For Shlomo Pear, one of the perks of going to a small high school — with a graduating class of about two dozen — was that he and his classmates got to choose their electives.

Pear said what started as a simple class decision has turned into a career.

Back then, he and his peers chose to learn about computer science. Today, Pear attends an online university and is getting his degree in the subject. He said he enjoys the challenge and practicality of computer science.

“You’re creating something from nothing and a functional product that solves actual issues or makes a process easier, and it all stems from the brain,” Pear said. “I think that’s really cool.”

The Congregation Tiferes Yisroel member lives on the edge of Pikesville and Baltimore. Pear grew up going to the shul, with his father joining decades ago before he even married Pear’s mother. With that kind of family tradition, Pear feels deeply ingrained in the Tiferes Yisroel community.

“We’re still really close with the rabbi. My father would babysit the rabbi’s kids,” Pear said.

Pear said that he considers himself to be Orthodox — not Modern Orthodox, not ultra-Orthodox, just Orthodox. He said that, on occasion, he has had trouble reinforcing that identity to the outside world.

“When I was dating before I was married, on online dating applications, they ask what denomination you are. It says Modern Orthodox, and there’s ultra-Orthodox, but it skips Orthodox,” he said.

Pear said he asked around a little, and realized most people fall into a more specific category. For him, he thinks the label of “Orthodox” sums it up and fits him perfectly.

“I’m still making an effort to go [to shul] every week, and I do go every day for evening prayers,” Pear said.

He said that he loves Baltimore’s Jewish community, and if it weren’t for one thing, he’d stay here forever.

That thing, of course, is Israel. Pear and his family plan to make aliyah in two or so years, he said.

For Pear, that might mean Jerusalem, or it might mean a more “hippie” community.

“The open-minded nature of somewhere like that [appeals to me],” he said.

While Pear attends online school and works toward a computer science career, he works at a coffee broker and microroaster in the meantime. He enjoys the smell of coffee and he enjoys the taste too, but he doesn’t actually drink it. Pear said that’s because of the effects it has on his body — caffeine doesn’t agree with him, among other things.

For Pear, free time is spent with his family, reading, playing video games or doing a select few other activities.

“I like outside, but it’s more just an idea in my head rather than somewhere I actually go,” he said with a laugh.
He said he is excited by the prospect of children, and he has an idea of how many he wants.

“My limit is six kids because I want to give them the attention they need, and I feel like with too many kids, my attention will be split too much and I won’t give each one what they need,” Pear said.

Pear and his wife love Baltimore, and are already a bit sad that they will be leaving in the near-ish future. When Pear thinks back, though, one of his most formative experiences was spending a year in Israel when he was in his late teens. He studied Torah, took trips around the country and made new friends.

For now, Pear remains a Baltimorean, as he has been all his life. And even when he and his family eventually touch down in Israel, he said that part of his identity won’t change.

aguckes@midatlanticmedia.com