Chizuk Amuno Congregation (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: ק"ק חזוק אמונה) is a large Jewish house of worship affiliated with

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generatio ...

. It is located in

Pikesville, Maryland Pikesville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Pikesville is just northwest of the Baltimore city limits. It is the northwestern suburb closest to Baltimore. The population was 30,764 at the 2010 cens ...

. The congregation's name comes from the Hebrew "Chizzuq 'Emunah", meaning "strengthening the faith". The word "Amuno" is a variant of the

Ashkenazi Hebrew Ashkenazi Hebrew ( he, הגייה אשכנזית, Hagiyya Ashkenazit, yi, אַשכּנזישע הבֿרה, Ashkenazishe Havara) is the pronunciation system for Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew favored for Jewish liturgical use and Torah study by Ashk ...

pronunciation of "'Emunah".

Principles

Chizuk Amuno, which defines itself as "a traditional, Conservative, egalitarian congregation" that strongly supports the

Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...

and the

United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) is the major congregational organization of Conservative Judaism in North America, and the largest Conservative Jewish communal body in the world. USCJ closely works with the Rabbinical Assembly ...

. Chizuk Amuno uses as its guiding principle the three pillars of world as stated in

Pirkei Avoth Pirkei Avot ( he, פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth''), which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from ...

1:2, "

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

: Life-Long Learning," "

Avodah ''Avoda'', or ''Avodah'' (), literally means "work, worship, and service" in Hebrew. In a modern context, usually referring to business-type activities, it can also mean agricultural work and, more traditionally, serving God. Original meaning In ...

Worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...

and Observance", and "Gemilut Hasadim: Acts of Loving Kindness." Chizuk Amuno also seeks perform

tikkun olam ''Tikkun olam'' ( he, תִּיקּוּן עוֹלָם, , repair of the world) is a concept in Judaism, which refers to various forms of action intended to repair and improve the world. In classical rabbinic literature, the phrase referred to leg ...

, repairing the world and encourages its congregants to lead an ethical, Jewish life.History & Mission
. ''Chizuk Amuno Congregation''.

History

19th century

Chizuk Amuno descended from the "Green Street synagogue", founded by a small group of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

on April 1, 1871, in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1876, the congregation moved into its first permanent home of distinctive Moorish design, the old Chizuk Amuno Synagogue on Lloyd Street across Watson Street to the south from the original historic

Lloyd Street Synagogue The Lloyd Street Synagogue is an 1845 Greek Revival style synagogue building in Baltimore, Maryland. One of the oldest synagogues in the United States, Lloyd Street was the first synagogue building erected in Maryland and is the third oldest synag ...

designed in Greek Revival style by noted local architect

Robert Cary Long Jr. Robert Cary Long Jr. (1810–1849) was the son of a late 18th Century - early 19th Century famous architect Robert Cary Long Sr. of Baltimore, Maryland and was himself a well-known 19th Century architect. Like his father, Cary was based in Baltim ...

in 1845 for the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation in the east downtown Baltimore neighborhood of

Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, a U.S.–based cult under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became internationall ...

, later known as

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

. Under the spiritual guidance of Rev. Dr. Henry W. Schneeberger, the "first American-born, ordained rabbi", the congregation grew greatly and soon moved in 1895 to nearby

McCulloh Street Maryland Route 129 (MD 129) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland, running north-northwesterly from U.S. Route 40 in Maryland, U.S. Route 40 (US 40) and Maryland Route 295, MD 295 in Baltimore into Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore ...

in the Bolton Hill neighborhood (Md. Route 129) after selling its Lloyd Street building to the B'nai Israel ("Sons of Israel") congregation which had been founded 1873 by recently immigrated Russian Jews. The building is now next door to and part of the Herbert Bearman campus of the Jewish Historical Society of Maryland now known as the

Jewish Museum of Maryland The Jewish Museum of Maryland is located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The museum tells the story of the American Jewish experience in the city of Baltimore and throughout the US state of Maryland. Description The museum is one of the c ...

in 1985 along with the original

, both of which are now on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The synagogue later split into the Shearith Israel Congregation, and the somewhat more liberal, though still strictly Orthodox, Chizuk Emunah Congregation, under the leadership of its president, Dr. Aaron Fredenwald. The synagogue was a supporter of the aforementioned JTS and the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) at their founding under Orthodox auspices, with Dr. Friedenwald being a Director, and Vice President, respectively of the two organizations. Friedenwald remained orthodox all his life, but after his death, JTS and JPS became affiliated with the nascent Conservative Judaism movement, and the synagogue became a founding member of USCJ.

