Originally called Centreville Area Jewish Community, Temple Beth Torah began in the summer of 1994 when two Jewish families placed an ad in a local newspaper seeking other Jewish families with whom to share holidays and traditions. A couple of weeks and over 40 phone calls later, we gathered for our first meeting and service and “Centreville Area Jewish Community” was born. We formed an organizing body in early 1995, establishing a dues-paying membership. As we continued to grow in membership, programs, and services, we hired a Rabbi, Cantorial Soloist, and an Education Director. In 1999, we affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism and changed our name to Temple Beth Torah, which better represents our Jewish heritage and core values to the Jewish community of Northern Virginia.

TBT was blessed to have Rabbi Kenneth B. Block serve as our first rabbi. Rabbi Block retired in May 2025 and now serves as our first Rabbi Emeritus. For 25 years he made spirituality and Judaism approachable to all our members, including non-Jewish members of interfaith couples/families, who found a supportive and comfortable home at TBT. Rabbi Block is open, warm, and often humorous with a unique ability to welcome all people, while making Judaism and its long history easy to understand and practice. We will always miss his regular presence on our Bimah and at all TBT functions, but are fortunate that he has stayed on as Rabbi Emeritus and left us in very capable hands. His protégé, Student Rabbi Lauren Laird, served as our Cantorial Soloist for seven years, while simultaneously being mentored by Rabbi Block. Now serving as our Spiritual Leader/Student Rabbi, she maintains her cantorial responsibilities and is expected to finish her Rabbinical studies and be ordained in 2025.