Beth Am

{{Short description|Conservative synagogue in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Infobox religious building | name = Beth Am | native_name = {{langx|he|ב'ת אם}} | native_name_lang = | image = Beth-am-synagogue-former-chizuk-amuno-synagogue-1922-joseph-evans-sperry-architect-ad8d76-1024.jpg | image_upright = 1.4 | alt = | caption = The Beth Am synagogue building in 2019. | religious_affiliation = [[Conservative Judaism]] | tradition = | sect = | district = | prefecture = | province = | region = | deity = | rite = | festival =  | organisational_status = [[Synagogue]] | ownership = | governing_body = | leadership = [[Rabbi]] Daniel Cotzin Burg | bhattaraka = | patron = | consecration_year = | functional_status = Active | religious_features_label = | religious_features = | location = [[Reservoir Hill]], [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]] | locale = | municipality = | cercle = | state = | country = United States | map_type = USA Baltimore | map_size = 250 | map_alt = | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = Location in [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]] | grid_name = | grid_position = | sector = | territory = | administration = | coordinates = {{coord|39|18|53|N|76|38|16|W|region:US-MD_type:landmark|display=it}} | coordinates_footnotes = | heritage_designation = | architect = | architecture_type = | architecture_style = | founded_by = | creator = | funded_by = | general_contractor = | established = 1974 {{small|(as a congregation)}} | groundbreaking = | year_completed = 1922 | construction_cost = | date_demolished =  | facade_direction = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | interior_area = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | site_area = | temple_quantity = | monument_quantity = | shrine_quantity = | inscriptions = | materials = | elevation_m =  | elevation_footnotes = | nrhp = | designated = | added = | refnum = | delisted1_date = | website = {{URL|bethambaltimore.org}} | module =  | footnotes = }} '''Beth Am''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: בת' אם, <small>[[Literal translation|lit.]] </small>'House of the People') is a [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] [[Judaism|Jewish]] congregation and [[synagogue]] located in the [[Reservoir Hill]] community of [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]], in the United States. It is one of two non-[[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] synagogues in Baltimore's [[inner city]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.forward.com/articles/12697/ |title=The Shul that Stayed in Baltimore |first=Anthony |last=Weiss|date=13 February 2008 |work=[[The Forward]] |access-date=29 December 2010}}</ref> The current congregation was formed in 1974 by [[Louis L. Kaplan|Dr. Louis L. Kaplan]] and other congregants after [[Chizuk Amuno Congregation|Chizuk Amuno]] put the building up for sale.

Beth Am is an urban, egalitarian congregation affiliated with the [[United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-05 |title=I’m New Here {{!}} Beth Am Synagogue {{!}} Conservative Synagogue in Baltimore, MD |url=https://bethambaltimore.org/about/im-new-here/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==History== The building currently known as "Beth Am" was first founded as Chizuk Amuno Congregation.<ref name="Sandler">{{cite book |last=Sandler |first=Gilbert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3UlavZkteU4C&pg=PA181 |title=Jewish Baltimore: A Family Album |publisher=JHU Press |year=2000 |isbn=0801864275}}</ref> The [[Byzantine revival|Byzantine]]-[[Moorish Revival architecture|Moorish]] structure at 2501 Eutaw Place, built in 1922, was designed by renowned local architect [[Joseph Evans Sperry]].<ref>{{Cite web |author=Staff Report |date=2020-11-02 |title=Baltimore Heritage Offers a Look at Beth Am Synagogue and Baltimore's Jewish History |url=https://jmoreliving.com/2020/11/02/baltimore-heritage-offers-a-look-at-beth-am-synagogue-and-baltimores-jewish-history/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=JMORE |language=en-US}}</ref> The stone, triple-arched building was reportedly modeled after [[Great Synagogue of Florence|Tempio Maggiore]], the Great Synagogue of [[Florence]].<ref>{{Cite web |author=Staff Report |date=2020-11-02 |title=Baltimore Heritage Offers a Look at Beth Am Synagogue and Baltimore's Jewish History |url=https://jmoreliving.com/2020/11/02/baltimore-heritage-offers-a-look-at-beth-am-synagogue-and-baltimores-jewish-history/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=JMORE |language=en-US}}</ref> Chizuk Amuno first occupied the building in 1922 and moved to a new location in [[Pikesville, Maryland|Pikesville]] in 1958.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=weL9M46TcU8C&pg=PA161|title=The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook|first=Kerry M. |last=Olitzky|author-link=Kerry Olitzky|year=1996|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=0313288569 |pages=161–162}}</ref>

