| | Manuscript Collection | Requires cookie* | | 1 | Title: | Beth Am Congregation Records
| | | | Creator: | Beth Am Congregation | | | | Dates: | 1934-1999 | | | | Abstract: | Beth Am Congregation, a Conservative Jewish congregation in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, was founded in 1933 as the Community Temple by Rabbi Abraham Nowak and a group who belonged to B'nai Jeshurun Congregation (then known as Temple on the Heights). The founders wanted their new synagogue to be more welcoming to all Jews, regardless of their wealth or status. The congregation established administrative offices at 241 Euclid Avenue; services and school classes were held at Coventry School in Cleveland Heights. After meeting at several rented locations, the congregation purchased a large house on Washington Boulevard. By 1940, however, the need was seen for a permanent structure, and a building fund was established. In 1947 Beth Am purchased the Trinity Congregational Church at 3557 Washington Boulevard. The new rabbi, Jack J. Herman, was named the same year. The congregation continued to grow, and by 1956 had 600 families with 500 students in the religious school. A fire in 1957 destroyed much of the lower level of the building, including two Torahs and synagogue records; the congregation met on the campus of John Carroll University until repairs were effected. Rabbi Herman served the congregation until his death in 1969. Rabbi Michael Hecht was installed late in 1970. In 1971 the congregation dedicated a new religious school named for Rabbi Herman, constructed on land adjacent to the synagogue. From 1974 through the congregation's merger with B'nai Jeshurun in 1999, there were financial deficits that made it difficult for the congregation to sustain itself. The Jewish community was moving farther east, and membership decreased. A congregant offered land at the intersection of Cedar and Lander Roads in Mayfield Heights, provided that the membership could raise the monies necessary for a new building. In spite of a positive feasibility study, and plans unveiled by the architectural firm Finegold Alexander and Associates, the fundraising goals were not met and Beth Am sold its Washington Boulevard Building to the New Bible Fellowship Church and merged with B'nai Jeshurun Congregation in 1999. The collection consists of minutes, correspondence, financial reports, lists, newspaper clippings, and publications. | | | | Call #: | MS 4895 | | | | Extent: | 39.83 linear feet (43 containers and 3 oversize folders) | | | | Subjects: | Beth Am Congregation (Cleveland Heights, Ohio). -- Archives. | Jews -- United States -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- History -- 20th century. | Jews -- United States -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- History -- Sources. | Jews -- United States -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Religious life -- 20th century. | Jews -- United States -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Social life and customs -- 20th century. | Jews -- United States -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Archives. | Conservative Judaism -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- 20th century. | Synagogues -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- 20th century. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- History -- Sources.
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| Photograph Collection | Requires cookie* | | 2 | Title: | Beth Am Congregation Photographs
| | | | Creator: | Beth Am Congregation | | | | Dates: | 1950-1998 | | | | Abstract: | Beth Am Congregation, a Conservative Jewish congregation in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, was founded in 1933 as the Community Temple by Rabbi Abraham Nowak and a group who belonged to B'nai Jeshurun Congregation (then known as Temple on the Heights). The founders wanted their new synagogue to be more welcoming to all Jews, regardless of their wealth or status. The congregation established administrative offices at 241 Euclid Avenue; services and school classes were held at Coventry School in Cleveland Heights. After meeting at several rented locations, the congregation purchased a large house on Washington Boulevard. By 1940, however, the need was seen for a permanent structure, and a building fund was established. In 1947 Beth Am purchased the Trinity Congregational Church at 3557 Washington Boulevard. The new rabbi, Jack J. Herman, was named the same year. The congregation continued to grow, and by 1956 had 600 families with 500 students in the religious school. A fire in 1957 destroyed much of the lower level of the building, including two Torahs and synagogue records; the congregation met on the campus of John Carroll University until repairs were effected. Rabbi Herman served the congregation until his death in 1969. Rabbi Michael Hecht was installed late in 1970. In 1971 the congregation dedicated a new religious school named for Rabbi Herman, constructed on land adjacent to the synagogue. From 1974 through the congregation's merger with B'nai Jeshurun in 1999, there were financial deficits that made it difficult for the congregation to sustain itself. The Jewish community was moving farther east, and membership decreased. A congregant offered land at the intersection of Cedar and Lander Roads in Mayfield Heights, provided that the membership could raise the monies necessary for a new building. In spite of a positive feasibility study, and plans unveiled by the architectural firm Finegold Alexander and Associates, the fundraising goals were not met and Beth Am sold its Washington Boulevard Building to the New Bible Fellowship Church and merged with B'nai Jeshurun Congregation in 1999. The collection consists of 142 black-and-white and 96 color prints, 17 thirty-five millimeter slides, 24 transparencies, and one rendering. | | | | Call #: | PG 525 | | | | Extent: | 0.22 linear feet (1 container and 2 oversize folders) | | | | Subjects: | Beth Am Congregation (Cleveland Heights, Ohio). | Jews -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- History. | Jews -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- History -- Sources. | Jews -- United States -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Social life and customs -- 20th century. | Jews -- United States -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Religious life -- 20th century. | Jews -- United States -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Photographs. | Conservative Judaism -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- 20th century. | Synagogues -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- 20th century. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- History -- Sources. | Administrative Information
