Rabbi Emanuel Goldfeiz, who is originally from Iran, helped establish Beit Yaakov in the early 90’s as a Sephardic shul, although the synagogue has always been welcoming to all Jews.
He said that the congregants are largely Middle Eastern, with folks from Morocco, Syria, Iran, Tunisia, Yemen, Lebanon and elsewhere, although there are plenty of members with Polish and Russian origins, too.
The dynamic at Beit Yaakov, also known as the Baltimore Sephardic Center, can in some ways be summed up by the way they choose to eat together: with mixed plates and cultures melding together.
“When we get invited by one another, we try to accommodate as much as we can,” he said.
Goldfeiz came to Baltimore in 1979 following the outbreak of the Iranian Revolution and began attending yeshiva nearby. He was just 14 years old with no connections to his new home, and sought to one day help create an environment that would welcome others with open arms.
“We didn’t have any relatives, and we needed to learn a new language and a new culture. But everyone was nice,” he said.
For Goldfeiz, Beit Yaakov is exemplary in its ability to unite people from all different backgrounds and walks of life under one umbrella of Jewish worship.
“People [here], they have unity. Everyone is part of the family. I think everyone comes from other countries, and we are very diverse,” he said. “Any country that you can imagine, we have members. All different types of cultures all together, and everyone respects each other, and everyone gets along. That’s the best thing.”
There are also some converted Jews at the Pikesville synagogue, which Goldfeiz said is a testament to how open and welcoming the community is.
For the Beit Yaakov community, one of the highlights of their worship is a simple Shabbat service. Goldfeiz described it as the highlight of his week for a number of reasons.
“We always wait for Shabbos, it’s the time when we put our phones away and we spend time with our family. We pay attention. We learn with them, and we pray together. We sing nice, beautiful melodies and we read from the portion of the Torah,” he said.
Every Shabbos, there is a Kiddush in the morning that everyone participates. That is nothing unusual. Something novel at Beit Yaakov is a special program they initiate every winter.
“Since in the winter time Shabbat ends early, we have a learning for fathers and sons, where they come together, they sit down and they learn for 45 minutes. We give them prizes. We give them pizza,” Goldfeiz said.
Goldfeiz said that the goal of a synagogue is just that: to unite and educate Jews, bringing them closer to God. He said that now, maybe more than ever, that is necessary.
“Our main goal is that people become nicer to each other. They become kinder to each other. They should care for each other, and they should realize we are one. When we are united, we can expand. If we are divided, we will fall. We need to be together,” he said. “We all are from the same fathers and the same mothers and brothers and sisters. We should realize we are brothers and sisters. Be nice to each other. Treat each other well. Also, improve our relationship with God.”
Whether it’s Shabbat, Chanukah or just an average weeknight, there is usually something good going on at Beit Yaakov. There is a youth minyan on Shabbos, toddler and children’s groups and teenage girls’ events. There are women’s events and a night kollel.
In the late ‘90s, the shul established a program for Israeli members after the tragic passing of an Israeli Beit Yaakov member. The weekly gatherings went on longer than planned, until the end of the year, at which point the community lost another Israeli member.
Now, nearly three decades later, the synagogue still has a gathering for Israeli members every Wednesday night, complete with a free dinner.
For Goldfeiz, the melding of cultures isn’t just something he experiences at work. While he is Iranian, his wife is from a similarly mountainous but culturally different place: Denver.
“She cooks Ashkenazi [food] because she is Ashkenazi, but she has learned to cook Middle
Eastern too — so we have both!” he said.