Following the move of Chizuk Amuno, services continued in the building, led by Cantor Abba Weisgall. Then, in 1974, the current Beth Am congregation was founded as "Kaplan's Shul" by Dr. Louis L. Kaplan, retired president of [[Baltimore Hebrew University]], and other congregants who wanted to remain in the neighborhood.<ref name=Sandler/> Kaplan's wife Etta Jenkins suggested the name Beth Am, which translates to "House of the People".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-05 |title=Our History {{!}} Beth Am Synagogue |url=https://bethambaltimore.org/about/our-history/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Kaplan served informally as the congregation's spiritual leader until 1981, when the congregation hired its first full-time rabbi, Rabbi Earl Jordan. [https://www.baltimoresun.com/2014/12/16/forty-years-later-an-urban-synagogue-celebrates-its-birth/ The] first president of the congregation was Efrem Potts, Louis L. Kaplan's son-in-law through his marriage to Deborah Kaplan Potts.<ref>{{cite web |date=16 December 2014 |title=Forty years later, an urban synagogue celebrates its birth |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/bs-md-beth-am-hanukkah-20141212-story.html |accessdate=2023-06-06 |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=November 2017 |title=Beth Am's Gem: Efrem Potts |url=https://www.jewishtimes.com/beth-ams-gem-efrem-potts/ |accessdate=2023-06-06 |work=[[The Baltimore Jewish Times]]}}</ref>

The congregation had no full-time rabbi in the years 2000–2002, when they were served part-time by Rabbi Sheila Russian, who in 1979 had become the first female rabbi in Baltimore.<ref name="bethambaltimore">{{cite web |title=File unreadable |url=http://bethambaltimore.org/about_beth_am/betham-bulletin-0803.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119233241/http://www.bethambaltimore.org/about_beth_am/betham-bulletin-0803.pdf |archive-date=November 19, 2008 |access-date=3 April 2015}}</ref>

In 2019 the synagogue underwent a major $5.5 million renovation that added new classrooms, a grand new staircase, and a redesigned sanctuary.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beth Am celebrates $5.5M overhaul in city - Baltimore Sun |url=https://digitaledition.baltimoresun.com/tribune/article_popover.aspx?guid=1a147d26-aa51-4c17-a5e9-d4cab75fe531 |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=digitaledition.baltimoresun.com}}</ref> The renovation was awarded the 2020 Baltimore Heritage Preservation Award.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-21 |title=Baltimore Heritage 2020 Preservation Award Winners - Baltimore Heritage |url=https://baltimoreheritage.org/baltimore-heritage-2020-preservation-award-winners/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Leadership== The rabbi as of October 2024 is Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg, who joined the congregation in 2010. The Rabbi Emeritus is Jon Konheim,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/cover_story/conservative_judaism_thrives_in_baltimore_but_troubled_nationwide/14118 |title=Conservative Judaism Thrives in Baltimore, but Troubled Nationwide |website=[[The Baltimore Jewish Times]] |page=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026175613/http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/cover_story/conservative_judaism_thrives_in_baltimore_but_troubled_nationwide/14118 |archive-date=October 26, 2009}}</ref> who has been with the congregation since 2002.

The associate rabbi and director of Beth Am's educational programs as of 2024 is Tyler Dratch who joined the congregation in July 2021. The Cantor Emeritus is Ira Greenstein who served as [[hazzan]] from 2000 to 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-02 |title=Our Clergy {{!}} Beth Am Synagogue |url=https://bethambaltimore.org/about/our-rabbis/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The congregation is administered by a number of committees over which its executive director and board of trustees presides. The executive direct as of October 2024 is Alex Pomerantz.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-05 |title=Our Community Leadership {{!}} Beth Am Synagogue |url=https://bethambaltimore.org/about/our-community-leadership/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Services and programs == === Religious services === As of 2024, Beth Am holds weekly services on [[Shabbat]] including a kiddush lunch. The synagogue also hosts once a month services on Friday evenings.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-17 |title=Celebrate Shabbat {{!}} Beth Am Synagogue |url=https://bethambaltimore.org/pray/celebrate-shabbat/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |language=en-US}}</ref> Additionally, Beth Am holds services for all Jewish holidays.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-05 |title=Holidays/Festivals {{!}} Beth Am Synagogue |url=https://bethambaltimore.org/pray/holidays-festivals/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |language=en-US}}</ref> Beth Am also hosts both [[Bar and bat mitzvah|B'nai Mitzvahs]] and Weddings.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-05 |title=B’nai Mitzvah {{!}} Beth Am Synagogue |url=https://bethambaltimore.org/milestones/bnai-mitzvah/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-05 |title=Weddings {{!}} Beth Am Synagogue |url=https://bethambaltimore.org/milestones/weddings/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Education === Beth Am operates a Jewish education program for students in Kindergarten through the seventh grade called Jewish Discovery Lab. Students explore Hebrew, Jewish prayer, and other topics.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2021-04-17 |title=Youth Education {{!}} Beth Am Synagogue {{!}} Conservative Synagogue in Baltimore, MD |url=https://bethambaltimore.org/learn/youth-education/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Beth Am also offers an advocacy program for ninth and tenth graders in which students collaborate on legislative campaigns in Baltimore City or at the [[Maryland State House]].<ref name=":0" />

== See also == * [[History of the Jews in Maryland]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{official website|http://bethambaltimore.org/}}

[[Category:1974 establishments in Maryland]] [[Category:20th-century synagogues in the United States]] [[Category:Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Baltimore]] [[Category:Conservative synagogues in Maryland]] [[Category:Jewish organizations established in 1974]] [[Category:Reservoir Hill, Baltimore]] [[Category:Synagogues completed in 1922]] [[Category:Synagogues in Baltimore]]