In 2013, three members of Baltimore’s downtown Jewish community had a problem. They wanted to start attending services at a minyan, but at the time, there were no minyans in the area that fulfilled their needs. They wanted to attend egalitarian services.
This shared desire is what led them to form Harbor Minyan, which is celebrating its 10th year of operation in 2023. Offering a casual, lay-led experience, members of the minyan meet once a month to celebrate Shabbat together in an egalitarian, nondenominational environment that values progressive, feminist ideals. Services are fully integrated for attendees of all genders and are held at a different location each month — typically a member’s house, but they have held services at the Jewish Museum of Maryland in the past, along with other locales.
“The ideal is that any member of our community who has the space and is within walking distance of the harbor area can offer to host,” said Malka Svei, who acts as a member of Harbor Minyan’s steering committee. “And we make sure to bring whatever supplies we can offer.”
Svei joined Harbor Minyan in 2022, with 2023 being her first time serving on the minyan’s steering committee.
Many Harbor Minyan members also belong to other synagogues — congregants from B’nai Israel, Hinenu: The Baltimore Justice Shtiebl and Beth Am have attended minyan services. But Harbor Minyan allows them to meet with other Jewish people in the downtown area from all walks of life in an environment that strives to be inclusive and accommodating to all.
“Every Jewish organization in existence talks about trying to be pluralistic, but being pluralistic is a really difficult thing to do,” noted Justin Regan, another member of the steering committee. “We try to find interesting ways to accommodate our members, so people of all observances can come together under one roof.”
The minyan has a strong focus on lay leadership and does not have a dedicated rabbi or cantor. Rather, participants can choose to lead prayers and songs. This allows the minyan’s members to put their own unique spin on each service, and no two are exactly alike.
In addition to its commitment to remaining egalitarian, Harbor Minyan regularly holds vegetarian potlucks after their services to accommodate both its members who obey kosher laws and those who do not, as well as those with dietary restrictions.
Harbor Minyan’s flexible environment serves as one of the minyan’s most unique features. Services can be held anywhere, whether a member volunteers their house or a Jewish property opens their doors to the organization.
“We’ve talked sometimes about if we could try to find a permanent fixture at some point, but we also like how it moves around a little bit as well,” added Regan. “The change of scenery every month is nice.”
They’ve even held services at a bocce ball court in Little Italy before. Harbor Minyan holds services outside when the weather allows for it, which aided them during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the minyan still took a blow to its membership due to coronavirus-related restrictions on social gatherings. But the minyan is recovering, and its leadership is not deterred, as members of the community are always willing to help.
“Sometimes we struggle to have a minyan [service], other times we have 25 to 30 people,” said Svei. “But the shape and tenor of the event always depends on who comes to the event and who contributes. It’s all about giving young people who might not belong to a Jewish organization a chance to really shape their community and Jewish experience.”
As its 10th anniversary nears, the steering committee of Harbor Minyan is looking toward the future to see how they can grow membership and if there is anything they should change about their approach.
“Now is a great time to join, because we’re in the process of thinking about what the next few years will look like,” said Svei. “At the beginning of our services, we talk about what Harbor Minyan is. Harbor Minyan is a sustainable, egalitarian, feminist, nondenominational, lay-lead minyan. But more than that, Harbor Minyan is a group of young Jews who are committed to making this happen every month, whether they feel strongly about prayers, about halachah or egalitarianism or just want to hang out with their friends and get to know their local community.”
