Beth Am Synagogue

y and to be a vital and stabilizing force in its Reservoir Hill neighborhood. From 1962 through 1974, Hazzan Abba Weisgal continued to lead regular services in the synagogue building and was joined on High Holydays by Dr. Louis Kaplan, the retired president of Baltimore Hebrew University. When Chizuk Amuno put the building up for sale in 1974, members who had been worshipping at the old building hastily formed a congregation and purchased it. Dr. Kaplan’s wife, Etta, suggested the name “Beth Am,” or “House of the People.” Dr. Kaplan continued to serve as rebbe until 1981, when Beth Am hired its first full-time rabbi.