Baltimore, MD - May 15, 2025 - Sunday, May 4, marked the much-anticipated debut of Let’s Connect! The dynamic new community, for vibrant Baltimore women 55+, was greeted with such enthusiasm that every one of the 130 chairs was taken. Women who couldn’t even stay for the event insisted on participating in the set-up - so they could become part of the community.
Anticipation filled the Storch Pool House as the activity-filled program began. Moshay Cooper, a member of the Let’s Connect! steering committee, warmly opened the program, with Tehillim and with words of gratitude to the members of the overflowing crowd.
“Women want to be connecting upwards, inwards and outwards,” said Reb. Chasida Teichman, the initiator of Let’s Connect!, in her welcoming remarks. And that perfectly described the May 4 program.
First, Mrs. Estelle Levitas told of her self-described journey as Baltimore’s “oldest ba’alas teshuva” (at 90!), as she was gently and professionally guided by Sara Helman. Mrs. Levitas, a comedienne par excellence, also shared some of her jokes, to the delight and outright laughter of the audience.
Next, Judy Landman, Baltimore’s very own published poet, turned a Butterfly Garden trip with her son into an analogy for life’s precious and transitional moments, as she led the women in a writing exercise. Two women courageously read the personal poems that they had just written. Esther Badian’s, in Hebrew and in English, focused on “connecting”, the theme of the day. Stacy Spiegelman’s poem celebrated “Life’s Butterfly Moments”. A journey inwards, indeed.
Lastly, the audience participated in a speed meeting-speed greeting game, “Perfect Connections”, with each woman answering a different question to her table-mates. The questions ranged from the sublime, “what’s your favorite mitzva?”, to the unusual, “talk about sourdough for 30 seconds”. The connectedness and the enthusiasm generated by the game were so contagious that this game will no doubt become a signature activity of Let’s Connect! get-togethers.
All in all, the warm feeling and energy of joining together was palpable in the room. As one participant said, the event was “something really special. Everyone felt comfortable, no matter her age, no matter her background. Even people who didn’t know each other beforehand sat together and were comfortable with one another”.
Connecting “upwards, inwards and outwards” also represents the theme of the organization’s plans going forward. Smaller, more narrowly focused, mini-sessions will be held in 4-6-week time blocks, in addition to the larger community gatherings, such as this one, which will continue to be held 2-3 times a year.
The women of Let’s Connect! will themselves choose the topics of the smaller groups, as this is to be a peer-led community. The choosing began with the pre-event registration process and continued with the detailed questionnaires that the women answered at the event.
The topics will fall within one of these three areas of connectedness. Sara Brejt, another member of the Let’s Connect steering committee, gave examples:
“Connecting with Hashem” might include a volunteer community project, such as decorating a room for children with special needs or sending necessities to Israeli soldiers. Other options might be interviewing authors of Jewish books or chabura-style learning.
“Connecting with others” could be a nature hike or a deep-dive conversation, on an area of relevant interest.
Lastly, “connecting with oneself” would likely include creative outlets, such as artwork, and thinking outlets, such as creative writing.
Of course, the Let’s Connect! thank you’s were many; to Mr. Frank Storch for kindly allowing the use of his Pool House, where so many good things in Baltimore have started, to Mr. Avrohom Klugman and Mr. Baruch Bitman for their generous assistance with the excellent sound system and the videoing and photographing of the event, to Chavi Wealcatch and Chaya Dachs and their team of volunteers for the beautifully-arranged refreshments, to Zahava Hochberg and her registration committee for ably and calmly greeting the overflowing crowd, to Goldie Silberberg for the stunning logo and welcoming graphics and to Chaya Major for collating and organizing the all-important audience input to determine the focus of the mini-sessions.
In closing, Moshay Cooper requested the women to stay in touch one another and she invited them to continue making suggestions by emailing to letsconnectbaltimore@gmail.com. It may seem like a “goodbye”, she said, “but really it’s hello”.
Hello, Let’s Connect!
