Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
congregation and
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
, located at 8101 Park Heights Avenue, in Pikesville, an outer suburb of greater
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
, in the United States. The congregation was established in 1948.Our Mission . ''Beth El Congregation''. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
History
In 1948, a group of nine lay leaders of the
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
Beth Tfiloh Congregation
Beth Tfiloh Congregation is a Modern Orthodox Judaism, Modern Orthodox congregation and synagogue located at 3300 Old Court Road, in Pikesville, Maryland, Pikesville, Maryland, in the United States. With approximately 3,500 members, and seat ...
advocated for holding mixed-gender religious services and expanded b'nai mitvah ceremonies.Our History . ''Beth El Congregation''. Retrieved October 14, 2016. Their advocacy was unsuccessful, and instead they formed Beth El Congregation. Established as the first
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
congregation in Maryland, an inaugural dinner was held at Baltimore's
Sheraton-Belvedere Hotel
The Belvedere is a Beaux Arts style building in Baltimore, Maryland. Designed by the Boston architectural firm of Parker and Thomas and built in 1902–1903, the Belvedere is a Baltimore City Landmark at the southeast corner of North Charle ...
on May 10, 1948 to celebrate the occasion.
Located on at the corner of Hilton Road and Dorithan Road in the Ashburton neighborhood of Baltimore, Beth El's original synagogue included a 1,500-seat chapel, an auditorium, social rooms, a gymnasium, a kitchen, and preschool classrooms. The synagogue was designed by architect
Erich Mendelsohn
Erich Mendelsohn (); 21 March 1887 – 15 September 1953) was a German-British architect, known for his expressionist architecture in the 1920s, as well as for developing a dynamic functionalism in his projects for department stores and cinem ...
and built by Cogswell Construction Company.
New synagogue
When Beth El's membership increased from 97 families to 1,100 families between 1950 and 1955, Beth El needed a larger place of worship. Groundbreaking on the new synagogue in Pikesville began on June 7, 1959.
Rabbi
A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
Cantor
A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...
Saul Z. Hammerman were present.
Built on of land with a construction budget of $1,500,000, the synagogue was designed by architect Sigmund Braverman and built by Cogswell Construction Company. The
masonry
Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...
work was done by McCullough Brothers.
The main synagogue was designed with a 1,500-seat sanctuary, religious school classrooms for 600 students, an assembly hall for 350 people, a social hall designed for 1,000 people, and dining facilities with a capacity of 600 people. The main entrance was surrounded by two large granite pillars, representing pillars built by
King Solomon
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...
at the First Holy Temple. The main entrance was built with three brass and ceramic plaques that use the
Hebrew letters
The Hebrew alphabet (, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is a unicameral abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish ...
for the word
truth
Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...
revelation
Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...
, and redemption. The sanctuary was built with ten
stained glass windows
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
symbolizing the
Jewish festivals
Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' (, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar.This article focuses on practices of mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. ...
. The sanctuary's 24 narrow windows symbolize the 24 books of the
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...
services, and
Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' (, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar.This article focuses on practices of mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. ...
services. The congregation holds brit milah and baby naming ceremonies for newborns, b'nai mitzvah ceremonies for students, and aufruf ceremonies for engaged couples.Life Cycle Events . ''Beth El Congregation''. Retrieved October 14, 2016. A preschool and an after-school program with a religious curriculum are operated by the congregation;Children . ''Beth El Congregation''. Retrieved October 14, 2016. a youth group for teenagers has been running since 1964; and classes and religious study groups for adults have been conducted since 1949.Adults ''Beth El Congregation''. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
The congregation is led by
Rabbi
A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
Steven Schwartz, Rabbi Dana Saroken, and Rabbi Naomi Zaslow. The
cantor
A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...