Baltimore, MD - June 18, 2020 - As this article is being prepared, Baltimore shuls are getting ready to re-open, be”H, and mispallelim are excited about returning to their beloved batei kneisiyos. When the members of Ohel Yakov Congregation return to their shul, their excitement will be further magnified as they are greeted by their new Rav, Rabbi Akiva Feldman, shlita, who was “virtually” elected to the position in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic.
Ohel Yakov has been serving Jewish Baltimore for approximately 145 years. Like most of Baltimore’s long-standing shuls, Ohel Yakov got its start downtown and moved North with the Jewish community after World War II. Rabbi Benjamin Dinovitz, zt”l, became the rav in 1958 and led the congregation with devotion and dedication for half a century. “Rabbi Dinovitz’s shul”, as it became known, was the spiritual heart of the lower Glen Avenue neighborhood and a beautiful community grew up around it.
Rabbi Dinovitz’s son, Rabbi Peretz Dinovitz, shlit”a, assumed the full mantel of leadership of the congregation after his father’s passing in 2008 and, with great mesiras nefesh, continued his father’s legacy until his health forced him to give his blessing to begin the search for his replacement. The search committee worked tirelessly toward that goal until Rabbi Feldman was chosen from a short list of excellent candidates who were considered for the position.
Rabbi Feldman is a Baltimore native. In fact, he proudly told the membership that his bris took place at Ohel Yakov! He comes from an illustrious family of rabbanim – his great grandfather, Rabbi Joseph Feldman, ZTL, was a Baltimore Rav for 45 years including the last ten living on Winner near Rabbi Dinovitz’s shul. His maternal grandfather, Rabbi Jerome Wallin, ZTL, was a Rav. His paternal grandfather, Rabbi Emanuel Feldman, shlit”a, was the rav of Congregation Beth Jacob in Atlanta, Georgia for many decades and his uncle, Rabbi Ilan Feldman is currently the Rav in Beth Jacob of Atlanta and his great uncle, Rabbi Aharon Feldman, shlit”a, is Baltimore’s very own Rosh HaYeshiva of the Ner Israel Rabbinical College. Rabbi (Akiva) Feldman’s father, Mr. Jonathan Feldman, a musmach of Ner Yisrael, is well known in Baltimore for his advocacy and involvement on behalf of the community. His mother, Mrs. Judi Feldman, is a shadchan who taught at the Beth Tfiloh school for many years.
A longtime talmid of Ner Yisrael and musmach of the yeshiva, Rabbi Feldman also learned at Yeshivas Mir in Eretz Yisrael and at Yeshivas Birchas Mordechai under Rabbi Yaakov Friedman, shlit”a. After many years teaching at Mesivta N’eimus HaTorah, Rabbi Feldman currently teaches Halacha at Bais Yaakov and Bnos Yisroel high schools. Rabbi Feldman received professional training and certification in premarital and marital counseling, guidance and Halacha and collaborates with local rabbanim on many communal and family issues. Under guidance from the rabbanim, Rabbi Feldman teaches chasanim in preparation for their weddings and maintains a connection with those young men and their families, counseling them and answering their shailos.
Rebbetzin Yehudis Feldman is a sought after “Kallah Teacher” in her own right and a well-known and beloved teacher at Bais Yaakov High School. She is a popular lecturer, giving many shiurim and chaburos for the women of Baltimore. The Feldman family is excited about relocating from Yeshiva Lane to the Ohel Yakov neighborhood.
Individually and as a team, the Feldmans have already given so much to the frum community of Baltimore. Now, they are bringing their talents, experience and enthusiastic personalities to Ohel Yakov. Even before the opening of our shuls, Rabbi Feldman began giving a well-attended zoom drasha each week and has made himself available and accessible to the membership by phone and email. The Rav has many ideas for the kehilla’s growth and expansion – including shiurim and programming that will appeal to congregants of every age and stage. Rabbi Feldman has reached out to the members for their input as well. The Rav will be working closely with Ohel Yakov’s long-serving president, Mr. Paul Barr, and his dedicated board to ensure a smooth transition for the shul.
The building that has been home to Ohel Yakov for decades is undergoing renovations outside and in to enhance this established makom Torah and tefillah and to upgrade its safety and security. “Ohel Yakov and its leadership has been and, be”H, will always be ready to serve the community”, says Barr. “With Rabbi Feldman at the helm and improvements to the building completed, we hope to be able to follow the path set by the Dinovitz family and serve the community in an even wider capacity.”
The neighborhood surrounding Ohel Yakov Congregation has come a long way since the early days of “Rabbi Dinovitz’s shul”. There are young couples, “old timers”, and many multi-generational families living in the area. All are sincere y’rei shamayim who enjoy the special camaraderie and closeness that the neighborhood offers. The kehilla hopes to see many new families moving to the area – families who are looking for an affordable, friendly community with a historic, dynamic shul as its spiritual center.
"The excitement I feel”, says Rabbi Feldman, “along with the entire tzibbur, of not only re-opening our shul but starting out together as a new mishpacha, is tremendous. Our kehilla has such a unique feeling of achdus and inclusiveness; I already feel like part of the mishpacha, even though we haven't even been able to get to really know each other yet in shul. The potential for growth, built upon the overwhelming zchusim of the builders of our kehilla before us, is inspiring."
Members and friends of Ohel Yakov wish the new Rav and Rebbetzin much hatzlacha in their new positions. The kehilla looks forward to developing a long-lasting, meaningful relationship with Rabbi and Rebbetzin Feldman, b’ezras Hashem, and to seeing the neighborhood continue to blossom and grow under their guidance and leadership.
