Hi, I’m New in Town

Hi, I’m New in Town

by Eli W. Schlossberg

Hi, let me introduce myself: I am Eli W. Schlossberg and I’m kind of new in town. How can I say that, you ask, when I was born at Sinai Hospital in 1950? Well, I’m talking about the “new” town of Baltimore. Let me describe the Baltimore I knew, and then you will understand.

Sinai Hospital? No, not the one off Northern Parkway; in those days it was located on Ann and Monument Streets. My family davened at a Shearith Israel – no, not the one on Glen Avenue. It was located on McCulloh Street off North Avenue. We shopped at Wasserman and Lemberger – no, not the one on Reisterstown Road; it was on Whitlock Street and then on Park Heights, and it was indeed owned by Mr. Bernie Wasserman and Mr. Sol Lemberger.

I grew up before there was a Northern Parkway, before the Jones Falls Expressway, and before the Park Heights JCC. We shopped at a small store called Jack’s – no, not the huge market on Seven Mile Lane; it was located at first on Park Heights, in Pimlico, and then on Reisterstown Road and Ford’s Lane, where Tov Pizza is today. Jack’s was the size of one aisle of the current Seven Mile Market. There were a few bakeries, and Koontz dairy delivered our non-chalav-Yisrael milk (there was no other kind). A kosher supermarket, Shapiro’s, was located in Hilltop, at the corner of Reisterstown Road and Rogers Avenue. There were no kosher pizza shops or restaurants, but Liebes’ deli had a few tables.

I estimate that perhaps 150 to 200 Orthodox shomer Shabbos families lived in Baltimore in the 1950s. Crime was less, and you felt safe walking at night. The Greenspring area was not populated until the late 1950s, and frum families did not buy there until the mid-60s. An airport occupied the area where the Smith Avenue shopping center is today, and there were copper mines down Smith Avenue and a real stone quarry where the Quarry shopping center is today. The Jewish community ended at Slade Avenue and Park Heights. Owings Mills consisted of farms. Pimlico was a busy shopping area near the race track. There was no Agudah shul. Shaarei Zion was in Lower Park Heights, as was TA on Cottage Avenue, and Bais Yaakov was on Greenspring Avenue next to Cylburn Park. Shearis Hapleita, now TI, held classes in a house in Lower Park Heights with maybe 15 or 20 chasidishe students.

The Community of Yesteryear

Housing is shooting up in price right now. But in the 1950s, you could get a new row house for $13,000, or a fancier, non-attached home for between $15,000 and $25,000. A Chevrolet cost $3,500, and a Cadillac was maybe $6,000. No Toyotas or Hondas back then.

Gas was maybe $.30 a gallon, and they gave you S&H Green Stamps you could redeem for gifts, such as a set of drinking glasses, as an incentive to buy gas. Banks were paying nice interest (around 5.5%) on deposits and would give away items like toasters, dinnerware, and folding chairs if you opened an account with $1,000. The Dow Jones was in the hundreds.

People bought black-and-white TVs in the 50s and color TVs in the early- to mid-60s. Of course, everyone watched the same three channels and the same popular shows, and discussed them the next day at school or work. You didn’t have hundreds (thousands?) of choices in entertainment, and if you missed an episode, you’d have to make do with whatever your friend remembered. Of course, everyone watched President Kennedy’s funeral in 1963 and the moon landing in 1969.

The Ed Sullivan Show was the week’s big event on Sunday nights. It was there that the Beatles were introduced to America. A favorite sitcom was “I Love Lucy,” about the zany wife of a Cuban band leader; “Leave It to Beaver,” about a nice little boy, his brother, and their perfect parents living in a perfect suburb; their wise and parental father wore a suit in the house. Their mother wore a dress and high heels and her hair was always perfect. There was also “Father Knows Best,” about another wise father, his homemaker wife, and children.

A “coddie” was a nickel and a soda 10 cents. (If you do not know what a coddie is, you are either very young or a newcomer to Charm City.) Kashrus was supervised by local rabbis giving private hashgachas. Few people kept yashan or chalav Yisrael as these were not readily available. The only kosher packaged cookies were Educator and Stella D’Oro; Oreo’s kosher debut didn’t come until years later (to great fanfare). If you wanted to make kiddush, you chose among Kedem concord, malaga, sauterne, or tokay. Manischewitz had a few wines, which most people did not drink. There were so-called kosher marshmallows that were not so kosher. In the mid-60s, if you wanted Chinese cuisine or a slice of pizza, it was a four-hour drive to New York.

In the 1950s Jewish communities were moving from East and West Baltimore to the Northwest. Rabbi Shimon Schwab, the rav of Shearith Israel (Glen Avenue shul), left for Washington Heights in 1958. He was replaced by Rabbi Mendel Feldman. There were Orthodox shuls in Lower Park Heights and Forest Park neighborhoods, but only a few of them did not use a microphone on Shabbos.

