The Jewish Museum of Maryland is located in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, United States. The museum tells the story of the

American Jewish American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora ...

experience in the city of Baltimore and throughout the US state of Maryland.

Description

The museum is one of the country's leading centers for exhibits on

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 ...

and culture. The museum has two galleries that host changing exhibits of local and national interest. The museum's collections include works of art, historical photographs, clothing,

Jewish ceremonial art Jewish ceremonial art, also known as Judaica (), refers to an array of objects used by Jews for ritual purposes. Because enhancing a mitzvah by performing it with an especially beautiful object is considered a praiseworthy way of honoring God' ...

, rare books, everyday objects, documents, oral histories, and memorabilia. The museum was founded in 1960. The museum is the only museum in America with two historic

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

s, preserved and interpreted for the public. The first is the

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 ...

, a

Greek revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

design by 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 ...

which was finished in 1845. The second is the B'nai Israel Synagogue, which was designed in a modified

Moorish revival Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centur ...

style by Henry Berge and finished in 1876.Dorsey, John & Dilts, James D., ''Guide to Baltimore Architecture'' (1997) p. 189. Tidewater Publishers, Centreville, Maryland Both synagogues are situated in the heart of an historic Jewish neighborhood where they tell the stories of two great waves of Jewish immigrants to Baltimore, the second largest port of

immigration in the United States Immigration has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. In absolute numbers, the United States has a larger immigrant population than any other country in the worl ...

. In these restored synagogues you can explore a

matzoh Matzah or matzo ( he, מַצָּה, translit=maṣṣā'','' pl. matzot or Ashk. matzos) is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which ''chametz'' (leaven and f ...

oven, mikvehs (ritual baths), a magnificent hand-carved

Torah Ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' or ''aron ha- ...

, women's balconies, and an active

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

dig. B'nai Israel synagogue is an active

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

synagogue of 200 families with services every

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

and Jewish Holy Day.

Location

The Jewish Museum of Maryland is located at 15 Lloyd Street in Baltimore and is a 10-minute walk from the National Aquarium in the Inner Harbor. The museum is closed for

Jewish festivals Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...

and holy days: Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah, first two and last two days of

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...

, and

Shavuot (''Ḥag HaShavuot'' or ''Shavuos'') , nickname = English: "Feast of Weeks" , observedby = Jews and Samaritans , type = Jewish and Samaritan , begins = 6th day of Sivan (or the Sunday following the 6th day of Sivan i ...

References

External links

The Jewish Museum of Maryland museum website

''

Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'' review
Jewish museums worldwide

Jewish Down Town website

Jewish Museum on Google Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jewish Museum of Maryland 1960 establishments in Maryland Ethnic museums in Maryland Jewish-American history Jewish museums in the United States Jews and Judaism in Baltimore Jonestown, Baltimore Museums established in 1960 Museums in Baltimore Religious museums in Maryland