If you’ve attended Wine and Wisdom or a meeting of our People of the Book club over the past few years, you’ve probably met Sheri and Harry Felsher. The couple is a fixture of Etz Chaim’s adult programming, and credits the organization with deepening their connections to Jewish tradition.
Sheri, a Baltimore native, grew up going to synagogue and Hebrew school. As a single mother, she gave her two children a similar upbringing, with shul every Shabbat and Jewish day school from kindergarten through high school. She also continued her own Jewish education by getting involved with Etz Chaim. On a Momentum trip with Elana Pomeranz in 2017, Sheri remembers davening at the Western Wall and praying to meet a Jewish partner.
Six months later, she met Harry, and 15 months later, the pair married. Harry grew up observing some Jewish traditions and got involved with the Jewish community as an adult, but he wanted to learn more. “I didn’t know why I was doing what I was doing,” he says.
Etz Chaim was there to provide answers. When Harry and Sheri were dating, Sheri got advice—and hands-on help—from the Pomeranz family while kashering her kitchen. When they got engaged, Rabbi Pomeranz shared Jewish wisdom about marriage and signed their ketubah. Since then, Sheri and Harry have been regulars at Wine and Wisdom and the book club, and learn together and one-one-one with Rabbi and Elana Pomeranz. Sheri also hosts Elana’s monthly Jewish Women’s Coffee Club learning sessions. In 2022, Harry went on the men’s Momentum trip with Rabbi Pomeranz, and still meets with some of the other men who went on the trip for monthly learning sessions.
Sheri and Harry urge others to get involved. Sheri says: “Etz Chaim does so much for the community. They touch so many people in so many different ways, and they treat everyone like family.” Harry adds: “No matter their age and no matter what level of knowledge and observance they have coming in, Etz Chaim has something for everybody.”