Our Rabbi Marci Jacobs - Chevrei Tzedek Congregation

Rabbi Marci Jacobs

Rabbi Jacobs, a Baltimore native, is a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she received her M.A. in Talmud and Rabbinics. Since her ordination, Rabbi Jacobs has served communities in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. After returning home to put down roots closer to her family, she taught at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville and is currently the Middle School Jewish Life Chair at Krieger Schechter Day School. Rabbi Jacobs is passionate about helping people find meaningful connections with one another, develop their skills and abilities, and find their own unique way to engage with the Jewish community.

Throughout Rabbi Jacobs' career, she has been known as an insightful teacher and relationship builder. She is excited to be part of the dynamic Chevrei Tzedek community and to help build upon its strengths as a vibrant and inclusive Jewish community. “We are thrilled to have Rabbi Jacobs at Chevrei Tzedek,” said Amit Golding, former Chair of Chevrei Tzedek Congregation. “She is a talented and experienced rabbi who is passionate about our mission. She is a wonderful spiritual leader for our congregation.”

Weekly Message from Rabbi Jacobs

1/1/2026 Parshat VaYehi and Interfaith Shabbaton

1 Jan, 26 |

This Shabbat, we conclude the book of Bereishit in our yearly Torah reading cycle. Bereishit is essentially our origin story as a people. Beginning with the creation of the world and the early days of humankind, we quickly zoom in to focus on the story of one family, the family that would become the kernel of the Jewish people. Reaching the book’s conclusion gives us the opportunity to look back on what has been and look ahead to how our journey will continue in the next book of our Torah. This Shabbat is also the first of the new secular…

Chanukah 5786

19 Dec, 25 |

Happy Chanukah! חנוכה שמח! I have some thoughts to share about this holiday of light, but first I want to clarify something from the weekly email – I will be away this Shabbat so there will be no formal Torah study. Services will begin at 10 AM, as usual. We often describe Chanukah (as I just did) as the festival of lights, חג אורים in Hebrew. It is also, of course, a holiday of miracles. When we talk about Chanukah, that’s where we place our focus. There’s the miracle of the military victory of the Maccabees against the Syrian Greeks,…

Parshat Toldot – November 19 2025

19 Nov, 25 |

This past week, at our fall Community Meeting, we engaged yet again in courageous conversations around how our community serves as a welcoming home for interfaith families. Building on principles and practices I learned from Beyond Dispute, the event I attended a few weeks ago and about which I recently wrote to us, we puzzled through some scenarios meant to spark disagreement and therefore productive discussion. The second scenario we discussed (the scenarios were all fictional, but plausible) touched directly on the more subtle ways synagogue communities can be – or not be – open and welcoming to all members…

Vayera–November 4 2025

6 Nov, 25 |

This past Monday, I had the opportunity to attend a program sponsored by Na’aleh, our local organization that supports and fosters leadership development in the Jewish community. It was wonderful to be there with so many folks from across the Baltimore Jewish community (including our own vice-chair, Debbie Steinig). The program, Beyond Dispute - Leading Through Dialogue, was founded on the idea that disputes and arguments are inevitable. Making our way through these situations requires being able to hold tension, navigate differences, and invite others into meaningful dialogue. These are ideas that should sound familiar to us – as a…

Yizkor 5786-The Responsibility of Memory

5 Oct, 25 |

A couple of weeks ago, a close friend’s elderly aunt passed away peacefully at the age of 94. She was a widow and had no children. Her extended family largely lives in England, where she grew up. She had suffered from dementia; unable to see to her own affairs, my friend served as her guardian. In this capacity, he took responsibility for managing her financial obligations and also for seeing that her final wishes would be honored after she died. She chose to donate her body to science, after which she would be cremated. Her will stipulated that the ashes…

August 27, 2025 – Shoftim

27 Aug, 25 |

For the past week and change, I’ve been immersed in the annual marathon that is getting ready for a new school year. Between making sure my children have all of their required supplies and readying my own classroom and materials, I felt like a whirlwind delivered me to the doorstep of the first day of school, which was Tuesday. While it’s only been two days back with students, I’ve noticed something interesting about my experience so far: it seems to me almost like I didn’t just come back from a summer away from school. Instead it feels like this school…