Beth Am
Introduction '''Beth Am''' is a Conservative Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the Reservoir Hill community of Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. It is one of two non-Orthodox synagogues in Baltimore's inner city. Beth Am is an urban, egalitarian congregation affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, and it is known for balancing traditional prayer and learning with innovative and intellectual critique.Beth Am strives to be, in Isaiah's words, “a house of prayer for all peoples”. Beth Am is known for its warmth, its open embrace of children, and its pluralism.
History The building currently known as "Beth Am" was first founded as Chizuk Amuno Congregation, which has since moved to a new suburban location in Pikesville, Maryland. Chizuk Amuno first occupied the building in 1922 and moved to Pikesville in 1958.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 Dr. Louis L. Kaplan's shul. Kaplan's wife Etta Jenkins suggested the name, which translates to "House of the People".The congregation is one of the city's historic synagogues.
Leadership Kaplan served informally as the congregation's spiritual leader until 1981, when the congregation hired its first full-time rabbi. The first rabbi was Efrem Potts, Louis L. Kaplan's son-in-law through his marriage to Deborah Kaplan Potts.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.The current rabbi is Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg, who joined the congregation in 2010.The Rabbi Emeritus is Jon Konheim, who has been with the congregation since 2002.
See also * History of the Jews in Maryland
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