Bowie, Md, (population estimated at 58,000 people) was once a highly exclusive neighborhood, with homes sold only to white Christians. Today, it is the third-largest city in Maryland (measured by land mass), and home to a diverse and welcoming population.
Recently, Rabbi Eli and Mushky Baron opened a new Chabad center in Bowie, serving the entire area, including Greenbelt and Beltsville.
There, they host monthly Shabbat morning services, biweekly Torah classes, holiday events, women’s events and neighborhood BBQs.
The Barons look forward to growing and expanding their reach to touch even more people, including through the upcoming launch of a Hebrew school.
I had the pleasure of meeting Rabbi Baron at the Chesapeake Bay Sox Hewish Heritage Day event last Sunday. My family has been a part of his uncle, Rabbi Hillel Baron's congregation for 29 years in Columbia, Maryland. I would like to encourage all that can to attend services at Chabad of Bowie or just let Rabbi Baron know you are around to help make a minyan to do so. It would be a mitzvah and you just might find that it makes you feel good too!