For Elizabeth Hart, member engagement coordinator and development associate at Chizuk Amuno, it took a trip across the ocean to realize how much she wanted to be in a thriving Jewish community.
Hart is from Lakeland, Florida, which she described as a commuter town between Tampa and Orlando. Unlike much of Florida, Lakeland is not very Jewish. So, not long after graduating from Florida State University in 2018, Hart decided to move to Madrid, Spain, where she worked as a teacher for three years. Time in Spain’s capital and largest city helped her see what her priorities are, and what she wants out of her work and life.
“When I lived there, I was connected with the Jewish community, and I had a strong Jewish friend group. I started really thinking about what it would look like to put down roots somewhere and get involved in the professional Jewish space,” Hart said. “So, I was looking for jobs in New York City, D.C. and Baltimore — big hubs — and this job fell into my lap.”
Hart met with leadership at Chizuk Amuno, and knew “immediately” that she wanted to work with the Pikesville synagogue.
In her two roles, she works closely with current and prospective members, walking them through the benefits of membership and answering questions about what being a part of the community entails. She organizes introductions with clergy, meetings with clubs and committees, volunteer work and more. As development associate, she works closely with the synagogue’s charitable wing, helping to create new relationships and garner more donations for the community.
Hart has become deeply ingrained in the Chizuk Amuno family since starting last March.
“I’ve been touched by how genuinely welcoming and caring the community is, and I’m sure it’s the same even outside of this synagogue,” she said. “I’m so lucky to be a part of it.”
Hart has been pleased with life in Baltimore and Pikesville, as she said that the Jewish community here is so special because of how interconnected it is.
“There is so much intergenerational Jewish life. [In Lakeland] I was used to much older people, and here there is a preschool, a day school, a religious school, a summer camp — I’m seeing Jews from two years old to 100 years old on a daily basis,” she said.
Hart’s office is right across from the rabbi’s, which she said has “certainly made for an incredible amount of Jewishness in my daily life.” As far as what makes Chizuk Amuno so special, she said that the first thing that comes to mind for her is the synagogue’s Shir Shabbat worship.
“It’s the coolest thing I have ever been a part of,” Hart said. “There’s light hors d’oeuvres and mingling, and then you head into one of our smaller worship areas. It’s dimly lit with candles, and there’s this beautiful band with a professional violinist, someone on keyboard, and clarinet, and flute and saxophone, and they’re playing calmly, and it sets a tone.”
Other members of the shul volunteer to watch the kids during this service so that parents can enjoy the “spiritual experience” in peace, Hart said.
“Our musical rabbi just leads such a beautiful service with his wife, and it makes you feel like you have the experience of going to a summer camp — it has that special vibe,” she said.
Hart has found a new home about a thousand miles north of where she grew up, and she is excited to continue to explore Baltimore. She said that, more than anything, she is thankful to the community for making her one of their own.
“I have just felt really welcomed — from going to the grocery store to being in services here and being in and around town at the coffee shop — I just felt really at home in the Baltimore Jewish community and here in Pikesville,” Hart said.
