The Taylor Road Synagogue (Oheb Zedek Congregation), Cleveland, Ohio, is the largest Orthodox congregation in the city. It was formed in the early 1950s by the merger of several smaller, older congregations - - Oheb Zedek, Chibas Jerusalem, Agudas B'nai Israel, Agudas Achim, Shaarary Torah and Knesseth Israel.
The Oheb Zedek Congregation was founded in October 1904 as an offshoot of the B'ne Jeshurun Congregation (now the Temple of the Heights), which had been established by Orthodox Clevelanders of Hungarian descent in the 1860s. Some forty founding members, under the leadership of Rabbi H. A. Liebovits of New Haven, established the first Oheb Zedek synagogue at East 38th Street and Scovill Avenue in 1905. By 1915, a branch had been founded at East 107th Street near Superior in the Glenville district, and by 1921 the congregation has its own cemetery on Lansing Road.
In august 1922, the expanding congregation dedicated a new building at Parkwood Drive and Morrison Avenue; Samuel Benjamin was rabbi. Rabbi Benjamin was succeeded three years later by Rabbi Israel Porath of Palestine. The present Congregational leader, Rabbi Louis Engelberg, came to Oheb Zedek Congregation in 1939, and within several years, plans were underway for a new buidling on Taylor Road in Cleveland Heights. By 1950 almost half of the congregation was living in the suburban neighborhoods around the recently founded Heights branch of the synagogue. In the summer of 1952 the finanl eastward move was made and the 500- memberTaylor Road Synagogue was incorporated. It was composed of Oheb Zedek and Chibas Jerusalem Congregation, and within the next five years, found other Orthodox congregations joined the synagogue. The Parkwood Drive property was sold in 1953, and construction began on the present synagogue building as 1970 Taylor Road in 1955.
Chibas (also spelled Chevra or Chevas) Jerusalem Congregation was first listed in the Cleveland City Directory of 1915, when it was located at East 39th Street and Central Avenue under the direction of Rabbi Judas Abrovitz. The congregation moved in 1919 to East 84th Street and Cedar Road, and again in 1926 to a site at 897 Parkwood Drive. In 1952 Chibas Jerusalem Congregation joined Oheb Zedek Congregation, forming the Taylor Road Synagogue
Shaaray Torah Congregation became associated with Taylor Road Synagogue in January 1955. Like Oheb Zedek Congregation, Shaaray Torah Congregation was founded by Eastern European immigrants. About 1897, the group held its first meeting at the home of Isaac Crystal at 2335 Orange Avenue. In 1912, when Jacob Rey Landry was rabbi, the congregation moved to a building at 2357 East 55th Street, where services were held until 1929. In that year, Shaaray Torah Congregation moved east again, to 776 East 105th Street, where it remained until its 175 members merged into the Taylor Road Synagogue in 1955. The congregation also maintained a burial ground in the Warrensville Cemetery at Richmond and Kinsman (now Chagrin) Roads.
The Taylor Road Synagogue Records, 1919-1968 and undated, consist of general and financial records, including bound account books, ledgers, monthly and quarterly financial statements, invoices and receipts, deed, minutes and membership lists.
The Collection contains the financial and membership records of three Orthodox congregations - - Shaaray Torah, Chibas Jerusalem and Oheb Zedek -- which as a result of mergers now form part of the Taylor Road Synagogue; Oheb Zedek is the present congregational name. The records are divided into three sections by congregations.
The Shaaray Torah Congregation records, the oldest in the collection, date from 1919 to 1959 and consists primarily of financial records. These include ledgers and indexed account books in both English and Yiddish. The Chibas Jerusalem records, in English, consists of one membership ledger which is dated 1930-1932. The Taylor Road Synagogue (Oheb Zedek Congregation) records, dated from 1946- 1968, and also in English, contain monthly and quarterly financial statements, a general fund ledger and journal, invoices for paid bills, and receipts for dues and donations.
The materials in this collection shed light on the financial affairs and day-to-day activities of three Orthodox congregations which have been active in the Cleveland, Ohio Jewish community since the early 1900s. Detailed membership lists and early cemetery records may be of interest. Account books and financial statements suggest a wide range of congregational interests, including building and cemetery maintenance funds, the establishment of a nursery to promote religious education for Orthodox children, High Holiday celebrations, confirmation classes, and rabbi and cantor exchanges. Associate membership minutes, invoices and receipts reflect a variety of social activities and community projects, including membership picnics, theater parties, blood drives, fund-raising auctions and the presentation of films and speakers.
The collection is arranged by congregation and then by document type and then chronologically within each congregation. Invoices are arranged alphabetically by company name.
Processed by Catherine K. Spencer in 1979.
None.
[Container ___, Folder___ ] MS 3765 Taylor Road Synagogue Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of the Taylor Road Synagogue in 1977.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.