Last Wednesday, the Jewish Museum of Maryland in Baltimore held an opening for its new exhibit, “Jews of Maryland at the Crossroads of Identity,” which focuses on the Jewish community history within the state.
The museum said the exhibit’s focal point is the 1826 “Jew Bill,” a piece of legislation that allowed Jews in the state to run for elected office, but the exhibit includes a variety of items that center around Jewish identity inside and outside of legislative spaces.
The April 15 event was attended by the museum’s executive director, board members, figures in the Baltimore Jewish community and others.
Marilyn Carp, a trustee at the museum, said the exhibit is familiar to her in many ways, and might be familiar to other Baltimore Jews, too.
“Seeing all the history when I walk through here — I was born here, and I recognize so many names from my experience,” she said.
Part of what makes the exhibit so personal is the museum’s collection of everyday Jewish life. There are kiddush cups, candle holders, books, old photographs and video reels. There are deli menus. There is even a vintage tin of Old Bay.
While “Crossroads” looks to catalogue and memorialize the Jewish journey in Maryland, it also addresses harder topics. While the Jewish community fought for its own rights, other communities, like Black Marylanders, faced a harder struggle to gain liberty. The “Jew Bill” came in 1826 — nearly four decades before slavery was officially abolished in Maryland.
The intersection of minority rights and struggles is important to the museum, and some attendees were happy to see that story told.
Rachel Kutler is the Baltimore director for Jews United for Justice, and she said that her time as a teacher in Baltimore taught her that different communities don’t always know each other’s stories.
“[The museum] is a great resource for our community, especially at a time when a lot of people don’t know Jewish history,” Kutler said. “I know when I worked at a school in East Baltimore, my students came here for a tour, and they were introduced to basic concepts that they never learned. It’s an incredible resource in our own backyard.”
Helene Warranch, the daughter of the first docent of the museum, has seen a lot of exhibits over the years. A docent now herself, she said that she is proud of how far the museum has come. When she welcomes new faces to the museum, she asks a question that the “Crossroads” exhibit begs, too.
“I want to know where they’re from and why they chose to be here and where their families came from,” she said. “Every Caucasian in this country came from somewhere else. Somebody had the guts to cross the ocean.”
Brian Schwartz attended the opening, and while he said he was almost overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information, he said he thinks it’s an interesting collection. In fact, he said, he thinks an overarching document that includes all of what the exhibit covers would be a good idea.
“It’d be nice if there was a book that would document all of this,” he said.
Craig Alexander lives outside of Washington, and his visit on April 15 was the first time he has been to the Jewish Museum of Maryland. He said he was interested in the history of the Jew Bill, something he didn’t know about prior. Not only was he impressed with the exhibit and the museum, he was impressed with Baltimore, too.
“Being just outside Washington, we don’t often take advantage of all that’s available [in Baltimore],” he said. “I’m happy to know about this, and it’s a very interesting part of town that I’ve never explored.”
The new Crossroads exhibit is open to the public now, taking over the status as the museum’s core exhibition. Visitors can check it out from Sunday to Wednesday. The museum is closed Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
More information is available at jewishmuseummd.org.
