Jewish History

Baltimore's historic Lloyd Street Synagogue was almost torn down in the late 1950s to make way for a parking lot. An architect was hired to prepare scale drawings of the structure, so there would be a record of it after it was gone. Now the 1845 building is bustling with activity, after a $1 million restoration and the opening of a lower-level gallery designed to extend its reach as a center of education and tourism. The Jewish Museum of Maryland, which now owns the synagogue, opened the gallery Sunday as the latest addition to its Herbert Bearman campus.

While I agree that how President Obama (or any president) might respond to an Israeli military strike in Iran is an important topic for any voter to consider, including Jewish voters, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich's rambling discussion of the topic is way off the mark ("Can Jews be sure of Obama's commitment to Israel," Sept. 2). He seems of touch with most American Jewish voters. To suggest that Jewish citizens vote Democrat out of "habit" is insulting. Jewish voters are not one-issue voters (i.e.

The Historical Society of Carroll County is displaying We Call This Place Home: Jewish Life in Maryland's Small Towns, an exhibit produced by the Jewish Museum of Maryland. The exhibit tells the story of Jewish merchants and other Jewish residents who established roots in small communities across Maryland. Stories and artifacts from several of Carroll County's Jewish merchants and families are featured, including pieces from the former Kann's Department Store, the Rosenstock Store, artifacts from Beth Shalom Congregation in Taylorsville, and items on loan from the Weiner and Holniker families in Eldersburg.

A couple years ago, African-American artist Loring Cornish was focusing his creativity on works that addressed the civil rights movement. When a Jewish couple, Ellen and Paul Saval, bought some other pieces of his, Cornish went to their home to hang the art. By the time he was finished, "something came over me," he said. "I don't what it was. But I realized then that I had to include the struggles of the Jewish people in my work about the African-American experience. I went home, flipped over the 8-by-8(-foot)

Who would have ever thought that a 40-year-old sugar cube from a Read's drugstore soda fountain would be enshrined in a serious exhibition of Baltimore history?Little details like this enliven the delightful new show "Fertile Ground, Two Hundred Years of Jewish Life in Baltimore" at the Jewish Historical Society's Lloyd Street headquarters in East Baltimore.It doesn't take long for a viewer to become fascinated and beguiled by this large room full of everyday objects known to many a Baltimorean.

The history of Jewish people in Annapolis is like all history -- people famous and ordinary, noble and notorious, saintly and sinful.The pantheon of Annapolis Jews includes Albert Abraham Michelson, a Naval Academy midshipman who returned to the academy as a physics professor and became the first person to measure the speed of light.But there also was Jacob Lumbrozo, the first Jew in the colony, an unsavory doctor who became infamous for his numerous adulterous affairs and questionable medical procedures.

The loss of two treasured pieces of Jewish heritage in the past four months in Annapolis appears to have stirred little notice in this 303-year-old city, where residents fiercely protect beloved old buildings.In December, a five-alarm fire destroyed Annapolis' first Jewish department store, leaving only a crumbling facade. Last month, flames destroyed its first synagogue.But Anna Greenberg, a 68-year-old city native, activist and guide for the small, private Jewish Heritage Tour of Annapolis, mourns the loss of the buildings -- not only the lost bricks and mortar, but the stories behind them.

A 400-year-old Torah, saved from the sands of Iraq, has found its way to a synagogue in western Howard County. The scroll of Hebrew scripture, containing the first five books of the Bible, was found by U.S. soldiers among the ruins of a synagogue in Mosul, Iraq. A Jewish expert in Torahs who leads a worldwide effort to rescue scrolls like this got it out of the country and repaired it. Now, that piece of history has landed in Fulton, housed in an ark at Temple Isaiah. The Reform congregation plans a year of educational events centered on this Torah and the Jews of Arab nations, beginning today with presentations by Rabbi Menachem Youlus, who is a sofer, someone trained in the transcription of Torahs.

It took a lot of chutzpah for Stan Mack to do what he has done.To attempt to consolidate 4,000 years of Jewish history - from Abraham's first discussion with God in the desert to today's turmoil over peace in the Middle East - into a 265-page book and, of all things, in cartoons.But that is exactly what Mack, a 62-year-old New York City illustrator, set out to do in his new book, ``The Story of the Jews: A 4,000-Year Adventure.''``I concluded that there was room for a popular overview of Jewish history that put everything into perspective,'' said Mack.

