A Spiritual Home on Wiehle Avenue
Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation sits along Wiehle Avenue in Reston, a planned community in Fairfax County. The congregation's mission statement is plain: "NVHC is our spiritual home, where we connect through community to Judaism that matters." A member of the Union for Reform Judaism, NVHC describes itself as a Reform Jewish community that "embrace[s] innovation, engagement, and exploration." The doors are open to everyone, "regardless of age, race, ethnicity, disability, gender, or sexual identity, whether single or in a relationship, Jewish or non-Jewish."
From the building at 1441 Wiehle Avenue, NVHC runs a busy calendar of weekly worship, religious education for every age, a thriving volunteer choir, social action campaigns, and the small, steady work of a caring community. Members come from across Northern Virginia, drawn by the warmth of the Friday night oneg, the music of Cantor Susan Caro, the teaching of Rabbi Michael Holzman, and the many entry points the congregation offers into Jewish life.
The Mission: A Spiritual Home Built Around Community
NVHC frames its mission around three ideas: spiritual home, community, and Judaism. The synagogue is meant to be "a tabernacle" - a sanctuary where members laugh, cry, study, pray, question, and hold each other with loving kindness. The community gathers "through laughter and tears, in work and in play, while learning and praying, in times of celebration and times of mourning." Judaism, in turn, is "an innovative tradition expressed through text, prayer, music, design, art, dance, humor, and culture," one that "connects us to others, comforts those in need, challenges our intellect, nourishes our souls."
The congregation works hard to live those words. NVHC Cares sends challah, meals, and cards to members in times of need. The Chevra Kadisha supports families arranging funerals. Social action teams work on food insecurity, refugee resettlement, racial justice, environmental sustainability, and reproductive rights. A dedicated inclusion initiative works to make every program welcoming to participants with disabilities, and a small staff and many volunteers keep the whole machine running.
Shabbat at NVHC
Shabbat is the weekly anchor of life at NVHC. The worship is described as "joyous, musical, spiritual, and welcoming."
Friday nights belong to Erev Shabbat services, which begin at 7:00 pm in the sanctuary. Music fills the room: the volunteer adult choir, Kol Shirah, often sings. The service runs roughly an hour and fifteen minutes, and everyone is invited to stay afterward for an oneg Shabbat - a casual reception with light refreshments and conversation. All Friday night services are livestreamed on YouTube for those who cannot attend in person.
Saturday mornings begin at 9:00 am with "Shabbat Sustenance: For the Body, Soul, and Mind." Bagels and coffee sustain the body; Torah study, prayer, meditation, or sometimes yoga feed the soul; and conversation carries the mind. The format has no prerequisites - previous Torah study or Hebrew fluency is not required. When a B'nai Mitzvah or other life cycle event is on the schedule, it follows Shabbat Sustenance.
On the first Saturday of most months, Tot Shabbat brings the youngest members and their families into the sanctuary for a half-hour service designed just for them. Children's music specialist Nell Hirsch leads the singing, and the small worshippers run up to the bimah with the same enthusiasm their parents bring to the main service.
Once a month, the congregation gathers on Saturday evening for Hopps-dalah, an off-site social gathering that combines food and drink with the brief Havdalah ceremony that closes out Shabbat.
Jewish Learning from Birth to Adulthood
Learning, the congregation says, is at the core of Jewish life. NVHC runs a wide arc of programming, from infant singalongs to adult Hebrew and Mussar classes.
Early childhood begins with Punims, a Sunday morning program for children from birth through age three and their parents. Once a month the group gathers to learn, sing, and spend time together. Bonim (Hebrew for "builders") picks up with Pre-K and Kindergarten students and their families, introducing Jewish holidays, values, and the building blocks of synagogue life. Tot Shabbat carries the work into Saturday mornings.
Kehillat Limmud ("Community of Learners") is the religious school for students from Pre-K through 7th grade. It meets on Sunday mornings from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm. The curriculum covers Judaics, Hebrew, and a deepening engagement with Jewish practice. Three youth groups sit alongside the school: Olim ("Ascenders") for 3rd through 5th graders, Chalutzim ("Pioneers") for 6th and 7th graders, and the NoVTY teen group for high schoolers. Each holds about four events a year, social and low-pressure, designed to help children build Jewish friendships outside the classroom.
Tamid is the umbrella for grades 8 through 12. Tamid meets on Sundays and Tuesdays and offers Hebrew, Judaics, Confirmation (a Shavuot-affiliated service in which 10th graders affirm their Jewish identities), and teen programming. Older teens also take part in regional and national Reform youth movements: NFTY (the Union for Reform Judaism's teen network), NFTY-NOVA (a hyper-local group joining teens from four Northern Virginia congregations), and BBYO chapters in the wider area.
