10/18/2024
Become a Planter, Planner for Jewish Community’s Next Century
Jennifer B. Schwarz
Jennifer Schwarz | SPECIAL TO THE CJN
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News.
Caring for each other and planning for the future has always been an essential aspect of Jewish life. This sentiment is captured in the Talmudic story of Honi haMa’aggel, who in his travels saw an old man planting a tree. When asked when it would bear fruit, the old man answered, in 70 years. When asked if he expected to eat that fruit, the old man responded that just as the generation before him planted before he was born, so too does he plant for those who will come after him.
This Jewish value is exemplified by our Jewish Cleveland community. The Jewish immigrants who arrived here in the 18th century were the first planters and planners who created a solid foundation that subsequent generations built upon to form the strong, thriving community we enjoy in the 21st century. Fundamental to this growth and development was the establishment of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. The organization, then known as the Federation of Jewish Charities, was officially founded over 120 years ago in 1903. Just one year later, in 1904, the first bequest was received which provided scholarships for students.
Jewish Cleveland can be proud that our Federation was one of the first to officially create an endowment fund. In 1955, after the experience of two world wars and their impact on Jewish communities, leaders in Cleveland felt compelled to develop a safety net that could help weather emergencies that threatened the Jewish community as well as provide operational support for agencies in the face of a crisis. In addition, it was envisioned that endowment funds could be used for research, pilot projects and to ensure the viability, vitality and quality of Jewish life.
And indeed, these funds have been used in the ways imagined by those who created it. Most recently, they have been utilized to help agencies and schools function during the pandemic and to support our family and friends in Ukraine and Israel in times of war. Endowment funds have also helped pilot new and innovative programming such as expanding outreach to young adults and families seeking connection, supporting those needing guidance when dealing with ailing loved ones, and for many other purposes, including helping our Jewish Cleveland community remain the caring, vibrant and joyous place we are lucky to be a part of.
We are not only inspired by the generosity of those who have come before us, but also by their enduring faith that the leaders of the future will act with the best interests of the entire community in mind. This belief in community and in each other is one of the hallmarks of Jewish Cleveland.
When meeting just recently with a young family who created such a gift, they emphasized how important it was to be there for future generations. They said they cannot fully understand today what will be needed in 60 or 70 years, but they trust the future leaders of this community to know and to decide the right course of action, so that our community remains strong for their children, grandchildren and generations to come.
By making a gift through a will, trust, retirement account or life insurance policy to permanently fund the organizations closest to our hearts, we become the planters and planners for Jewish Cleveland’s next century.
Jennifer Schwarz is the managing director, philanthropic planning, at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland in Beachwood.