20th century to the present

In 1920, the synagogue gained both a new rabbi, Rabbi Adolph Coblenz, and moved once again uptown to a building on

Eutaw Place Eutaw Street is a major street in Baltimore, Maryland, mostly within the downtown area. Outside of downtown, it is mostly known as Eutaw Place. The south end of Eutaw Street is at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. After this point, the street continue ...

. After Rabbi Israel M. Goldman began his tenure at Chizuk Amuno in 1948, plans were begun to move the congregation to a "

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

campus...to house a Social Center, School Building, and

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

." The new synagogue was located on previously undeveloped land in the northwest

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

of Pikesville in

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...

and was in use by the 1960s. In 1980, Rabbi Joel H. Zaiman became the congregation's rabbi. Under Zaiman, both Chizuk Amuno's youth and adult

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

would be expanded and the congregation doubled in size to 1,400 families during the 23 years of his leadership. In 1981, a Solomon Schechter Day School (today called Krieger Schechter) was opened in conjunction with the congregation. In addition to founding schools, Chizuk Amuno also emphasized ''Gemilut Hasadim'' or "acts of loving kindness" in serving city communities during Zaiman's rabbinate. These programs, such as mentoring high school students, continue to the present day. Following Rabbi Zaiman's retirement, Rabbi Ronald J. Shulman was elected spiritual leader of Chizuk Amuno from 2004 -2017. The Congregation's current Senior Rabbi since July 2018 is Joshua Z. Gruenberg. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the State University of New York at Binghamton and was ordained as a Conservative rabbi by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2002.

Notable people

Sidney Sakols Sidney Sakols (November 23, 1916 – July 22, 2007) was a real estate executive, World War II veteran, composer, inventor, activist, and eccentric Baltimore native. Biography Sidney's family lived on North Broadway in East Baltimore when he was bor ...

(1916–2007), real estate executive, World War II veteran, composer, inventor, activist

Education

Chizuk Amuno offers education centers for youth and adult education: * The Goldsmith Early Childhood Center (

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

) * Krieger Schechter Day School (K-8

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compar ...

, member of the

Solomon Schechter Day School Association The Schechter Day School Network, formerly the Solomon Schechter Day School Association, located at 820 Second Avenue, New York, New York, is an organization of Jewish day schools that identify with Conservative Judaism. The network provides gu ...

and accredited by the

Association of Independent Maryland Schools The Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools is an American nonprofit education organization representing 120 independent schools in the US state of Maryland and the District of Columbia. Based in Glen Burnie, Maryland, it was founded i ...

) * The Rosenbloom Religious School (bi-weekly program for secular school students) * Netivon & Achshav (evening

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

programs) * The Stulman Center for Adult Learning

Activities

Chizuk Amuno features many groups (Brotherhood, Sisterhood, Young Professionals, Young Families, and others) intended to enrich synagogue life and "promote the values and ideals of Conservative Judaism." The congregation is administered by a number of committees over which its president and board of trustees presides. Chizuk Amuno also operates the Goldsmith Museum, which strives to preserve

Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, and their nation, religion, and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions, and cultures. Although Judaism as a religion first appears in Greek records during the Hellenisti ...

through the

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

. It also features an extensive interactive

timeline A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representi ...

of Jewish history and congregational

archives An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

Notes

External links

* * {{Authority control Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Maryland Ashkenazi synagogues Baltimore County, Maryland landmarks Conservative synagogues in Maryland Gothic Revival synagogues Synagogues in Baltimore County, Maryland Jews and Judaism in Pikesville, Maryland Gothic Revival architecture in Maryland Religious buildings and structures in Pikesville, Maryland