Congregation Mishkan Or, a Reform Jewish synagogue in Beachwood, Ohio, is the steward of an extraordinary collection of more than 200 rare volumes of Hebrew and other Jewish books from the 15th-20th centuries.  Dr. Harold Greenbaum, a Cleveland physician, donated this collection to his synagogue, Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, one of Mishkan Or’s legacy congregations, in the late 1960s.  There it remained safe, but relatively unexplored until Fairmount Temple’s merger with The Temple-Tifereth Israel in 2024, when librarian and archivist Jane Rothstein began to inventory and research this hidden treasure. Aside from being amazed and delighted, what does a synagogue librarian and her library do with a collection like this?

Along the way, Mishkan Or received a grant from the State Library of Ohio and the Ohio Preservation Council, with funds from the Institute of Library and Museum Services (IMLS), for the conservation of one book from the Greenbaum Collection. We chose a Passover Haggadah published in Venice in 1663.  This conservation project offers an opportunity to treat one very damaged book and explore the celebration of Passover across centuries. The project also helps open a window onto the collection, raising awareness of it within the congregation and the wider community, and prompting conversations about the best ways to care for and share these books.

Jane will discuss the collection and share volumes and photos.  She will also discuss the journey of the Haggadah, from its publication in 17th-century Venice to its home in a 21st-century synagogue library in Ohio and through the conservation process.

Join us for this fascinating Forum in person at Loganberry Books or via Zoom.