Baltimore Anash Shuls Coming Together to Build Unified Center

In the fast-growing community of Park Heights in Baltimore, two Anash shuls are uniting to build an incredible building that will house both shuls and serve as the heart of the Chabad community.

By Anash.org reporter

In the fast-growing community of Park Heights in Baltimore, two Anash shuls are uniting to build an incredible building that will house both shuls and serve as the heart of the Chabad community.

The Baltimore community is one of the fastest-growing Anash communities in the United States. The Park Heights area, a focal point of people’s relocation, is the core for Anash and the frum community at large. A growing population creates growing needs, and the new three-story building aims to serve as a central location where the community can daven, learn, farbreng, and hold functions.

Baltimore has a long and rich chassidishe history dating back to 1889; the Frierdiker Rebbe famously visited in 1929. Today, an Anash kehilla is firmly embedded in Baltimore itself. A thriving chinuch scene is present which includes a booming Cheder, a new Mesivta and a Zal that is considered one of the best in America. Families are heavily involved in hafatzas hamayanos, with farbrengens and shiurim commonplace on the community calendar.

Until now, Park Heights had two Anash shuls – Ohel Levi Yitzchok and Young Anash. With each outgrowing their respective locations, the two shuls came together to plan their next step forward. Dedication to a central vision reimagined what the community could achieve and produced an ambitious plan to create a single center housing the entire Park Heights Anash community.

The center will also have multiple designated spaces for kids’ minyanim and a playroom, a lobby, a rooftop deck, and even a designated cheder sheni, once the hallmark of every Lubavitcher shul or shteibel.

The very spirit of the Baltimore community is embodied in the shuls’ union. “It’s pretty unique, what we have here. We’re a large community – approaching 200 families, bli ayin hara – and yet that small, warm, heimish feel hasn’t been lost,” one of the board members told Anash.org.

Although the fundraising campaign has yet to officially launch, they have already been approved for all of their permits and variances to move forward. Over the coming months, the board overseeing the new building will be doing all they can to bring the vision to reality, uniting Anash of Park Heights under one large roof.

For more information or to make a donation to the new center, please visit ReachToNewHeights.com.