Lately, Baltimore Hebrew Congregation’s Rabbi Elissa Sachs-Kohen has been thinking a lot about how the rabbinate has changed over the past 26 years.
“When I decided to become a rabbi, being a pulpit rabbi was pretty much the only option, so that’s the only thing I considered,” she said. “Now, I’m at a point where I’m figuring out what the rest of my rabbinic life might look like.”
That next phase will begin July 1 when Rabbi Sachs-Kohen, 54, leaves BHC to become a certified life coach.
“In the 1960s and ‘70s, a lot of people came to Shabbat services. The rabbi could look out at that congregation and feel like he or she was meeting their needs because they were there,” she said. “When I lead a Friday night service and there are 45 people there, plus a few others streaming it, I know I’m not meeting the needs of most of BHC’s 1,000-family membership. So I have to find other ways. And those ways take time, and they take energy.”
Rabbi Sachs-Kohen, who grew up in Harrisonburg, Virginia, said she has loved the variety of work required of being a pulpit rabbi. In addition to leading services, teaching children and adults, visiting the sick, comforting the bereaved, counseling congregants and the myriad duties expected of clergy, Rabbi Sachs-Kohen said she’s proud of several programs she was instrumental in developing since arriving at BHC in July of 2004.
“For 20 years, we’ve been sending students to D.C. to learn about current issues and then lobby Congress,” she said. “And adults have told me that that weekend when they were teenagers determined the direction of their lives.”
Another is BHC’s new outdoor sacred space, the Bernstein Garden.
“When COVID hit, we needed an outdoor space where the congregation could gather, so we formed a task force of people with a great combination of skills,” said Rabbi Sachs-Kohen. “We took an old, unused, rusty playground space and — with the help of gifts from the Bernstein family and others — turned it into a beautiful area I hope will be used more and more by our community, whether for weddings and formal events or just a quiet, beautiful space for contemplation and reflection.”
BHC’s Rabbi Andrew Busch praised his longtime colleague for her commitment to quality and detail.
“Everything Rabbi Sachs-Kohen does, she does with her full passion, intelligence and values,” he said. “And she brings all of that to every discussion we have about congregants, about staff members, how best to meet their needs.”
It’s the area of social justice where Rabbi Sachs-Kohen has arguably left her biggest mark, “a lasting legacy of advocacy and community engagement at BHC and the wider Baltimore community,” said congregant Jacob Mishook.
As director of BHC Cares, Rabbi Sachs-Kohen advises the congregation’s social action task force, concentrating in recent years on environmental initiatives, marriage equality, immigrant resettlement, Israel-Palestine and civil rights issues.
Through her leadership, Mishook said, “BHC established a popular and meaningful MLK Holiday Weekend film screening and panel, educated voters on critical legislation that impacts marginalized communities and so much more.”
Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, president of the Baltimore Board of Rabbis, noted that Rabbi Sachs-Kohen takes “her rabbinate, her rabbinic aura and values, outside the congregation as well. She engages from her deep-seeded passion for social justice. She’s known for building bridges.”
David Sachs, executive director of The Leadership, a local nonprofit where Rabbi Sachs-Kohen served as a fellow in 2022, called her the ultimate connector and facilitator.
“She epitomizes the idea of looking at and understanding the world from new perspectives,” he said. “People who were in the leadership program with her said to her, ‘You are my rabbi,’ including those who didn’t identify as Jewish.”
Rabbi Sachs-Kohen said one of her most satisfying and meaningful roles has been as a pastoral counselor.
“One of the areas of my job where I’ve felt most tangibly impactful is one-on-one counseling,” she said. “As I started thinking about leaving my job, I knew I wanted to continue to have an impact on people’s lives. And this idea of life coaching is what’s emerged for now. I want to try it and see what it’s like. Somewhere down the road, my job may include working in a congregation again, but it may not.”
BHC congregant Tracie Guy-Decker said Rabbi Sachs-Kohen has left a deep impact on the synagogue.
“She combines the deep wisdom of our shared tradition, a pragmatic matter-of-factness of today, an eye-twinkling humor, a soul-deep empathy and a healthy dose of snark that make her an absolute treasure,” said Guy-Decker. “I am who and where I am today in part because she has been my rebbe.”
The rabbi said deciding to leave BHC was not easy.
“Even though I know leaving is the right decision for me professionally, it’s still a moment with deep sadness,” she said. “I love this congregation and the people of BHC.”
Rabbi Sachs-Kohen’s final Shabbat service at BHC will be on Saturday morning, June 28. For information, visit baltimorehebrew.org/events/2025/06/28/shabbat-service/shabbat-service/.
Jonathan Shorr is a local freelance writer.
The Columbia resident worked on the Gemini and Apollo space missions.
A St. Louis native, Edelman served as ambassador to the central African nation from 1987 to 1989.
Now celebrating its 25th season, the farmers market will be located on the grounds of the historic Pikesville Armory, at 640 Reisterstown Road.
In its inaugural year, Jmore's Amplify Scholarship Contest awarded more than $10,000 in scholarships to six local high school students.