Part of what Abby Rickin-Marks loves so much about working at Third Space at Shaarei Tfiloh, where she is a program associate and administrator, is getting to help people along their own Jewish journey and discover what the religion and culture means to them.
She is, in many ways, a lived example of the importance of this idea. In fact, you could say that she and her twin brother are almost a case study, of sorts.
“We grew up in the exact same circumstances, and the ways that we have our Jewish identity is very different,” Rickin-Marks said. “I was a Jewish studies major … I think he would describe himself as a ‘Jew for Bacon.’ We went home for Passover, and my brother had pasta for lunch,” she said.
Rickin-Marks grew up in a Conservative Jewish family in Pittsburgh, and came down the road to Baltimore for her position at Third Space. Needless to say, the organization offered a very attractive opportunity for her.
“[I was interested in] doing stuff outside the Federation systems, trying to fill the gaps that we see in the Jewish community,” Rickin-Marks said. “I love doing programming, but it really is the mission of Third Space — trying to both help the Jewish community to fill those gaps, but also the broader Baltimore community.”
For Rickin-Marks, Pittsburgh will always be home, but she has grown to love Baltimore, too. She moved here barely a week after graduating from Oberlin College last spring, taking up residence in Mount Washington. Two weeks ago, Rickin-Marks moved to downtown, and she has enjoyed a different look at Baltimore culture.
“It’s been great so far. It’s definitely a change, because I was on the border of Cheswolde. So I was very much in the Orthodox neighborhood. Now in downtown, it’s very different, but it has been interesting,” Rickin-Marks said.
Rickin-Marks said that one of the angles of this job that makes it so interesting is the fact that Baltimore’s Jewish population has such a disproportionately large Orthodox community within it. Coming from Pittsburgh, this is a new dynamic to her.
“I have seen it from an outsider lens. I’ve been here for less than a year, but I am still an outsider … in the best way, Baltimore is such a close-knit community that anywhere I go and mention Third Space, it’s automatically like, ‘Oh I know Rabbi Jessy [Dressin],’ or ‘I know X, Y and Z,’” Rickin-Marks said. “I think that’s really, really special. I think there aren’t many cities where you see as close-knit of a Jewish community. But I do think on the flip side, that also means that it’s so insular that there are people that are missing from what we picture as the Jewish community of Baltimore. It definitely has pros and cons, but ultimately, I’m just so impressed with the infrastructure that the Jewish community [in Baltimore] has right now.”
While Rickin-Marks joined the team last summer, the first major event that she was at Third Space for was the organization’s concert with Alex Edelman in October. She said that that was another moment where she realized how great her new employer and its community are.
“How can you go wrong with that? It was so cool. My family came from Pittsburgh, and I think that really sealed the deal in terms of the importance of the work that we’re doing,” Rickin-Marks said.
The programs and events at Third Space are always interesting, and it gives Rickin-Marks the opportunity to stay engaged herself.
“All the small learnings and small teachings, having guest speakers, we did a Jewish swap of items … all these different things, I think it really just showed me the quality of programming and the different kinds of programming that are offered at Third Space. I think that really showed me the breadth of what is done here,” she said.
