At Third Space at Shaarei Tfiloh, the rabbi and staff know that it is a tenuous time to be Jewish. They know that supporting Israel means something different today to most people than it did in the past, and they are looking to address that with a series of five events under the title of “Israel in Our Time — Wrestling With Complexity.”
Third Space exists in the building formerly occupied by the historic Shaarei Tfiloh Synagogue, which served Baltimore from 1927 to 2023. Rabbi Jessy Dressin, the organization’s executive director, said that it is this legacy that has inspired Third Space to address a complex issue.
“It’s important to me that Third Space be a place that welcomes different ideas and opinions, and I know that we can do that because we stand on the shoulders of giants. Our tradition provides a rich framework for celebrating differences and rules around honoring the divine dignity of every person,” she said. “That is the foundation from which every difficult conversation must ensue. Of course, that’s not always easy to do in practice.”
Beginning on Feb. 3 with “Song and Struggles: Looking for the Sun in a Divided World,” Third Space is exploring what it means to be Jewish, what it means to support Israel and how those identities are similar and different. That event hosted singer-songwriter Ami Yares, who led a “music-filled embrace and tough-love dialogue” about his own background and how Judaism and Israel have shaped him.
Tracie Guy-Decker serves as the marketing and communications manager at Third Space, and she said that the events have roots long before Third Space existed and long before the most recent iteration of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“From before Third Space even had its name, Rabbi Jessy was hearing from our community that they wanted a place to be able to have these conversations and really learn more without feeling like they had to know precisely how they felt and where they fall out on different options,” Guy-Decker said. “So, this is not the first time that Third Space has tried to make space for these kinds of complicated conversations, but it was important to all of us to make this a part of our current season.”
Other sessions include one called “Pursuing a Precarious Peace” and a talk about the history of how Israel has evolved to this point. There will be a session that discusses the United States’ relationship with Israel as well.
These conversations aren’t easy, but Third Space has created an environment that thrives on mutual respect.
“Part of our comportment toward the work and toward our community is making sure that we debate ideas, not people,” Guy-Decker said.
She added that Third Space expects the events to have a mostly — but not completely — Jewish audience. Anyone is welcome at Third Space, though, and Guy-Decker said that the organization wants to help create dialogue that crosses cultural lines and beliefs.
“I think that the vision from the beginning has always been that we have these essential conversations where you don’t need to credential yourself as having the right beliefs in order to come in the door,” she said. “Now, that said, there is a sort of floor — the way James Baldwin used [to say] you do have to fundamentally accept that your conversation partner is human and deserving of basic rights, but it’s not a subscription to a specific belief or political stance.”
For Dressin, this is all part of the larger goal of the organization, which is to explore Jewish identity.
“At Third Space, we are attempting to lay ground rules and guiding principles — and boundaries — that will allow us to live our values,” she said.
