to recognize the “avodah” – good deeds in the form of service and work – displayed by the following six people and the impact their efforts have had on both Washington Hebrew Congregation and the greater community. Mazel tov!

Daniel M. Caplan

Dan has been a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation since 1994. A past participant of The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington’s Young Leadership Development Program and the Anti-Defamation League’s Steinberg Leadership Institute, and a graduate of the School for Advanced Jewish Studies, Dan has put his training to use at WHC and throughout the greater community. He sat on WHC’s Board of Directors from 2004 to 2016; and was the Religious School 7th Grade Coordinator until 2015, President of Brotherhood, and a Team Leader for Mitzvah Day’s blood drive. Currently, Dan sits on the Budget and Finance Committee, is a “red apron” with the WHC Hunger Project, and leads both lay-led Shabbat and shiva minyan services. In the greater community, Dan also leads Shabbat services at Ring House and serves on Montgomery County’s Advisory Committee on Consumer Protection. He is also President of the Promenade Towers Mutual Housing Corporation, and a volunteer instructor for both Junior Achievement and Housing and Community Initiatives, which provides first-time home buyer education to low and moderate income families. Dan and his wife, Shelley, are the parents of Hillary and Carter. They reside in Rockville, Maryland.

Janet Katz

Janet Katz has been a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation for over 20 years. She has served on the WHC Board of Directors since 2012 and currently sits on WHC’s Executive Committee, serving as Secretary. Janet is also a member of the Budget and Finance Committee, the Professional Development Committee, the Youth Committee, and the Tikkun Olam Values Committee. Janet tirelessly serves the Carrie Simon House as the Volunteer Executive Director, Chair of the Carrie Simon House Volunteer Committee, and as a mentor to alumni of the program. She has also been involved in a wide range of Temple activities: she is a past Mitzvah Day Chair and Co-Chair, a past Chair of Tuesday Trimmings and Mitzvah Monday, and was active with the Early Childhood Center, Youth, and Religious School Committees. Janet’s many contributions to youth include working with WHC B’nei Mitzvah students on their mitzvah projects and serving on the Adult Board of Directors for the D.C. Council of BBYO. She is a mentor to breast cancer patients and survivors and participates in annual cancer walks.  Janet and her husband, Rick, have one daughter, Frankie, who became a Bat Mitzvah and was confirmed at WHC.

Dorothy Kornhauser

Dorothy Kornhauser is a fourth generation member of Washington Hebrew Congregation. Her commitment to volunteerism began when she worked at the Stage Door Canteen during World War II with her grandmother, Rosie Wender. This commitment to community service has been a part of Dorothy’s life view. Dorothy has served two terms on the WHC Board of Directors and as Board liaison to the WHC Library. She serves on the Worship and Music Committee and has participated in every Mitzvah Day since its inception. For more than eight years, Dorothy has worked in the Temple Archives and can be depended upon to serve as a Greeter at Shabbat and High Holy Day services. Dorothy served on the Israel Bonds Membership Committee and since 1979, has worked closely with her husband, Lou, to coordinate the collection of used eyeglasses, which are recycled for distribution to the needy. Dorothy was a co-founder of the Cancer Award League, and she has worked tirelessly for the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington where she served as President of the Women’s Auxiliary. Married to Lou Kornhauser for over 18 years, Dorothy and Lou have an extended family that includes five grandchildren, eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Faye Levin

Faye has been a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation for over 20 years. She was a member of the Board of Directors for 10 years and sat on the Executive Committee as Secretary. Faye’s involvement in Temple life is broad-based and meaningful. She is a co-chair of the Tikkun Olam Values Committee, which oversees the TOV Fund and coordinates many of WHC’s social justice initiatives. She has also served as Co-Chair of the Religious School Committee and the Edlavitch-Tyser Family Relations Forum. Faye’s participation on the Temple’s Long Range Strategic Planning Committee helped to establish an actionable foundation from which the Temple was able to grow and thrive. She has also served as Chair and Vice Chair of Mitzvah Day and has worked on Rabbinic Search Committees. In the wider community, Faye serves on the Board of Monument Academy Public Charter School, chaired the Board at the Edmund Burke School, and sat on the Board of Directors at Georgetown Day School and the regional Board of the Anti-Defamation League. She has also helped manage the annual Library of Congress National Book Festival. Faye and her husband, Harvey, have four children: Adam, Lexi, Beth and her husband Brian, and Robin and her husband Evan. They also have four grandchildren: Asher and Andi Dubin, and Max and Sophie Hammerman.

Marsha Pinson

Marsha has been a member of Washington Hebrew for over 45 years, where she volunteered to enhance the lives of adults and children alike, helping Rabbi Weinberg write the Funeral Practices Booklet and braiding challah with 3rd graders. She has been a member of or chaired numerous WHC Committees, including Religious School, Worship and Music, Rabbinic Search, Caring, Cemetery Development, Long Range Planning, and Professional Review. She was twice a member of WHC’s Board of Directors and served on the Executive Committee. Marsha also served on the Board of a Montgomery County nonprofit mental health clinic. A volunteer at the Sidwell Friends School for more than 30 years, she generously gave time and energy to its Parents Association, auction, and the needs of its three schools. She was among the first Adult B’nei Mitzvah at WHC and taught 6th grade in Religious School and Hebrew to adults. She teaches preschool now. Marsha and her late husband, Marty, chose to live across the street from WHC, which enabled her to host a variety of guests for the Temple and the RAC. She is the mother of David and Adam Vine, Rachel and Max Pinson, and Max’s wife, Megan.

Cathy Zeman Scheineson

Cathy has been a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation for 27 years. She has served on the Board of Directors since 2012 and is co-chair of the Community Issues Social Action Committee. Cathy participates in the Temple’s tikkun olam efforts, including Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, and serves on WHC’s task force concerning immigration issues. Cathy serves on the Anti-Defamation League’s Washington, D.C. Regional Board Executive Committee and as Treasurer and a Board member of Hope House. She was a co-chair of the D.C. Bar Association’s Health Law Steering Committee. Cathy is very active in her law firm’s pro bono program. In 2012, she received McDermot Will and Emery’s award for “Outstanding Achievement and Commitment to Pro Bono and Service to the Community,” was recognized by the American Health Lawyers Association as a Pro Bono Champion, and has worked with the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights’ D.C. Public School Partnership Program. Cathy has also advocated for tenants’ rights, disabled children, and the empowerment of minority girls and women. She continues to represent numerous clients seeking political asylum in the United States. Cathy and her husband, Marc, reside in McLean, Virginia and have two children, Andrew and Sara.