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| Manuscript Collection | Requires cookie* | | 3 | Title: | Beth Am Congregation Records, Series II
| | | | Creator: | Beth Am Congregation | | | | Dates: | 1933-1991 | | | | Abstract: | Beth Am Congregation, a Conservative Jewish congregation in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, was founded in 1933 as the Community Temple by Rabbi Abraham Nowak and a group who belonged to B'nai Jeshurun Congregation (then known as Temple on the Heights). The founders wanted their new synagogue to be more welcoming to all Jews, regardless of their wealth or status. The congregation established administrative offices at 241 Euclid Avenue; services and school classes were held at Coventry School in Cleveland Heights. After meeting at several rented locations, the congregation purchased a large house on Washington Boulevard. By 1940, however, the need was seen for a permanent structure, and a building fund was established. In 1947 Beth Am purchased the Trinity Congregational Church at 3557 Washington Boulevard. The new rabbi, Jack J. Herman, was named the same year. The congregation continued to grow, and by 1956 had 600 families with 500 students in the religious school. A fire in 1957 destroyed much of the lower level of the building, including two Torahs and synagogue records; the congregation met on the campus of John Carroll University until repairs were effected. Rabbi Herman served the congregation until his death in 1969. Rabbi Michael Hecht was installed late in 1970. In 1971 the congregation dedicated a new religious school named for Rabbi Herman, constructed on land adjacent to the synagogue. From 1974 through the congregation's merger with B'nai Jeshurun in 1999, there were financial deficits that made it difficult for the congregation to sustain itself. The Jewish community was moving farther east, and membership decreased. A congregant offered land at the intersection of Cedar and Lander Roads in Mayfield Heights, provided that the membership could raise the monies necessary for a new building. In spite of a positive feasibility study, and plans unveiled by the architectural firm Finegold Alexander and Associates, the fundraising goals were not met and Beth Am sold its Washington Boulevard Building to the New Bible Fellowship Church and merged with B'nai Jeshurun Congregation in 1999. The collection consists of membership records, acknowledgement cards, certificates, and letterhead. This collection is of value to researchers studying the administration of a conservative Jewish congregation, particularly in Cleveland, Ohio. Of interest are letters of correspondence from Rabbi Michael Hecht and the congregation's board members to individual members of the congregation. The correspondence and synagogue records shed light upon the day-to-day operations of synagogues. The membership files, rabbi's letters to specific family members, and death and cemetery information will be of interest to genealogists. | | | | Call #: | MS 5151 | | | | Extent: | 0.40 linear feet (1 container) | | | | Subjects: | B'nai Jeshurun Congregation (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) | Beth Am Congregation (Cleveland Heights, Ohio). | Conservative Judaism -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- 20th century. | Jewish way of life -- 20th century | Jews -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- History -- 20th century | Jews -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- History -- Sources. | Jews -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Social life and customs -- 20th century. | Synagogues -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- 20th century.
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| Manuscript Collection | Requires cookie* | | 4 | Title: | Jacob Muskin Papers
| | | | Creator: | Muskin, Jacob | | | | Dates: | 1940-1990 | | | | Abstract: | Jacob Muskin (1920-1990) was a Cleveland, Ohio, rabbi affiliated with the Orthodox movement of Judaism. Born in Chicago, Muskin attended the Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore. After World War II, he was the associate national director of Va-ad Ha-Hatzalah (the rescue committee, in Hebrew), an organization that saved children and scholars from the Holocaust. He began his pulpit career in Cleveland as the rabbi of the Kinsman Jewish Center in 1950, where he established the first synagogue-sponsored nursery school in the city. In 1959 he helped to orchestrate the merger of Kinsman Jewish Center with other small Orthodox congregations to form Warrensville Center Synagogue in Cleveland Heights. He served as rabbi at Warrensville Center Synagogue until his death in 1990. Muskin was active in many local Jewish organizations. He served on the Kashruth Board, the chaplaincy committee, and the Central Fund for Traditional Institutions, all of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland. He was on the board of directors and served on the educational committees of Yeshiva Adath B'nai Israel, the Telshe Yeshiva, and the Bureau of Jewish Education of Cleveland. As a member of the Merkaz Harabonim, the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of Cleveland, he served as chair for six years, often articulating the views of the Orthodox community on issues such as Kashruth, divorce, cemetery practices, holiday observances, and Zionism. The collection consists of correspondence, minutes, newspaper clippings, ledgers, lists, synagogue programs, and legal documents. | | | | Call #: | MS 4837 | | | | Extent: | 1.01 linear feet (1 container and 1 oversize folder) | | | | Subjects: | Muskin, Jacob, 1920-1990. -- Archives. | Kinsman Jewish Center (Cleveland, Ohio). | Nvai Zedek Congregation (Cleveland, Ohio) | Warrensville Center Synagogue (Cleveland Heights, Ohio). | Orthodox Rabbinical Council of Cleveland. | Jewish Community Federation (Cleveland, Ohio) | Jews -- United States -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- History -- 20th century. | Jews -- United States -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- History -- Sources. | Jews -- United States -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Religious life -- 20th century. | Jews -- United States -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Archives. | Jews -- Dietary laws. | Orthodox Judaism -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- 20th century. | Rabbis -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- 20th century. | Synagogues -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- 20th century. | Jewish law. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- History -- Sources.
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