Simone Ellin

Baltimore

Associate Editor at JMORE Living

Writer, social worker, communications professional and mom of two young adults.

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Articles

Local Author Amy L. Bernstein’s Book Urges Readers to Leave Doubt Out

1 week ago | jmoreliving.com | Simone Ellin

Amy L. Bernstein can pinpoint the exact moment when she decided to stop letting the clutches of doubt interfere with her dreams. At the time, Bernstein was employed by the federal government and feeling exhausted and unhappy. “I was commuting by train from Baltimore to D.C., and one day I almost crossed the platform to take the train to New York to play hooky,” she recalls. “My longing not go to work and step out of my life was so deep and profound. I realized, this can’t go on.
Longtime MPT Leaders Larry Unger and George Beneman Set to Retire

3 weeks ago | jmoreliving.com | Simone Ellin

In an era when the typical job tenure of a Gen Z or Millennial employee is less than three years, Maryland Public Television bids farewell to a pair of Jewish stalwarts with more than eight decades of experience between them. This spring, Larry D. Unger, MPT’s president and CEO who has been with the PBS affiliate for 30 years, and George R. Beneman II, who has worked at MPT for more than a half-century, will retire from their positions. Steven J.
Forgotten Melodies

3 weeks ago | jmoreliving.com | Simone Ellin

You might say bar mitzvah-to-be Micah Selinger is a triple threat. His mitzvah project, a requirement for his rite of passage at Columbia’s Beth Shalom Congregation this summer, has three different components — each substantial in their own right. The idea for his project came to Micah, a violinist, while attending one of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s “Recovered Voices” concerts.
Beth El Congregation Launches 'Why I Love Israel' Video Challenge

1 month ago | jmoreliving.com | Simone Ellin

Love is in the air. But no ice or buckets. Pikesville’s Beth El Congregation recently launched a “Why I love Israel” video campaign based loosely on the famed ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The campaign calls on Jews near and far to express their personal connections to the Jewish state and why they love and care about Israel. Beth El’s Rabbi Dana Saroken kicked off the challenge last Tuesday, Apr.
New Book by Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin Examines Jewish Views on the Environment

1 month ago | jmoreliving.com | Simone Ellin

Think climate change is simply a foregone conclusion? Believe that it’s somebody else’s problem? Not so fast. In her new book “To Forever Inhabit This Earth: An Ethic of Enoughness” (Behrman House), Baltimore resident Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin encourages Jews and others to reconsider their relationship to the environment. The book, which comes out today, insists it is not too late to save our planet if we have the communal and personal drive.
AVAM's Kinetic Sculpture Race Celebrates 25th Anniversary

1 month ago | jmoreliving.com | Simone Ellin

Baltimore has a reputation for being a quirky town, and there may be no better example of this than the annual Kinetic Sculpture Race, a program of the equally quirky and totally fabulous American Visionary Art Museum. This year’s eight hour-long, 15-mile race will be held on Saturday, May 3, rain or shine. For the uninitiated, a kinetic sculpture is an amphibious, human-powered artwork capable of maneuvering on pavement, mud and water.
Third Space at Shaarei Tfiloh to Host Discussion on Black-Jewish Ties

2 months ago | jmoreliving.com | Simone Ellin

After being published in 2018, Marc Dollinger’s “Black Power, Jewish Politics: Reinventing the Alliance in the 1960s” (Brandeis University Press) sold out of four print runs — a rarity in the academic literary world. The book — challenging long-held assumptions about the Black-Jewish alliance in the aftermath of World War II — was especially timely following the 2020 murder of George Floyd. “A lot of white liberal Jews found [the book] and wanted to learn,” said Dollinger.
Local Author Elaine Weiss Examines a Little-Known Chapter of the Civil Rights Movement

2 months ago | jmoreliving.com | Simone Ellin

Award-winning, Baltimore-based journalist Elaine Weiss prefers telling stories that haven’t been told before. Her latest book, “Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools That Built the Civil Rights Movement” (Atria/One Signal Publishers), is no exception. “Spell Freedom” uncovers the little-known history of a small group of unsung heroes who helped Jim Crow-era Black citizens pass the literacy tests meant to keep them from exercising their voting rights.
Comedian Dan Levin to Headline Show at Horseshoe Baltimore Casino

2 months ago | jmoreliving.com | Simone Ellin

Although he’s lived in Los Angeles for the past six years, comedian Dan Levin is a Baltimorean in his heart of hearts. On Saturday night, Mar. 22, Levin will return to his hometown to headline “Comedy at the Charm,” one of Horseshoe Baltimore Casino’s first stand-up comedy shows. While Levin is the main act, Baltimore-based comedian Liz King will host the program and Justin Schlegel, a regular on Baltimore’s 98 Rock morning show, and The Gwynn Factor, a D.C.-based comic, are also on the bill.
Designer Alona Lisa Elkayam Fights Kanye West's Antisemitism with T-shirt Line

Feb 20, 2025 | jmoreliving.com | Simone Ellin

Pikesville native Alona Lisa Elkayam is not one to be silent when she sees injustice in the world. Last September, Elkayam, a New York-based jewelry designer and founder of the Far From Timid marketing firm, launched an heirloom necklace called “Heart of David” to show support for victims of the Oct. 7th Hamas attacks and raise awareness about antisemitism.