Israel Sebbag hails from Brooklyn by way of New Jersey, and growing up, he often thought of the Jewish world as not extending far past those borders.

“Growing up, you think, well, all Jews are in New York. You also have the hot Jews in California, the cold Jews in Chicago and then when you retire, you go to Florida. Then you have Israel and some Canadian Jews,” he said.

When he came to Baltimore for pharmacy school, he was blown away by the Jewish community of Charm City — so much so, that he is somewhat of a major advocate for it within his social circles.

“We originally had a bunch of our friends come down here from Jersey to see what Baltimore’s like, and now multiple of them have indeed moved here themselves,” Sebbag said.

For Sebbag, a large part of what makes Baltimore so special is the intermixing that occurs so naturally, he said. Coming from New York, he was happy to find a welcoming community that spends time together regardless of their background.

“People here, across the spectrum, are incredibly friendly with an integrated community, even across the religious spectrum and across shuls and various religious categories,” he said. “Everyone’s very accepting and friendly, which was not something you’re used to all the time coming from people who just in general aren’t friendly up in New York.”

Sebbag is still in pharmacy school in Baltimore at University of Maryland, living in Pikesville and going to a mix of shuls while not formally belonging to any. His wife is partial to Eichenstein, where he tends to go for the High Holidays. They also attend services at Ner Tamid, Shomrei Mishmeres Hakodesh and a few others, too.

“We’re not tied down to any one shul. And I’ve noticed that most people here don’t seem to really be like that either,” Sebbag said.

One tradition they ensure stays the same no matter what is their annual “Friends Shabbos,” a massive Shabbat celebration and meal that they host for other young couples and friends. It’s been going for two years and Sebbag said it is something they look forward to all year.

But it’s not just the once-a-year Shabbos that means a lot to Sebbag. He said that each week, he finds immense value in celebrating Shabbat.

“That’s why the Shabbos’s are so important to us … It’s that slow down break. We all get to just hang out and catch up with whatever is going on,” Sebbag said.

Sebbag has found himself surrounded by community in Baltimore, complete with friends old and new. As more of his old friends move to the area, he feels his roots grow deeper. He said that after graduating pharmacy school, they are committed to staying in Baltimore and raising a family here.

“The fact that a lot of my friends have moved here shows you how much of a great community this is and how much they value it,” he said.

His eventual pharmacy degree will be a nice addition to the undergrad one he holds from Kean University in New Jersey, where he was a student athlete. Sebbag is a former collegiate esports player — competitive video games.

“I was a founding member and on the board of the esports club. I still have my picture with the president — heck, I even still have my esports jersey,” Sebbag said.

He said his best memories of his status with the esports club were helping lobby school leadership to pay for an eSports arena and equipment, as well as getting to use the gym specially reserved for Kean’s athletes.

Today, Sebbag said he doesn’t have much time for video games. He mostly plays casually with his siblings when he has a break from school, worship or life. He might be busy, but he’s happy to say that he’s busy in Baltimore.

“It’s just a very nice community,” he said.

aguckes@midatlanticmedia.com