“A place for the soul” (pdf), the Washington Jewish Week on May 30, 2002
A Fountain of Youth (Word) by Asaf Ashar, asafashar@comcast.net
THE BALTIMORE GANG
Barron's Dictionary of Medical Terms defines “addiction” as a condition of strong or irresistible dependence on the use of a particular substance such that abrupt deprivation of the substance produces characteristic withdrawal symptoms. 
Residing in Baltimore, Maryland are a group of men and women uniformly addicted to the Rockville Israeli Dance Session led by Moshe Shem-Tov. They religiously drive close to an hour in each direction every Thursday evening to feed their addiction.
Of course, the major source of their addiction is Israeli dancing in general – the Israeli music, a multitude of different choreographed dances, native and non-native Hebrew speakers etc. However, although they have the option to dance much, much closer to home they choose Moshe's dance session to feed their addiction. Weekly they return to Rockville and Moshe. Why??
There are many reasons for this – first and foremost, Moshe has the best Israeli folk dance session, hands down, of any session these Baltimoreans have attended – individually and as a group they have been to sessions all across the country as well as in Israel. Moshe's session have the perfect blend of the latest, hottest dances from Israeli intermingled with recent hits and oldies from the whole gamut of Israeli choreographers... He caters to all who attend his sessions – from those with a zest for line dances, to those who prefer the slow, beautiful circle dances, to those who want to sweat to the oldies of Israeli dancing. But, dance, though the main source of their addiction, is not the only reason the Baltimore gang drives week after week to Rockville. The dance floor on Thursday nights is constantly filled with smiles and laughter and resounds with a youthful exuberance recently discussed in scientific terms in a local weekly journal by Dr. Asaf Ashar – a local dance addict himself.
The Baltimore gang, as Moshe has noted on several occasions is special group of individuals.. They bring an infectious enthusiasm to the room that has even infected those local dancers not usually prone to smiling, let alone laughing. The joy of dance is abundantly displayed by the Baltimore addicts as they leap, turn, twist and jump for hours on end all the while laughing, talking and in general having a terrific time.
So, join Liya, Aliza, Elana,
David
and more Baltimoreans
on Thursday evenings
at Tikvat Israel for an enjoyable, fun-filled,
danceaholics dream with Moshe Shem-Tov.


