On the last Friday before Spring Break, the 8th grade class of Mandel JDS (along with their parents, and the entire school) stood proudly in front of the Israeli flag, singing Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem. This tradition, commemorating the eighth grade’s upcoming voyage to Israel, has been around for nearly as long as the annual pilgrimage itself.

Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism will be honored at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s Yom Hazikaron ceremony at 7 p.m. May 10 at the Mandel Jewish Community Center in Beachwood.

When former board chairman Michael Siegal of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland asked Erica Starrfield to lead the organization’s marketing and communications committee in 2011, she initially needed some time to think about it.

We are saddened to inform you that Joyce Garver Keller, retired Director of Ohio Jewish Communities (OJC) who has served our community for more than 25 years, unexpectedly passed away in her sleep last night. Till the very end Joyce was mentor to so many and a tireless advocate on behalf of our community here in Ohio, nationally, in Israel, and around the world.

PJ Library has a new partner: Yehuda Matzos, an Israeli company touting the Jewish literacy program this Passover season.

Our recent Population Study showed that 19% of Cleveland Jewish households live at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. Based on this research, the Federation founded a Task Force on Financial Distress, chaired by Bruce Goodman. Their recommendation: Establish a Chesed Center. Chesed, for kindness.

Ariella Payne of Lakewood found jHUB’s Seder in a Box so helpful last year, she requested More Seder in a Box for Passover this year.

The boxes of matzah always seem to appear first on the kitchen shelf. Then the jars of gefilte fish and the new bottle of horseradish show up. Maybe a carton of fruit flavored jelly candy, never seen at other times of the year, finds a place in the cupboard. These are the real first signs of spring, the Passover supplies, as meaningful to me as the first crocuses that push up in the garden.

The Cleveland Museum of Art had an additional 13 docents this weekend. On April 17, the eighth grade class of Mandel JDS was tasked with presenting the work of a master painter to an audience filled with parents, siblings, and community members.

The city of Houston and nine surrounding counties were hit this week with extensive flooding, including areas where the Jewish community is concentrated. One to two feet of rain fell in a very short time, completely overwhelming bayous and streams in the area and rain is continuing to fall. It is expected that the damage will surpass the range and severity of last year’s Memorial Day weekend flood.