By Noah S. and Eli S., Seventh grade students, Krieger Schechter Day School of Chizuk Amuno Congregation
While more than 700 miles apart, the cities of Baltimore and Chicago both have vibrant, active and large Jewish communities. Despite the similarities they share, the Jewish communities of Baltimore and Chicago have some differences as well.
Keith Kanter is a middle School Judaic Studies teacher at Krieger Schechter Day School. He was born in Chicago on Apr. 5, 1954. He worked as a teacher at Solomon Schechter Day School in Chicago.
In 2018, his daughter, who had moved to Baltimore, requested that he join her. He agreed, moved to Baltimore and secured a job at KSDS.
Kanter says he believes he is a part of Chicago’s Jewish history. He grew up in what was once a large Jewish community on the South Side of Chicago. Later, he moved to the Chicago suburb of Skokie, where he attended the Or Torah Synagogue.
According to Kanter, when compared to Baltimore, “Chicago is bigger, and it’s in the Midwest.” He finds that Chicago has “a whole different vibe.”
According to Kanter, Chicago’s Jewish community is “very diverse. [There are] a lot of Jews, and there are a lot of differences between them. In Jewish practice, there are very liberal Jewish to strict Orthodox and traditional Jews. Chicago is a diverse Jewish community that includes these different groups.”
If Kanter could bring one Jewish landmark from Baltimore to Chicago, he says that he would bring Seven Mile Market. “It’s not because there are no kosher supermarkets in Chicago. It’s just that Seven Mile Market is better than they are,” Kanter said.
Rabbi Joshua Gruenberg, head rabbi of Chizuk Amuno Congregation, also sees and values the diversity of the Jewish people in Baltimore. According to Rabbi Gruenberg, Baltimore’s Jews are “incredibly close.” The community comes together no matter what synagogue, school or environment, he says.
Like Kanter, Rabbi Gruenberg says he would never leave Baltimore without one of its local Jewish landmarks. “I’m not leaving Baltimore without David Chu’s Kosher Chinese,” he says.
The Jewish communities in Chicago and Baltimore are quite similar with some differences that make them both unique, but they are both historic Jewish cities in America.
Noah S. and Eli S. are seventh grade students at Krieger Schechter Day School of Chizuk Amuno Congregation
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