Letter from the Executive Director

Greetings! The High Holy Days have passed and the days have shortened, which means Jewish Cemeteries is working hard on projects before the winter and on opportunities to connect with you in the community in the coming months, both in person and online! Our next Genealogy program, Preserving Family History through Storytelling, will be held . . . Read More

Kri’ah – Expressing Grief by Rending Garments

Earlier this calendar year, Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati hosted the program, “Traditions that Comfort: Jewish Customs of Mourning.” We are following up in this newsletter with a brief history and overview of the customs of kri’ah ((קְרַ֖ע, also spelled Keriah, kriah, and k’riah), or rending of cloth. This is the most visible sign of . . . Read More

Article Introduction for “A New Resting Place for the Scattered Sons of Israel”

JCGC has enjoyed the unique opportunity to work with The Filson Historical Society this year to highlight the very special history of Chestnut Street Cemetery.  The Filson Society is the publisher of several periodicals, including Ohio Valley History Journal, a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal of the history and culture of the Ohio Valley and the Upper . . . Read More

JCGC CYJL TESTIMONIAL by Marlene A. Ostrow

The Cincinnati Jewish community—both formally and informally—has been an integral and meaningful part of my life since the day I arrived here. My husband, Bernie Lenchitz and I are both transplants from northern New Jersey and Manhattan. We moved to Greater Cincinnati in the late 1980’s.Cincinnati is blessed with dozens of Jewish organizations and agencies . . . Read More

K.K. Bene Israel and JCGC Dedicate Monument in Honor of Cincinnati’s First Jewish Resident

On September 18, 2022, Rockdale Temple, in partnership with Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati, celebrated the dedication of a memorial cenotaph honoring Joseph Jonas, placed at Cincinnati’s historic Chestnut Street Cemetery. Jonas is widely considered to have been the first Jewish resident of Cincinnati, having arrived in 1817, and is among the founders of both . . . Read More