Torah Corps is NVHC's distinctive B'nai Mitzvah preparation. In the year leading up to becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, students work in cohorts during their Chalutzim year, learning in a peer-based chevruta (study-partner) setting rather than through private tutoring. Cantor Susan Caro directs the program with the help of teen madrichim (mentors). The cohort model is intentional: students are encouraged to attend one another's B'nai Mitzvah, building friendships that often outlast the ceremony itself.
Lifelong Learning offers adult education across a wide range of topics - Torah study, Biblical Hebrew, Prayer Hebrew, Mussar, Israel, Jewish ethics, and more. Weekly classes include Beginning Prayer Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew 2, and Prayer Hebrew 2, all on Wednesdays. The annual Intro to Judaism course, taught by all three clergy, is designed for interfaith couples, those raising Jewish children, spiritual seekers, individuals considering conversion, and adult Jews who want a deeper grounding. It runs on Tuesday evenings.
A few other regular adult offerings round out the Lifelong Learning calendar. Qeshet ("rainbow"), the LGBTQ+ Torah study group, meets on Tuesday evenings for an hour of Torah portion study open to anyone. A monthly Short Story Discussion Group gathers on the first Monday at 7:30 pm over Zoom to talk through Jewish short stories selected and led by NVHC members. A Distinguished Speaker Series brings scholars, journalists, and public figures to the congregation several times a year.
Music and Kol Shirah
Music sits at the heart of NVHC's worship life. Cantor Susan Caro, a Juilliard-trained flutist and graduate of Hebrew Union College's School of Sacred Music, leads the congregation's music. She is the immediate past president of the American Conference of Cantors, a current fellow of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, and a long-time contributor to the Union for Reform Judaism's worship and music commissions.
Kol Shirah - Hebrew for "the voice of song" - is the volunteer adult choir. Founded in 1968 by Mitch Bender, the choir has been part of NVHC's worship life for nearly six decades. Today it is directed by Dr. Michael Langlois, who also serves as Director of Music at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in Leesburg and pianist at Adas Israel Congregation in Cleveland Park. No auditions are required to join Kol Shirah; members rehearse throughout the year, sing at the monthly Erev Shabbat services, and form a central part of the High Holy Day worship. The choir also gives at least two "sermons-in-song" each year.
Kol Shirah has sung with other Washington-area choirs in concerts of Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, Bloch's Sacred Service, Haydn's Creation, and Handel's Judas Maccabeus, and was part of the recording of Jose Bowen's Jazz Service at Georgetown University. A complete spring concert from 2017 remains available for listening.
Life Cycle Events
Jewish life is built around its seasons and its milestones, and NVHC walks members through both.
Baby naming can take place during a Friday night or Saturday morning service, or at Tot Shabbat, after a meeting with one of the clergy. The ceremony gives the child a Hebrew name and welcomes them into the covenant. Boys may also receive their name at a b'rit milah on the eighth day after birth.
B'nai Mitzvah is the centerpiece of student life. Each ceremony follows the cohort model of Torah Corps, with the student's classmates often present to support. The service itself follows Shabbat Sustenance on Saturday morning.
Conversion is welcomed at NVHC. The Intro to Judaism class is a common on-ramp, and the clergy support candidates through the process.
Bereavement and Yahrzeit are supported by the Chevra Kadisha team, a group of congregants trained to help families arrange funerals, lead Shiva minyans, and provide follow-up. The congregation maintains a Yahrzeit list and reads the names of the departed at services. Members of the clergy are available for pastoral counseling throughout the mourning process.
Weddings and other life cycle events are arranged in conversation with the clergy, as is preparation for an adult B'nai Mitzvah for those who did not have one as a teen.
The High Holy Day Season
The most concentrated period of the year at NVHC is the High Holy Day season, which runs from the Hebrew month of Elul through Sukkot and Simchat Torah.
The journey begins with S'lichot on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah. The Torah scrolls are dressed in their white covers, the melodies of the season are introduced, and a congregational dinner precedes the service.
Rosh Hashanah opens with an Erev Rosh Hashanah service and continues the next day with a Young Family service (held outdoors in a tent), the main morning service, and an afternoon Shofar and Tashlich service at Lake Fairfax Park. Yom Kippur begins with Kol Nidre the night before and continues the next day with the Young Family service, the morning service, an afternoon study, the Yizkor memorial service, and Neilah. A community Break Fast follows in the multipurpose room.
