BETH SHOLOM HONOREES - 2022/5782
PILLARS OF THE COMMUNITY:
BEN GALPER
SHELLEY & LESTER SEVERE
ELLEN WERNER SHALLER
YOUTH HONOREES:
ADAM DREXLER JUDY FIELD
BEN GALPER
Ben and Merav Galper, together with their children, moved to Potomac five years ago and were immediately welcomed with open arms by the Beth Sholom community. Ben quickly became involved in Beth Sholom, coordinating the “Docs on Call” program which organized health care practitioners in the community to be available in each High Holiday service to ensure that medical emergencies were handled in a calm and orderly fashion.
Three years ago, Ben was elected to the Shul Board of Directors and, on the Board, served as Chair of the New Member Welcoming Committee which focused on developing programming to introduce new members to the shul and help build relationships between new and existing members. Two years ago, Ben was elected to the Executive Committee of the shul where he has served as Vice President.
Ben’s involvement in the shul substantially increased with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when he was asked to serve as the Chair of the shul Reopening Committee and worked with fellow honoree Ellen Warner Shaller on the Health Committee. Ben worked with rabbinic and lay leadership to ensure that shul members at all stages in life remained connected to each other and the community. Ben is proud of the Beth Sholom community and how we endured the pandemic working together to create an environment focused on the health and safety of its members.
Ben, Merav, and their three children, Jonathan (age 10), Ella (age 6), and Maya (age 2) are so thankful for the incredible community we have at Beth Sholom and look forward to continuing to support our shul so that it continues to grow and thrive for years to come.
SHELLEY & LESTER SEVERE
Two score and three years ago, Shelley and Lester Severe moved to Potomac and joined Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah. They were following the advice of Shelley’s late mother, Lil Feingold, who insisted, “You belong to the shul in your neighborhood!” Little did they suspect just how literally they would keep Lil’s sage counsel over the next four-plus decades.
Early on, Lester took to sprucing up the grounds of the shul’s modest cinderblock building on Seven Locks Road, cutting grass, planting bushes, and growing flowers. His green thumb has carried over to our current structure, and Lester has put in countless hours on his own to ensure the synagogue’s exterior reflects credit on our congregation. He also draws upon his expertise in property management to guide the upkeep and improvement of vital building functions. “I want members to be proud of and to enjoy our building,” Lester says. “Community is critical. If you want to benefit from a community, you have to be willing to do your share.”
To say they give generously of their time and energy to Beth Sholom is an understatement. Both have served for many years on the Beth Sholom Board of Directors and Executive Committee, Shelley as treasurer and vice president and Lester on the budget and building committees. Shelley is now active with the social action committee and with the shul’s involvement with the women’s shelter and helping Afghan refugees.
The biggest undertaking by Lester has been the restoration of the exterior of the building. This involved finding and assessing the capabilities of various vendors, agreeing on a scope of work, negotiating a contract with favorable pricing and supervision of the work in progress to assure that the finished project would meet the architectural and aesthetic needs of our congregation and the image we wished to project of a modern and attractive building.
ELLEN WERNER SHALLER
Ellen and Elliot moved to Potomac in 2005 and immediately joined Beth Sholom. She organized a group of knitters and crocheters who made blankets for Operation Embrace and the Hebrew Home; is a member of the Book Club and the Chesed Committee and is a coordinator for the Midday Mixers. She has volunteered with the Chevra Kadisha, Ateres Yisrael Chabad Mikvah and Bikkur Cholim. She had a distinguished career at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the NIH.
Once COVID-19 struck, Ellen volunteered her services as an epidemiologist by serving on the Beth Sholom Reopening Committee and chairing the Health Committee. She was fortunate to work with the Committee members whose expertise in medicine and public health enabled them to develop guidelines and best practices specific to Beth Sholom’s needs and demographics.
Elliot and Ellen are the proud and loving parents of Aharon, Ilana, Michal, Alex, and Amy z”l, and grandparents of Tuvia, Odelya, Ephraim, Levi, Chasya, Avigael and Alma. Although Ellen is known variously as Dr. Werner, Ellen Werner Shaller and Mrs. Shaller, her favorite title is “Bubbe.”
YOUTH HONOREES
ADAM DREXLER
Adam has been a member of Beth Sholom his whole life. He attended pre-school at the ECC, and has been a regular in shul since he was very small. Since middle school, he has leyned at various minyanim. As Adam entered high school, he became involved in shul youth programming. He has been a driving force behind our Potomac Bnei Akiva chapter since its inception in 2017, and has served as a Bnei Akiva “Rosh” throughout high school. In this role, he has organized and led programming for youth on Shabbat, as well as special events.
Adam is an athlete who enjoys many sports, and has focused most in the last few years on basketball and tennis. During the height of the pandemic, Adam created a basketball camp for kids in our neighborhood. Many Beth Sholom boys enjoyed the sports (and ice cream pops).
Adam graduated from JDS in February and is currently in Israel, enjoying a semester abroad at the AMHSI program. Adam plans to study political science and philosophy in college.
JUDY FIELD
Avid dance student since age three and self-taught ukulele enthusiast since the pandemic, Judy is currently a senior at Berman Hebrew Academy and alumnus of Beth Sholom ECC. Her initial shul responsibilities began as a Torah Tots assistant, helping maintain order at the age of two. She went on to lead chagim youth groups and become Rosh of Bnei Akiva events as well as President of the board of our local NCSY chapter. At Bnei Akiva she has led children’s activities, helped plan parsha-focused programming, and trained other young leaders.
She has enjoyed working with kids in our community as a babysitter, backyard camp counselor, and Hebrew tutor. Judy is grateful for many great experiences with other Beth Sholom teens, including participating in the a capella group, Kol Teen, Women’s Tefillah, and leyning Megillat Ruth on Shavuot.
Our vibrant and nurturing community has helped shape her as a person, and she looks forward to contributing more in the future after returning from a year in Israel.