Ner Israel was a small yeshiva on Garrison Boulevard in Forest Park. Daf Yomi had not yet been introduced to most and became popular much later. Limud Torah was centered around the the Ner Israel Yeshiva and a few European rabbanim talmidei chachamim, including the great Rabbi Michoel Forschlager.

Only about 30 women wore sheitels, and among the men, only one or two streimels. There were few black hats, dating was not under the witness protection program, and mixed seating at simchas was the “minhag” of the town. Few women worked and only a few drove.

Baltimore was a Mizrachi town with a vibrant Bnei Akiva. In summer months, we kids often frequented bowling alleys and movies as they were air conditioned. Most homes and cars were not. Boys and girls, when meeting in the streets, actually said good Shabbos to each other, and families gathered around the Shabbos table, so boys and girls interacted socially. Bais Yaakov camp was for boys and girls. We proudly sang “Hatikva,” and people began trips to Eretz Yisrael in the 60s. In the mid 1960s, boys began to attend yeshivas in Israel. Girls would attend seminaries, starting in the 70s and 80s.

One thing never changed: The cicadas came out on schedule, every 17 years!

The Community Today

Today, there is much greater limud Torah, b”H. Daf Yomi and plentiful shiurim take place all over town, and our yeshivos and girls day schools have truly made Baltimore a city of tremendous Torah learning. With learning greater than ever, one would think our personal emuna (faith), middos, and community achdus (unity) would keep pace and steadily improve. However, I have found that it is not what you might expect. Our community has tremendous chesed organizations, maybe the finest in America – and I must say kol hakavod to all who are so involved with chesed. As a town, we have been matzliach (successful) in doing chesed. But I am not sure our personal emuna and erlichkeit have increased in pace.

There was something special about the post-Holocaust years. We appreciated each other and treated each other with greater respect. Being part of a smaller community kept us close. Now, Baltimore is a large Orthodox haven, and we lost some of the heimishe friendliness; sometimes, we hardly know our neighbors.

Here is what I believe we can improve on, to return to the erlichkeit and achdus of those good old days.

Chinuch Begins at Home

With all the wonderful schools in Baltimore, it is tempting to let them teach our children the proper middos and how to relate to others. But menschlichkeit is a parent’s responsibility, especially in matters of bein adam lechaveiro. In today’s turbulent world, parents need to infuse their children with more homemade chinuch and not expect our mosdos (institutions) alone to educate their children. Parents need to be the examples because children will definitely watch them. Our homes need to be very warm and loving in order to escape from dangerous frontiers.

My Home Chinuch

In our current environment, divorce is unfortunately much too common. There are tremendous shalom bayis issues for so many mishpachos. Abuse as well as drug and other addictions and psychological issues are affecting many in our community, and our streets of Baltimore are full of crime. Back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, divorce in our community was very rare – not to say that there weren’t serious family issues and abuse – but much was kept behind closed doors.

Baruch Hashem, my dad and mom were an exemplary couple and parents, and they always taught by example. Observing my dad as a wonderful husband, a dedicated loving father, and an industrious businessman – seeing him live a life of Torah Im Derech Eretz – I learned so much. My mom was an aishes chayil and made our home always one of hachnasas orchim (welcoming guests). She taught us to always praise Hashem and constantly recited brachos, reminding us that everything came from Hashem.

My dad didn’t have the yeshiva education we are fortunate to have today, but he was, in a way, a living sefer Torah, consistent, always, in his avodas Hashem (serving G-d). He and my mom loved klal Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael. They loved their shul and always learned from their rabbanim. They taught me how one might succeed in leading one’s life in a totally yosher (upright) way. They instructed me to always look up first and then straight ahead. Looking up, I was to ask Hashem how I might proceed. I was to ask, “Is this the action Hashem wants me to do?” Hashem will answer you, they said, and over time you will establish a very good rapport with Hashem, with tefila (prayer), learning Torah, and doing mitzvos. These are three effective ways of communicating with Hashem.

Once I determined what I truly believed Hashem expected of me, I was taught to look forward with optimism and confidence. Possessing a consistent Torah perspective, a strong conviction, a dynamic motivating drive, and passion I was taught to focus on attaining my goals.

Now, we are not always right on the mark, and we often make mistakes, but the good news is that we get another shot at things. That is called teshuva or the opportunity to get it right. So if at first you do not succeed, try, try again! Eventually, you will get it right!

