Sitting on Liberty Heights Avenue in the historic, 100-year-old Orthodox synagogue Shaarei Tfiloh is Third Space, an “unsynagogue” next to Druid Hill Park and the Maryland Zoo.
At a typical Conservative or Orthodox synagogue, observant Jews can find regular Shabbat services, memberships and sometimes a Hebrew school; however, at Third Space at Shaarei Tfiloh, a “congregant” will find High Holiday services, different types of learning seminars and an art gallery.
“I imagined this space that gathered people for the following purposes, a space that was sort of multipurpose where people could celebrate Shabbat or come together for holidays or concerts or other gatherings,” Rabbi Jessy Dressin, executive director of Third Space at Shaarei Tfiloh, said. “[A] place that would have a Beit Midrash, a place where people could sit and learn. They could debate ideas and ask questions of each other.”
As a part of the Beit Midrash concept to bring new ideas and discussions to the historical synagogue, Third Space has welcomed Rachel Kanter, a Conservative Jewish artist born and raised in Central New York, to display her art exhibit “Sacred Community.” Third Space will also host a gallery reception on Oct. 16.
“I think about my work as I take these traditional Jewish rituals and reinvent them as a way to look at Judaism with a different set of eyes, as a way to look at Judaism in a way that is more welcoming and open,” said Kanter. “I think my work of reinventing these Jewish rituals and Third Space’s idea of reinventing this long-standing historical synagogue makes sense to be together.”
Kanter’s artwork is made up of different textiles used in Jewish rituals such as the tallit (prayer shawl), the wimple (Torah binder), the parochet (Torah ark curtain) and the mikdash me’at (small sanctuary).
The exhibit fills spaces throughout the building. In the long hallway on the first floor, Kanter’s artwork uses wimples, a belt used to hold the Torah closed.
“I created [art from] these Jewish ritual objects called wimples, which are belts to wrap the Torah during the Shabbat service,” Kanter explained. “Traditionally, it’s also used as a historical document. A lot of times a wimple would belong to a family, and they would embroider or paint or write on it all different life events of that family or one child. I created these conceptual wimples that, instead of wrapping a Torah, they would wrap a community together.”
Kanter added that the piece reflects the mission of Third Space to bring all these different types of people into the building and bind them together.
“I think the interesting thing about Third Space is, it’s reinventing this building that has a very traditional history of being a synagogue for the Jewish community that lived in that area. Reinventing, that is something that is exciting and new and aiming to just take the essence and bring it higher to a new place,” said Kanter.
Dressin explained that, unlike a typical synagogue, there are no membership dues or regular services. Third Space positions itself around holiday services and discussions about Jewish traditions.
Dressin described one of Third Space’s goals as being a “part of a collective.”
“We cannot operate on our own like isolated silos,” Dressin added. “We need each other, we need to show up for each other, we need to be generous. The responsibility to build a more whole and complete world for all living beings, for all people regardless of if you’re Jewish or if you’re not, is dependent on a healthy atmosphere in order to thrive.”
