Oheb Shalom

The Norbel School, a private school for learning disabled children, has bid $500,000 to buy the closed Elkridge Elementary School site, school director Margaret R. Gold said. The bid signals the school's plan to leave its two-story space at the Temple Oheb Shalom synagogue in the 7300 block of Park Heights Ave., where it has been housed since its start in a single room 20 years ago. The school, which features small classes, intensive supervision and a "rational skills" curriculum, is bursting at the seams.

It's an irony that the Russian-born pianist Lilya Zilberstein should be making her local debut Thursday night at Temple Oheb Shalom in Pikesville.In her native land, Zilberstein's Jewishness could have at one time prevented her from achieving an international career. But in the early days of the Soviet Union's collapse, the Jewishness that blocked the door to Zilberstein's advancement paradoxically led her to the window of fame as one of the most important Russian pianists of her generation.

From the day it opened in 1960, Temple Oheb Shalom was considered one of the most architecturally significant religious structures in Baltimore.It was the only building in central Maryland designed in part by Walter Gropius, a world-renowned master of modern architecture, and it represented a new model for worship in reform Judaism.Tomorrow at 11 a.m., the congregation will break ground for a $3 million expansion and modernization project that is designed to prepare the building for another 40 years of service.

CLARIFICATIONAn article about Rabbi Steven M. Fink in Sunday's editions may have given the impression that the organ and choir would be eliminated from worship services at Temple Oheb Shalom in Upper Park Heights. Rather, there are plans to expand the choices in services to accommodate those who do not prefer organ and choir.Had Rabbi Steven M. Fink been 2 inches taller, he might be wearing a badge and packing a pistol.At 5-foot-5, the prospective Officer Fink didn't meet the height requirement for the Washington, D.C., police department and chose a different vocation.

Religious leaders who fail to reach out to people with HIV/AIDS in their congregations and communities fall short of their moral obligations, a rabbi who is a leader in the national response to AIDS told an interfaith gathering of clergy yesterday.Marc S. Blumenthal, a Los Angeles-based rabbi who is the chairman of the AIDS National Interfaith Network, told a gathering at Temple Oheb Shalom that acquired immune deficiency syndrome "rolls up all the things that religion in general has a tough time dealing with," including homosexuality, drug use and death.

One of the most interesting events of the current classical music season is about to pass us by almost unnoticed. It is a free concert this Sunday at 3 p.m. at Temple Oheb Shalom by the Kiev Camerata, with piano soloist Mykola Suk, conducted by Virko Baley.Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, is the birthplace of Russian culture. It has also always been an international city, with large ethnic German and Jewish populations. (Before World War I, Kiev's street signs were in Yiddish as well as Cyrillic lettering.

Rabbi Abraham D. Shaw, who served a Baltimore congregation for more than 60 years, died Thursday at Methodist Hospital in Houston from complications during surgery. He was 88.Rabbi Shaw, a Houston resident at the time of his death, joined Temple Oheb Shalom in 1936 and was affiliated with the congregation throughout his life."It is extraordinary for a person to serve [his] entire rabbinical career at one pulpit," said Rabbi Donald R. Berlin, leader of the temple. More than 1,110 families worship there.

As a young man, Melvin Luterman faced an agonizing decision: Should the tenor pursue a glamorous career as an opera singer, or choose to lead prayers in a synagogue?Attracted by the emotional power of Jewish religious music, he chose the synagogue over the stage and became a cantor.Luterman, the dean of Baltimore's cantors, celebrates his 30th anniversary at Temple Oheb Shalom, 7310 Park Heights Ave., at the Sabbath service this evening. He has also recorded XXTC compact disc to commemorate the occasion, titled "Hear Our Voices."

It's the holiday season, a time for family gatherings, good food and -- for some parents and their children -- more than a little confusion.Take this scenario: Daddy is Jewish, Mom is Catholic. There's a tree in the living room, a menorah on the mantel and presents from Santa in a heap on the floor.No wonder the kids are having a problem figuring out exactly what's going on."The holiday season is one of those times of the year when interfaith couples have to directly confront the issues involved in how their different religious traditions are affecting their children," says Beth Land Hecht, who directs the "Stepping Stones to a Jewish Me" program at Temple Oheb Shalom in Northwest Baltimore.

Rabbi Berlin marks 20 years at Oheb ShalomOn May 31, Temple Oheb Shalom will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Rabbi Donald Berlin's service to the congregation.Activities will include a Shabbat Dinner in the synagogue's Blaustein Auditorium at 6 p.m. and a Shabbat Service at 8: 15 p.m, featuring a tribute from Berlin's friend and mentor, Rabbi Jordan Pearlson of Temple Sinai in Toronto.For the past four years, Berlin has been national chairman of the Rabbinical Placement Commission on the Reform Movement.