Tikvah Womack was preparing for a Shabbaton at her synagogue when Rina Goloskov reached out to her with an idea she wanted to discuss about making their community stronger.
Both women live in Northwest Baltimore, in diverse neighborhoods of African American, Jewish and Latinx families. Both are Orthodox Jews, while Womack is also a Woman of Color.
Rina, said Womack, was concerned about the fact that many of the community members had little relationship with neighbors who were not similar to them.
“We both felt that we wanted to build bridges and create understanding. Yet we knew we had to begin by breaking down the barriers,” recalls Womack.
Together, with the support of CHAI, The Associated agency that focuses on strengthening Northwest Baltimore neighborhoods, they created a four-part dialogue series that engaged Orthodox and African American women living in CHAI’s five city neighborhoods.