Eleanor Betty Hirsh, an educator who championed preservation of the Lloyd Street Synagogue and was a founder of the Jewish Historical Society, died of cancer Sunday at her Pikesville home. She was 83. Born Eleanor Betty Rosenthal in Baltimore and raised in Mount Washington, she was a 1940 graduate of Forest Park High School and earned a bachelor's degree in education from Goucher College. She was known by her initials, E.B. She joined Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, and in 1975 became the second woman to serve as its president.

Baltimore's historic Lloyd Street Synagogue was almost torn down in the late 1950s to make way for a parking lot. An architect was hired to prepare scale drawings of the structure, so there would be a record of it after it was gone. Now the 1845 building is bustling with activity, after a $1 million restoration and the opening of a lower-level gallery designed to extend its reach as a center of education and tourism. The Jewish Museum of Maryland, which now owns the synagogue, opened the gallery Sunday as the latest addition to its Herbert Bearman campus.

As the Obama administration moves to transform Palestinian arguments about Israeli settlements into U.S. policy, an examination of the facts underlying these issues is appropriate. There may be no better place to begin than the swimming pool at Rimonim, a Jewish settlement in the heart of the West Bank. The scene is a familiar one. Families picnicking together. Mothers yelling at children to be careful. Young children calling out to moms to watch them do dangerous things. But it is the view from the hilltop pool that is striking.

A 400-year-old Torah, saved from the sands of Iraq, has found its way to a synagogue in western Howard County. The scroll of Hebrew scripture, containing the first five books of the Bible, was found by U.S. soldiers among the ruins of a synagogue in Mosul, Iraq. A Jewish expert in Torahs who leads a worldwide effort to rescue scrolls like this got it out of the country and repaired it. Now, that piece of history has landed in Fulton, housed in an ark at Temple Isaiah. The Reform congregation plans a year of educational events centered on this Torah and the Jews of Arab nations, beginning today with presentations by Rabbi Menachem Youlus, who is a sofer, someone trained in the transcription of Torahs.

Eleanor Betty Hirsh, an educator who championed preservation of the Lloyd Street Synagogue and was a founder of the Jewish Historical Society, died of cancer Sunday at her Pikesville home. She was 83. Born Eleanor Betty Rosenthal in Baltimore and raised in Mount Washington, she was a 1940 graduate of Forest Park High School and earned a bachelor's degree in education from Goucher College. She was known by her initials, E.B. She joined Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, and in 1975 became the second woman to serve as its president.

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The sign in the window of Max's Clothing Store is a symbol of a dying tradition in the South. The clothing shop, opened by the owner's Jewish immigrant father 70 years ago, is going out of business. It wasn't supposed to happen so soon. Maurice Krawcheck, 68, had planned to pass the company to his sons, just as his father, Max, had done. But one of his boys became a lawyer and the other, a clothing manufacturer. There was no one left to mind the store. Family-owned retail stores, many started by Jews who settled in the South as peddlers, have helped fuel the economies of Southern towns for 300 years.

The Historical Society of Carroll County is displaying We Call This Place Home: Jewish Life in Maryland's Small Towns, an exhibit produced by the Jewish Museum of Maryland. The exhibit tells the story of Jewish merchants and other Jewish residents who established roots in small communities across Maryland. Stories and artifacts from several of Carroll County's Jewish merchants and families are featured, including pieces from the former Kann's Department Store, the Rosenstock Store, artifacts from Beth Shalom Congregation in Taylorsville, and items on loan from the Weiner and Holniker families in Eldersburg.

American cities have become increasingly crowded with buildings that offer "more of the same" -- architectural additions that resemble the structures to which they are attached so much that it's nearly impossible to tell what is original and what has been added.It can be far more difficult for an architect and client to design a building that grows out of its surroundings but contributes a new dimension.That's what the Jewish Historical Society of Maryland has done with the design of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Building, a $2.25 million history and education center for which ground will be broken tomorrow at Lloyd and Watson streets in East Baltimore.

Handel's `Messiah' to be performed in Ellicott City Handel's Messiah will be performed with soloists and orchestra at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4100 St. Johns Lane, Ellicott City. Sheet music will be provided for anyone who would like to sing along. A free, outdoor Christmas pageant, which includes a live Nativity scene and display of more than 100 creches from around the world, will start at 6 p.m. Dec. 13 at the church. The Mormon Choir of Washington will give free performances from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 13. Information: 410-715-4544.

William J. Clothier II, 86, a former tennis star, international spy and grandson of the co-founder of the Strawbridge & Clothier department stores, died of leukemia Saturday at his home in Valley Forge, Pa. While Mr. Clothier won national tennis titles, he also was secretly working as a special agent for the FBI and later worked for the CIA. Mr. Clothier, whose father, William J. Clothier, was a national singles champion, toured on the grass-court circuit...