Author: Max Harris
Chanan Y. Weissman, the Northwest Baltimore resident who for nearly a year has served as the Biden administration’s liaison to the Jewish community, will step down from the post this week. He will be succeeded by Shelley Greenspan, who joined the White House last month as a policy advisor for partnerships and global engagement at the National Security Council. Greenspan, 32, who lives in Washington, D.C., has served as a staff and board member of various national Jewish organizations, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish Women International. Shelley Greenspan (right) is shown on the…
Israel Gruzin, a Holocaust survivor who became a respected and successful local artisan and custom cabinet maker, died on Sunday, July 24. The longtime Northwest Baltimore resident was 93. Born in Slobodka, Lithuania, he was the eldest son of Chaim and Chiene Gruzin and had one brother, Icik. In 1941, the Gruzins fled Lithuania via horse and wagon for Latvia to escape the imminent Nazi invasion, but were forced to return to Slobodka due to a destroyed bridge. They were moved into the Kovno Ghetto and became forced laborers. A young Israel Gruzin is shown here with his father Chaim…
With the imminent arrival of summer and the easing of mask mandates and such, many Americans are simply itching to get out and flex their travel muscles. Jmore turned to inveterate globetrotter and veteran travel writer Carol Sorgen, a former Baltimorean who now lives in Portland, Ore., to share some of her favorite distant and not-so-faraway destinations to visit. It’s time to get back on the road again. Safe travels! Hitting the Highlands: Exploring Edinburgh Edinburgh is a great place to explore the charm of Scotland, and a perfect starting point for a few day trips as well. Read the full story.…
There’s no denying that New York City has earned its place as a top vacation destination. But what if you were told that New York’s Hudson Valley offers many of the same attractions as New York City, plus some of the most beautiful scenery in the world? In fact, the Hudson Valley is so beautiful that it inspired an entire school of painting: the Hudson River School of the mid-19th century. Indeed, the Hudson has its share of museums and galleries but is also a haven for hikers, history buffs, music lovers, foodies, and beer and wine enthusiasts. The following…
More than a quarter of a century ago, the pop singer Joan Osborne asked a rhetorical musical question that both delighted and repelled armchair theologians of all persuasions: What if God was one of us? Not surprisingly (at least to me), the out-of-leftfield hit tune was written by a M.O.T. (member of the tribe), Eric Bazilion of the Philly rock band The Hooters, reportedly not so much to seek spiritual enlightenment but to dazzle a young woman with the depth of his lyrics. A few months ago, my wife and I were making our own way home from the Eastern…
It’s been two years since I moved from Baltimore to Portland, Ore. The pandemic has curtailed my explorations of this new-to-me part of the country, but I’ve still managed to get out and about enough to come up with suggestions of must-sees if you’re ever headed out this way. Portland in Bloom Portland is a city of gardens and they’re all worth a visit if you have the time, but these are my favorites: Lan Su Chinese Garden (lansugarden.org) is the result of a collaboration between the cities of Portland and Suzhou, its sister city in China’s Jiangsu province that’s…
“Respect the site; do not impose your will on it.”— From “The Winterthur Garden: Henry Francis du Pont’s Romance with the Land” (Harry N. Abrams), by Denise Magnani Visit the Winterthur Garden in the heart of the picturesque Brandywine Valley and the artistic vision of its creator cannot fail to impress — and inspire. Scion of Delaware’s industrialist du Pont family, Henry Francis du Pont enjoyed a lifelong passion for horticulture and the principles of garden design, reflected throughout the 60-acre garden with its year-round succession of blooms that enhance the natural setting of the family’s once private grand estate.…
Believe it or not, it’s not all about the Amish in Lancaster, Pa., although that’s certainly one of the popular draws for visiting this day trip-friendly destination. Located in the south-central part of the Keystone State — and a little more than an hour’s drive from Baltimore — Lancaster first welcomed religious refugees from Germany in the 1700s. Today’s Amish, who are descendants of those refugees attracted by the area’s tolerant religious views, still live and farm here in the largest Amish community in the United States. In this day of nonstop pinging from our various electronic devices, the Amish…
Years ago, I was walking with a buddy through the streets of midtown Manhattan when I noticed the Gothic spires of St. Patrick’s Cathedral a couple of blocks away. I hadn’t stepped inside that landmark since childhood but fondly remembered its bronze doors, ornate stonework and enormous stained-glass windows. It looked like a palace to me. I asked my friend if he wanted to walk inside. “Nope,” he said emphatically, noting that as a Jew he avoided crossing the thresholds of churches due to centuries of Christian persecution and proselytizing. He said the architectural flourishes of St. Patrick’s, no matter…
Here’s the worst part about the news that WBAL’s Jayne Miller is bailing out of the TV news business: at her best, she upped everybody’s game. She showed a few generations of newsroom people at WBAL that real news was more than just reading nicely from a TelePrompter, more than just dramatic video, and more than superficial charm hiding the shallowness behind it. She came to define an entire station’s news operation as something serious. And now she’s about to retire, and nobody knows if she takes with her the last traces of textured journalism in local TV news. Since…