It’s been exactly a month since I relocated to New York from Baltimore.
It seems like much longer.
After nearly 25 years in Charm City, I felt it was time to return to the place where I was born and where my parents and children now live. I left behind dear friends, my beloved former mother-in-law, a lovely townhouse in Canton, the Patterson Park dog park, and a remarkable Jewish community.
One of the few silver linings of COVID-19 is that it has enabled many of us to work from anywhere. Therefore, I’ve been able to stay on as Jmore’s associate editor, even though I no longer live in the Baltimore area. I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue my connection to Jewish Baltimore in this incredibly special way.
Jewish Baltimore looks different from several hundred miles north. It’s not that I didn’t realize the Jewish community in Baltimore was unique. It’s just that now that I’m in Carmel, New York, I have a fresh perspective.
As I interview Jewish Baltimoreans about groundbreaking programs that promote racial justice, bring music to underserved youth, and support children with disabilities, I have a keener appreciation for the people who do this kind of work.
I’m touched by the relationships I have built with the Jewish communal professionals I have known and reported on for years. It is gratifying to know that they trust me to tell their stories.
When I read Jmore’s coverage of Baltimore’s community service projects, thriving arts and culture scene, multi-generational family businesses, and incomparable health care institutions, I’m struck by how much the community has to offer.
When I hear about the Jewish community’s efforts to help people in need — Jewish and non-Jewish — and its striving to overcome racism and homophobia, to become more inclusive of people with disabilities, I feel proud of the community leaders who are spearheading those endeavors and the community members doing the challenging work to confront these biases.
It’s not as if New York doesn’t have its advantages. There’s no place like it in the world. Yet, the sense of community and the opportunity to become involved in so many ways are benefits that a larger and less tightknit community can’t offer — at least not in the same way.
Don’t get me wrong. I love my new home in the beautiful Hudson Valley. I treasure the opportunity to spend time with my aging parents, young adult children and the chance my move provides to reunite with old friends.
Yet, I must admit, I miss Baltimore and find myself regretting that I didn’t take more advantage of everything my former community had to offer.
I contemplate joining a synagogue, getting involved with social justice work here — looking to replace the connections I have lost.
I’m planning my next visit home.
A former resident of Baltimore and central Florida, Ritt was active in the Soviet Jewry movement of the 1970s and 1980s.
The Orioles' weak defense plays a major role in the nightly carnage, writes Michael Olesker.
For more than four decades, Goldman played a vital role in the supervision of elections in the city.
The 16-year-old sophomore succumbed to injuries sustained in a car crash last week in Cockeysville.