Registration is required for High Holy Day services, both in person and online. Members of other Reform congregations can attend by submitting a URJ Reciprocal Seating Form to Administrative Assistant Mozelle Stanton. During the season, the congregation collects non-perishable food and toiletries for the Cornerstones Emergency Food Pantry.
Beyond the High Holy Days, the calendar moves through Sukkot and Simchat Torah (with the Brotherhood building a sukkah on the property each year), Chanukah, Tu B'Shvat, Purim (with a community celebration, religious school carnival, and hamantashen bake-off), Pesach (including a Second Night Community Seder), Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha'Atzmaut, Lag B'omer (celebrated with a picnic and bonfire at Lake Fairfax Park), Shavuot (with Tikkun Leil Shavuot, Confirmation, and Yizkor), and Tisha B'Av.
Community and Groups
NVHC's social life is organized into a dense web of groups, each with a chair and a clear purpose. Many meet monthly; some meet weekly.
Silver Line gathers the congregation's older adult members for monthly dinners and other activities. Its signature event is the annual Kugel Cafe, a Thanksgiving-season dinner of turkey and camaraderie. A monthly book club for older members meets on the first Saturday at 9:00 am. The NVHC golf league, now in its eighth year, raises thousands of dollars for synagogue programs each season.
Women of NVHC (the Sisterhood) runs a calendar of social events, book discussions, chocolate and champagne brunches, a Mah Jongg tournament, and a long-running Judaica gift shop known as The Boutique at NVHC. Membership is open to anyone who identifies as a woman, with or without children, Jewish or not. The group funds scholarships, B'nai Mitzvah gifts, and congregational engagement programs. Its social action arm coordinates a winter coat drive for Cornerstones, a used cell phone collection for the Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Violence, knit and crochet pieces for Warm Up America, and clothing and toiletries for Women Giving Back.
Brotherhood is the men's parallel organization. It sponsors Sunday Family Breakfasts, Mitzvah Days, and the annual Purim Carnival, and serves as ushers during the High Holy Days.
Middlescence (a play on "adolescence") hosts events for people roughly between 40 and 60, an often difficult stage of life the group aims to make easier through shared meals, outings, and conversation.
MaZel Chav plans monthly game nights and social events for Millennial and Gen X members.
Plant Forward brings together members interested in plant-based eating, from flexitarian to vegan, with bimonthly lunches at local restaurants.
Photography Club meets monthly to share work, develop skills, and hear from guest speakers. Mah Jongg games happen bimonthly, with cards and sets provided. Chavurot - small friendship groups - are forming all the time.
Chibur ("connection") is the college outreach program. Volunteers pack boxes of homemade baked goods, school supplies, and holiday treats and send them to NVHC students at schools across the country.
NVHC's Invisible Illness and Disability Support Group meets on the fourth Monday of each month on Zoom from 7:00 to 8:00 pm, a peer-led space for members and others living with chronic conditions.
Finally, a small but determined contingent meets weekly for A Moment of Mindfulness, a Jewish mindfulness practice held on Zoom, with audio recordings available for those who want to follow along on their own schedule.
NVHC Cares: Acts of Loving Kindness
NVHC Cares is the congregation's pastoral-care network, named for the Hebrew mitzvah of g'milut chasadim, acts of loving kindness. Its mission is to provide acknowledgment of joyful beginnings, solace and support through difficult times, and a network of relationships that can sustain members throughout the journey of their lives.
The work is broken into small teams. Calls volunteers take two-week rotations to reach out to congregants celebrating or grieving. Cards sends notes for births, illness, bereavement, conversions, and adoptions. Challah delivers a fresh loaf to members in difficult times so they can observe Shabbat with something extra on the table. Chaverim ("friends") are trained lay visitors who pay friendly calls to members in need of company. Meals cooks and delivers food during illness, recovery, or bereavement. Rides helps members get to synagogue events. The Chevra Kadisha helps families arrange funerals and Shiva minyans.
All requests go through the clergy or the NVHC Cares team lead. Information shared with volunteers is kept strictly confidential.
Tikkun Olam: Social Action and Repair
NVHC Change is the congregation's social action committee, named for the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, "repair of the world." The committee partners with local and regional organizations including Cornerstones, VOICE, and the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Washington.
