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TEACHER SPOTLIGHT Solomon Manischewitz
Originally from Poland, Mr. Manischewitz’s father was killed by Cossacks, and his mother was a seamstress. The young man figured that the best way he could earn a living and support his widowed mother was to become a teacher, a profession he has since loved all his life. He received his education at the Tarbut Hebrew Teachers College in Vilna, beginning his teaching career just as World War II began. Sadly, Mr. Manischewitz was the only member of his immediate family to survive the Holocaust, and he lived in a displaced persons’ camp in Germany until 1949. There he met his wife, Sara, and resumed his teaching career, organizing a Hebrew school for the children living in the camp. Later, he helped to create a high school there as well. Mr. Manischewitz fondly remembers meeting the many dignitaries who visited the camp, especially Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1949, Mr. Manischewitz arrived in New York but soon left the hectic city to settle in Baltimore, where he has been ever since. A friend of the family introduced him to the venerable Dr. Louis L. Kaplan, then executive director of the Board of Jewish Education (now CJE) and president of Baltimore Hebrew College (now BHU). Dr. Kaplan was impressed with Mr. Manischewitz’s skills and sent him to Beth Tfiloh, where for 55 years he taught various subjects in the Hebrew school and day school and tutored b’nai mitzvah students. Mr. Manischewitz also taught for 37 years at Talmudical Academy and also at Beth Israel. He especially enjoyed teaching conversational Hebrew, Hebrew grammar, Bible and Jewish history. Baltimore Hebrew University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1998 in honor of his lengthy teaching career. It is clear that Solomon Manischewitz was a gift to his many students over the decades he taught. No doubt hundreds of Jewish children in Baltimore had the good fortune to learn from him in one school or another. We at CJE thank Mr. Manischewitz for his dedication to Jewish education. Todah Rabah! |
Solomon Manischewitz is a Baltimore icon, a teacher’s teacher. He taught in Baltimore area Jewish schools for 55 years, retiring at the end of the last school year. What is a fitting tribute for a man who has educated multiple generations of Baltimore’s Jewish youth? CJE believes it is to express our thanks on behalf of this community, share his story and hopefully inspire others to teach.