For most of the year, Pikesville residents David and Wendy Hefter are largely known around the area for one particular thing — Chanukah.
Each holiday season since 2022, the couple – Baltimore natives who have been married for 40 years and are now grandparents — transform their home and property into the Chanukah House of Pikesville, welcoming visitors to experience their elaborate decorations and displays while celebrating the Festival of Lights.
“We just like to do things that make people happy,” says Wendy.
But when they are not planning and creating the Chanukah House, the Hefters have another passion that takes them far beyond the confines of Pikesville — motorcycles.
David began riding in college. But after taking a break while raising his family, he returned to motorcycling at the age of 50. Since then, he has owned several bikes and has become a bigger motorcycle enthusiast.
“The community of motorcyclists and the open road and meeting the people and rallies is always fun,” he says.
About eight to 10 years ago, David became involved with local Jewish motorcycle groups. Today, the Hefters are members of the SOB Riders of Maryland, or Semites on Bikes, one of about 32 independent clubs affiliated with the Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance. The alliance includes Jewish motorcycle clubs across North America, as well as groups in Israel and Australia.
Membership in the SOB Riders is limited to Jewish enthusiasts, but members come from a wide range of religious backgrounds. For the Hefters, who belong to Suburban Orthodox Synagogue, being Jewish is an important part of the group but not something they advertise while riding.
“Any rally we go to, we try not to openly show when we’re Jewish,” Wendy says, due to rising antisemitism. “We try not to bring attention as much.”
In fact, the Hefters say they rarely display overt Jewish symbols on their motorcycles or jackets. “It’s been the norm for us not to have a whole lot of Jewish stars on our jackets or bikes,” Wendy says.
Instead, they put on their Harley-Davidson gear, get on their bikes and ride. “We wear Harley-Davidson gear. And when you wear this gear, you get respect from everybody,” Wendy says.
But the couple recently traveled with the SOB Riders to Cleveland for the Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance’s annual “Ride 2 Remember,” a weekend that brought together nearly 250 Jewish bikers and motorcycle enthusiasts from across North America and Israel.
This year’s ride was hosted by the Shul Boys Motorcycle Riding Club in Cleveland, with proceeds benefiting the Israeli nonprofit Tribe of Nova Foundation. The weekend included a police-escorted ride through Cleveland, a concert featuring Jewish rapper and singer Matisyahu, and opportunities to meet an Oct. 7 survivor, the family of two sisters murdered at the Nova music festival, and representatives of the Tribe of Nova Foundation.
Nearly $250,000 was raised during the gathering. “It was a really special weekend,” Wendy says.
Over the years, “Ride 2 Remember” has evolved. What began as a rally focused on Holocaust education and remembrance has increasingly incorporated awareness of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks and support for organizations serving the Jewish community.
For Wendy, meeting representatives of the Tribe of Nova Foundation and hearing from people directly impacted by Oct. 7 made the weekend particularly meaningful. The foundation’s message, she says, is that the Jewish community will continue to need to support victims of the attack as well as to fight the epidemic of antisemitism.
“They believe their people are going to need assistance forever,” Wendy says.
The ride also gave the Hefters an opportunity to openly celebrate their Jewish identity.
“We get to be proud of being Jewish all together,” Wendy says. “It’s beautiful to be able to be outdoors showing our pride.”
For the Hefters, fundraising has become one of the most meaningful parts of being involved in the Jewish motorcycling community.
“Most of the focus rides are fundraising,” Wendy says. “It’s a beautiful component.”
The fundraising aspect is one of the ways their motorcycle hobby connects to their other passion, the Chanukah House.
“The idea of motorcycle riding is community-based and freeing,” David says. “The idea of Chanukah is freedom.”
The Hefters say they try not to think about bigotry against Jews and others while riding, choosing to focus on the freedom of the open road and the friendly people they meet along the way.
Wendy says getting on a motorcycle is almost like stepping into another version of herself. “I put on a different hat when riding than when I’m a Jewish mom in Pikesville,” she says.
The SOB Riders are ultimately an altruistic social group, says David, much like any other club built around a shared interest. “The idea of the SOB Riders is the same idea as any other social group,” he says. “Doing it for good.”
Harper Goldberg is a local freelance writer.
Weekend Backpacks is partnering with Heritage | MileOne Autogroup for the largest corporate volunteer engagement and donation initiative in the organization's history.
Attorney and Barry Levinson confidante Donald Saiontz left his mark on the world, writes Michael Olesker.
A new educational initiative helps Israel’s ethnic and religious minority communities understand their own stories and appreciate what democracy looks like in a diverse society.
The Baltimore resident taught at Johns Hopkins for five decades.