As he grew up in the Cleveland area and attended the Joseph and Florence Mandel Jewish Day School (formerly known as Agnon), the concept of tzedakah was instilled in Jonathon (Jono) Nisenboum’s day-to-day life by his family and broader Jewish community. Jono recalls how his parents emphasized the gift of giving and the importance of giving back to the community. At the time, he did not realize how blessed he was to be surrounded by such a strong and welcoming Jewish community.

Jewish Cleveland has a strong tradition of supporting education through providing scholarships to those in need. In fact, one of the oldest known legacy gifts to the Jewish Federation of Cleveland was a bequest from the estate of Mrs. H. Black, who left an endowment gift to “aid deserving students in their higher education.” This bequest, among many others, provided core support for lower- and middle-income Jews to enroll in higher education. Starting in 1905, the Jewish Educational Loan Committee began distributing these grants to eligible students.

Every day since October 7, 2023, our Jewish Cleveland community has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the people of Israel by delivering immediate help and hope for the future.

Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Miriam C. Katz inherited a tradition of caring for her community. Miriam recalls, “My parents were not wealthy. However, they always said that ‘it is more important to support people, even when we have very little.’” Miriam remembers how her mother used to give her a nickel every week to take to Hebrew school, and how the money that was collected was sent to children in the new State of Israel. Her parents taught her that she had an obligation, a mitzvah, to give to those in need.

Jill Miller Zimon grew up in Connecticut, and the town where she lived for the first 12 years of her life had just a handful of other Jewish families. Although she was in the minority, Jill always felt proud of her identity as a Jewish person.

When asked how she would like to be remembered, Noreen Koppelman-Goldstein carefully considered how to respond in a way that covered everything. For her, everything is her family AND her community.

Beth and Frank Rosenberg both grew up in Shaker Heights, but their paths did not cross until after college when a friend introduced them. Beth went to Shaker Heights public schools, and Frank attended the Joseph and Florence Mandel Jewish Day School (then Agnon), then Shaker Heights public schools for middle school onward. Both were active in youth groups, Beth in the North American Federation of Temple Youth Northeast Lakes Region (then NELFTY now NFTY NEL) and Frank in Betar. They each brought meaningful aspects of their Jewish values to their marriage and created a family together that combined their values of Jewish observance and community participation. To this day, the Rosenberg family (Frank’s four siblings and their families) has Shabbat dinner together every week.

Many charities in our community send out beautiful legacy magazines every year. I receive quite a few and love reading all the inspiring stories of those who share why they are leaving a lasting imprint on the organizations that have been important to them.

The past several years have been fraught with unanticipated emergencies. From COVID-19 to natural disasters to the war in Ukraine, and most recently the atrocities of Oct. 7, 2023, and the aftermath of the ongoing war, there are many who are suffering in unimaginable ways. In the Jewish tradition, one of our most important values is giving tzedakah, charity. We give tzedakah because there are always people in need. The nonprofit organizations that provide critical services cannot support the most vulnerable – or respond quickly to the trauma, pain, and economic hardships caused by crisis – without our generosity.

The Cleveland Jewish community is one of the most generous in the United States and most of us give because we believe in the missions of the charitable organizations to which we donate.