History of the Jews in Cumberland, Maryland

The city of Cumberland, Maryland is home to a small and declining but historically significant Jewish community.

[2] The first documented mention of a Jewish resident of Cumberland dates to 1816, when "one Hebrew" was listed as a donor when the Episcopalian and Presbyterian congregations asked for donations to build a church.

Lox had to be imported in bulk from Baltimore, to be sold by the Jewish owner of a liquor store in downtown Cumberland.

[9] Prior to improvements in automotive transportation (construction on Interstate 68 did not begin until 1965), travel between Cumberland to Baltimore once required an all-day trip.

[10] In 2005, a federal court ruled that Western Correctional Institution in Cumberland could deny kosher food, Jewish worship, and Judaic objects to prison inmates.

By October 2006, with the assistance of Rabbi Menachem Katz, the prisoner was allowed to blow the shofar for Rosh Hashanah, but not for Yom Kippur.

Before retiring and moving to Mexico, Braverman belonged to Beth Jacob Congregation, which merged into B'er Chayim in the 1990s.