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 on Sunday, December 11th at 10:30 AM. The American Jewish Archives will be hosting us in their electronic classroom, although guests are welcome to join online as well. For more information and to register, click here.
We’ll soon be sending out our Annual Report, covering this amazing Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial year and great progress for Jewish Cemeteries. Stay tuned and consider a contribution in support of Jewish Cemeteries!
Our recent event, in partnership with Rockdale Temple, installing a memorial for Joseph Jonas, the first Jewish Cincinnatian, was a perfect way to round out the Bicentennial year, which began with our rededication of Chestnut Street Cemetery, where many Jonas family members are buried. Read about the memorial and the event here. We’re grateful for our long-standing relationship with Rockdale Temple, whose founders were also those who established the first Jewish cemetery in Cincinnati!
Our other exciting Bicentennial news is that the feature article in the Ohio Valley History Journal’s fall edition, which is in honor of the Bicentennial, is by our own Operation’s Manager, Carrie Rhodus! Carrie’s article sheds new light on the history of our early Jewish community and our cemeteries. You can read Carrie’s article here and, if you’re interested in the other excellent articles on Cincinnati’s Jewish community, you can order the journal by emailing jevans@filsonhistorical.org or calling 502-635-5083.
Due to the popularity of our programs exploring Customs of Mourning and Burial, and many unanswered questions that arose at those programs, we’ll continue to explore this topic via the newsletter. In this edition, our Jewish Foundation HUC-JIR Fellow Edie Yakutis, a 5th Year Rabbinic student, writes about Keriah or the rending of one’s garment at the time of burial for an immediate family member.
Our Board member, Marlene Ostrow, and her spouse, Dr. Bernie Lenchitz, were kind enough to allow us to share their inspiring story of support for Jewish Cemeteries in this newsletter. Thank you to all of our donors, and our Guardians (legacy society members) in particular, for ensuring that we will always be able to care for our dearly departed.
I look forward to the year ahead as we continue the amazing work of our Board, Committees, and volunteers and the opportunities we’ll have to engage you in all the community-focused happenings at Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati!
In service of our mission,
David Harris
Executive Director