Living a Torah Life

Unfortunately, many today, even in our Torah world, act quite a bit differently. They first look over their shoulder and base their actions and decisions not on what Hashem may want from them or what is truly yashar but, instead, on how others may judge them. Our judgmental neighbors often cause us to do foolish things. We know from Lot’s wife that looking back can be self destructive. Yet we are too often worried about what others may think. I call this fear the over-the-shoulder-syndrome. Successful people look ahead! Instead of worrying about doing more chesed or being more sensitive to the feelings of others, we may get caught up trying to impress our neighbors. This may lead us to another syndrome: being more-holy-than-thou! Is it insecurity or lack of confidence that causes us to worry about what others think, or is it not clearly understanding what Hashem expects of us as yirei Shamayim and ehrlich, honest individuals?

We need to remember – and teach our children – that life is all about doing what Hashem expects of us and being true and honest with ourselves.

Daas Torah

We all have the chiyuv (obligation) to follow daas Torah. As the mishnah teaches us in Pirkei Avos: Assei lecha rav, acquire a rav; establish a frumkeit that is consistent. Follow a Torah derech (path) you are comfortable with, one you feel Hashem would be proud of. Here in Baltimore, we have wonderful rabbanim, rebbes and roshei yeshivas who are strong Torah influences and provide guidance and leadership in our lives.

We should focus on doing mitzvos and learning Torah with an emphasis on bein adam lecheivero, always living and acting bekiddush Hashem. We should create a life of pleasantness, darchei no’am, a life that you will enjoy and feel good about, both physically and spiritually.

Ivdu es Hashem B’simcha

Serve Hashem with joy. Yiddishkeit should be happy and cheerful whenever we have the opportunity to make it so, and the home must always possess a warm and loving atmosphere. We must not tell our children we have to go to shul or we have to daven. Rather, we need to tell them we want to go to shul and we want to go daven! Positive reinforcement is the key.  

Judging Others

It’s not good to judge others, but if you do judge your neighbor – and we all do it at times – you must always be dan lechaf zechus, giving them the benefit of the doubt. Look and focus on the good points of people and on the chesed they perform. Consider that maybe this person is having a bad day or has a great deal going on in his life, which affects his behavior.

We should never judge some else’s bein adam laMakom, one’s religious performance as that relationship is between each individual and Hashem.

Seichel: Good Old Common Sense

Once trained as a ben or bas Torah, you should use the seichel (intelligence) that Hashem gave you to lead a Torah life because no matter how many shailos you ask and how much advice you seek and receive, it often comes down to using your seichel, pure common sense, based on your past Torah learning. If it doesn’t make sense to you, go back and ask more questions. Never be afraid to ask a question of your parents, rebbe, or mentor because, if you ask in the right spirit, the correct eitzah, advice, will come. Remember that elders have very valuable life experience, and talmidei chachamim have a unique Torah perspective. We are fortunate to have both in our lives, so always tap that chochma.

Responsibility

We all have a responsibility to our community, to klal Yisrael, and to Eretz Yisrael. It is extremely important to be an active member in your community. The more Torah study and knowledge you acquire, the greater love and rapport with Hashem you will attain, but be independent and not a clone. I have heard it said, “We are born original yet many of us die as copies.” Hashem gives each of us certain talents, different kochos, and unique personalities. We should use these gifts to serve Hashem, our neighbors, and humanity, always giving it our best efforts. We need to channel these gifts and follow a Torah life that makes our world a better place. We need to grow each day in yirah, ahava, and Torah.

As we grow up, we need to improve ourselves in small and steady steps, and once married, we need to grow together with our spouses and transmit our life experiences and teachings to our children. Our responsibility to love all Jews and the land of Israel must be fervent as Hashem wants achdus (unity) amongst his people. Eretz Yisrael unites all Jews as a makom kadosh, a gift from Hashem to Klal Yisrael. We also must have tremendous hakaras hatov (appreciation) to America for all it has given us, especially the opportunity to freely practice our Torah and Yiddishkeit.

My dad, Fred A. Schlossberg, Avroham Ben Menachem Mendel Halevi, was same’ach bechelko (happy with his portion) but he had a favorite paragraph he kept in his drawer, which summarized the way he tried to lead his life. These are all Torah teachings; it was the way my dad looked at what Hashem expected of him in living life as a real mensch, making a kiddush Hashem. I share it here so we can all try to lead our own lives following this good advice. Remember, you must always be happy with your life so you can serve Hashem with simcha!

Keep your heart free from hate, your mind free from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much, sing often, and pray [and may I add, learn always]. Fill your life with love, scatter sunshine, forget self, think of others. Do as you would be done by. These are tried links in contentment’s golden chain.

May Hashem give us all much happiness and hatzlacha (success) always. And next time you see me around town, come over and say hello as I am new in this Baltimore, a place very different from that of my younger years.

Eli W. Schlossberg is the author of My Shtetl Baltimore (Targum Press).