Working teams focus on specific issues. The Food Insecurity / Shelter Meal Team organizes volunteer meals at the Cornerstones Hypothermia Shelter and the Embry Rucker Shelter, and works with Helping Hungry Kids to pack food for local elementary schools. The Afghan Refugee Team supports an extended Afghan family, three households, resettling in Northern Virginia. The Ukrainian Refugee Team supports two Ukrainian families in the same process. The Green Team works to reduce NVHC's carbon footprint and educate members about sustainability. The Racial Justice Team engages members and the wider community around equity issues. The Reproductive Rights Team explores ways to support reproductive freedom.
When the federal government has disrupted the lives of Northern Virginia residents through shutdowns, layoffs, or workforce restructuring, the congregation has stepped in as well. A dedicated page links members to the Fairfax County Coordinated Services Planning portal, the JCARING support line for federal workers, the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington's "Navigating Federal Layoffs" guide, the Virginia Career Works site, and other resources. Members with expertise in resume writing and job counseling have offered to help neighbors in transition.
Leadership and Staff
NVHC is led by Senior Rabbi Michael G. Holzman, who has served as the congregation's fourth rabbi since July 2010. Ordained by Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in 2003, Rabbi Holzman previously served as Associate Rabbi of Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia and as Rabbi of B'nei Israel Congregation in San Jose, Costa Rica. He and his wife, Nicole Saffell Holzman, live in Reston with their two children.
Rabbi Ashley Barrett joined the clergy team more recently, bringing energy for building Jewish community and bringing Torah "out of the synagogue and into the minds, hearts, and homes of every Jew from the oldest to the youngest."
Cantor Susan Caro has been part of the NVHC community since her arrival from a long career in congregations in New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles, and Singapore. A Juilliard-trained flutist, an officer of the American Conference of Cantors, and a fellow of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, she shapes the music, the B'nai Mitzvah program, and the pastoral care of the congregation.
Rabbi Rosalind A. Gold, the congregation's Rabbi Emerita, served NVHC for 23 years before her retirement in 2004. She was the first woman rabbi to serve on the CCAR Placement Commission, chaired the CCAR Committee on Ethics and Appeals, and helped found the Brickner Fellows Program at the Religious Action Center. She continues to be active in the congregation and the wider Reform movement.
Joe Miller, the Executive Director, joined NVHC in 2019 as Development Manager for the Nitzavim Capital Campaign and moved into the executive role in August 2020. He came to Reston after ten years as Executive Director of Temple Chai in Phoenix and earlier work in development and student life at Columbia University.
Emily Hummel serves as Director of Congregational Learning, with a master's in Religion from Temple University. Susan Goldsmith is the Engagement and Marketing Coordinator. Joshua Renne-Brown is the Youth Engagement Coordinator, a lifelong Northern Virginia synagogue kid and former music teacher. Mozelle Stanton, who has been with NVHC since August 2007, is the first friendly voice most visitors encounter as Administrative Assistant. Anibal Blanco is the Building Manager, and Dr. Michael Langlois directs Kol Shirah.
The lay leadership is provided by a Board of Trustees led by President Lisa Folb. The congregation is governed by a Constitution and Bylaws most recently amended in 2024.
Visiting NVHC
Visitors are welcome at any service, class, or program. Friday night services are the easiest onramp: they begin at 7:00 pm, last about an hour and fifteen minutes, and are followed by an oneg where newcomers can meet the clergy and other members. Tot Shabbat on the first Saturday of most months is the friendliest entry point for families with very young children. Saturday morning Shabbat Sustenance offers a low-key, no-prerequisite way to explore Torah and prayer.
All Erev Shabbat services are livestreamed on the congregation's YouTube channel for those who live farther away or who prefer to participate from home. High Holy Day services are also available both in person and online, with registration required.
The building is at 1441 Wiehle Avenue in Reston, with plenty of parking on site. Services are primarily in English, with Hebrew liturgy; the rabbis and cantor lead in a style that the congregation describes as joyous, musical, and welcoming.
Those curious about membership, conversion, adult B'nai Mitzvah, religious school enrollment, or any of the many social groups can reach the office at 703-437-7733 during weekday mornings, or stop in for a chat. The congregation's gift shop, The Boutique at NVHC, is open during Sunday school hours and by appointment, with a wide selection of Judaica, holiday items, and gifts. Giving, event space requests, and volunteer sign-ups are all available through the online member portal.
Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation continues to grow, fed by the steady rhythms of Shabbat, the energy of its learning programs, the music of Kol Shirah, the steady work of NVHC Cares, and the many smaller circles of community that form and reform around shared meals, shared study, and shared service. The Wiehle Avenue building is the physical home; the Judaism that happens inside it is what members mean when they say their spiritual home.