In some ways, not to be disrespectful, but it’s hard for me to even fathom that there’s still a functioning synagogue in Randallstown. After all, most of us Jews migrated from that hallowed ground in northwest Baltimore County suburbia – where I grew up and came of age – a long, long time ago.
But recent news of plans by Winands Road Synagogue Center to close up shop in the middle of next year – thus quashing, once and for all, any signs of organized Jewish life in Randallstown — triggered a series of flashbacks for me, much like when I drive through what my friends and I call “the old neighborhood.”
I grew up in the Carriage Hill Village apartment complex in Randallstown in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, with the behemoth of the old Beth Israel Synagogue visible from my kitchen window. Back in those days, being Jewish in Randallstown always felt overshadowed by the Jewish community of Pikesville, which was more concentrated, seemingly more powerful, and (at least felt) more upperwardly mobile.
We always felt like the poor, redneck cousins who lived near Liberty Reservoir and the Carroll County line. A world away.
The great thing about being Jewish in Randallstown in those days was you didn’t feel like an anomaly (after all, probably around 20-25 percent of the area was Jewish), but you didn’t feel like you were in a Jewish ghetto either. The non-Jews there actually knew Jews, so we weren’t an unknown or exotic entity but just part of the general mix.
Back then, we had plenty of shuls in the area. Besides Beth Israel and Winands Road, there were Liberty Jewish Center and Adath Yeshurun and Randallstown Synagogue Center. Further down the Liberty Road corridor, we even had Temple Emanuel and Moses Montefiore-Woodmoor Hebrew Congregation (where I went to Hebrew school and became a bar mitzvah).
We also had Shapiro’s kosher supermarket and Caplan’s Deli, and even for a while a nifty little bagel shop.
The wonderful thing about Randallstown was you felt comfortable being Jewish, but it wasn’t all-encompassing or overwhelmingly ubiquitous. It was just part of your make-up, just like your buddies who happened to be African-American, Polish or Italian.
Now I know there are still plenty of Jewish empty-nesters who live in Randallstown. They have their homes and their good memories
But with Winands Road Synagogue Center’s announcement of its imminent discontinuation of operations, organized Jewish life in Randallstown is basically officially done, whether we like it or not. It’s sad but as we know, nothing lasts forever. It’s all part of Baltimore’s Jewish migratory saga.
Years ago, when shuls and Jewish organizations in Randallstown would announce they were closing or relocating, we used to say, half-jokingly, “OK, would the last Jew in Randallstown please turn off the lights?”
But now, with this latest milestone, I think it’s fair to say it for real. Unfortunately.
So, would the last Jew in Randallstown please turn off the lights?
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