In 40 short years, Cleveland’s Jewish community grew dramatically from a few thousand German Jews who largely affiliated with Anshe Chesed and Tifereth Israel – today’s Fairmount Temple and the Temple Tifereth Israel.

By 1920, Cleveland’s Jewish community grew to 90,000. This community largely lived in the Woodland Neighborhood which was filled with Jewish peddlers and small businesses. Traditional synagogues and small house minyans – referred to as shtieblach – dotted the community.

The garment industry in Cleveland was largely Jewish owned at this time and thousands of Jews, Italians, Poles, and others worked at factories such as: Richman Brothers, Joseph & Feiss, and Bobby Brooks. Explore the hidden Jewish history of a Jewish neighborhood that was a major center of Jewish life in Cleveland at that time.

This series has been made possible through the generous support of Cleveland Jewish Funerals - Cleveland’s ONLY Jewish owned and operated Jewish funeral home.

They initially settled in the Haymarket District - near today’s downtown Cleveland. Later the community pushed ever eastward: to the Woodland neighborhood; Kinsman; Mount Pleasant; Glenville; and the suburbs in the post-war era. Jews have made an indelible impact on the culture and economy of Cleveland. They have included Rabbis and racketeers, actors and authors, as well as merchants and media figures. Collectively, this is the story of one of America’s great Jewish communities. 

Cleveland’s Jewish community can trace its origins back to a small town in Bavaria named Unsleben. In 1839, a small band of intrepid pioneers left their homes in order to seek freedom and opportunity in the United States. The pioneers brought their ancestral traditions with them and built a community built on the German model. Over time, various reforms were made to the prayer service - including mixed seating, organ music, and liturgical changes. These reform-minded Jews were soon joined by other Jews from Eastern Europe who were more traditionalist in orientation.

The initial settlers lived, worked, and prayed in the area that today comprises downtown Cleveland. They continued to move eastward towards the immigrant district known as Woodland. Later, the Kinsman and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods were working class in character and traditional in religious outlook. Glenville became the home of an impressive array of Jewish institutions. This community was filled with large spacious homes and reflected some of the material gains made the Jewish community as they worked their way up the economic ladder.

Explore the fascinating - and often neglected - study of Cleveland Jewish History in this series made possible through the generous support of Cleveland Jewish Funerals - Cleveland’s ONLY Jewish owned and operated Jewish funeral home.