Park Synagogue

Park Synagogue, or Anshe Emeth Beth Tefilo, is a Conservative synagogue with campuses in Cleveland Heights and Pepper Pike, Ohio, suburbs of Cleveland. It is one of the oldest congregations in Ohio. The current rabbi is Joshua Hoffer Skoff.

History

The synagogue was originally Orthodox when it was founded in 1869. The original name was Anshe Emeth Synagogue, and it was located in downtown Cleveland. By 1888, however, arguments between congregants over the direction of the temple had grown too divisive, and so some members left to form a Reform congregation.

The remaining members built a new temple in 1903 and hired their first true rabbi. In 1917, two congregations, Anshe Emeth and Beth Tefilo, merged to form a larger congregation, since many Jews were moving east by this time. This combined congregation bought land on East 105th Street. This property would eventually be the Cleveland Jewish Center, and construction began in 1920.

Construction was completed by 1922, and the CJC became the major focal point of Jewish life in Cleveland. In addition to a synagogue, the Center had a ballroom, a recreation center, and an indoor swimming pool. It was also at this time that the congregation became a Conservative one under the direction of Rabbi Solomon Goldman.

With this new direction came changes that were highly controversial for the formerly-Orthodox attendees. Women and men were allowed to sit together, and the selling of Aliyot was forbidden. These changes resulted in violence against the Rabbi, and eventually an "Anti-Goldman" faction attempted to file legal action, which was appealed all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court, who refused to hear the case. Rabbi Goldman left for Palestine in 1929. Rabbi Goldman later became a leading rabbi in Chicago.

Anshe Emeth Beth Tefilo went through a number of rabbis until the arrival of Armond Cohen, a 26-year-old rabbi. For such a young rabbi, he was faced with many problems concerning the synagogue. Burdened with heavy debt, Cohen personally raised funds to relieve the congregation. A second problem was that, since 1917, the majority of Jews in the area had moved to the east side of Cleveland, specifically Cleveland Heights. To provide for the Jewish population there, Cohen and the congregation purchased the defunct Park School and its property. This became the eastern Cleveland Jewish Center.

The following summer, in 1943, a day care and nursery school was added to the Center, and an adjacent lot of 21 acres was purchased from John D. Rockefeller. In 1945, a fire broke out, destroying most of the old Park School buildings, as well as the synagogue's library and Torah scrolls. Once again, the congregation turned to Rabbi Cohen, who hired Erich Mendelsohn to design the new synagogue. Completed in 1950, Park Synagogue was considered a major work of 20th century architecture.

In 1986, to meet the needs of the expanding congregation, Park Synagogue East was opened in Pepper Pike, a suburb of Cleveland. A new facility for the East Campus was completed in 2005. [cite web | url=http://www.propertiesmag.com/current/2005-11/PropertiesWEB-Nov05.pdf | title=Come Together: Tradition, innovation merge at Park Synagogue East Campus | last=Elliott | first=John | publisher="Properties Magazine" | month=November | year=2005 | accessdate=2008-08-09]

In 1990, Rabbi Skoff was called to serve Park Synagogue, first as Associate Rabbi and then as Senior Rabbi. Skoff quickly emerged as a leading orator and statesman, succeeding in unifying and re-energizing the congregation. In 1996, at the age of 36, Skoff was given life tenure with the congregation. Under Rabbi Skoff's leadership, synagogue membership has experienced extraordinary growth and school enrollment has soared. At approximately 1700 families, Park Synagogue is one of the largest Conservative congregations in the country and has been awarded six Solomon Schechter Synagogue of Excellence Awards.

Park Synagogue Today

Membership has grown to roughly 1,700 families. Park has won Excellence Awards from the Conservative movement for Library Computerization, Strategic Planning, Access and Concern for the Disabled, Programs and Celebrations, and Fundraising.

Park Synagogue has continued its long devotion to education with preschool and youth associations such as Kadima and United Synagogue Youth. Park's Hebrew School has been designated a "School of Excellence" by the Conservative movement. In recent years, Park has developed a strong adult education program, with Bible, Talmud, and Torah Studies. Adult B'ne Mitzvahs have increased greatly. Outreach to the intermarried has been emphasized. In addition, multiple outreach programs and associations such as Brotherhood and Sisterhood allow for participation in the Jewish community.

References

*cite web |url=http://parksyn.org/SubCatMain.asp?SubCatId=119 |title=That Was Then |accessdate=2007-12-17 |publisher=Park Synagogue
*cite web |url=http://parksyn.org/SubCatMain.asp?SubCatId=129 |title=This Is Now |accessdate=2007-12-17 |publisher=Park Synagogue

External links

* [http://parksyn.org/ Park Synagogue's Home Page]